by Spanktron9 » Thu 11 Sep 2008, 11:29:54
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('retiredguy', 'H')ow soon before Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual become "too big too fail?"Their stocks continue to plummet today.
The decision has already been made. See Bear Stearns, Fannie & Freddie. The illusion of stability must be maintained at all costs. The counterparty risks to the other Major investment banks is true great. JP Morgan did an analysis prior to the collapse of Bear on the pros and cons of letting Bear fall. The decided to step in, not because of value increased by owning Bear, but because they projected market instability and the failure of Lehman's and Merrill within 30 days of Bear. Thus the counterparty risk outweighed the benefits of losing at least 2 major competitors.