What happened at Bear Stearns?
Jackson Reed
Updated on January 08, 2026
Bear Stearns was a global investment bank located in New York City that collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis. The bank was heavily exposed to mortgage-backed securities that turned into toxic assets when the underlying loans began to default.
Who ran Bear Stearns?
JPMorgan Chase
Bear Stearns
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired by JPMorgan Chase |
| Successor | JPMorgan Chase |
| Headquarters | New York City, US |
| Key people | Alan Schwartz, former CEO James Cayne, former Chairman & CEO |
What is Bear Stearns worth?
By Saturday, J.P. Morgan Chase concluded that Bear Stearns was worth only $236 million.
How much did JP Morgan pay for Bear Stearns?
J. P. Morgan originally agreed to pay $2 a share for Bear Stearns, with the Federal Reserve promising to cover $30 billion of mortgage securities to get the deal done.
Why did Wall Street Crash 2008?
The stock market crash of 2008 was as a result of defaults on consolidated mortgage-backed securities. Subprime housing loans comprised most MBS. When the housing market fell, many homeowners defaulted on their loans. These defaults resounded all over the financial industry, which heavily invested in MBS.
Who was the founder of Bear Stearns?
The very beginning. • 1923: Bear Stearns is founded as an equity trading house by Joseph Bear, Robert Stearns, and Harold Mayer with $500,000 in capital. According to the inflation calculator, that’s about $6.1 billion dollars today.
Where was the Bear Stearns Investment Bank located?
Bear Stearns was a global investment bank located in New York City that collapsed during the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008.
What was the value of Bear Stearns stock?
On March 16, 2008, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) announced that it would acquire Bear Stearns in a stock-for-stock exchange that valued the hedge fund at $2 per share. The Bear Stearns fund managers ‘ first mistake was failing to accurately predict how the subprime bond market would behave under extreme circumstances.
What was the name of the Bear Stearns hedge fund?
Then, we’ll apply this knowledge to see what caused the implosion of two prominent Bear Stearns hedge funds—the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Fund and the Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Enhanced Leveraged Fund.
