Was Bear Stearns' CEO's party invitation lost in the mail?
Or was Alan Schwartz just plain dissed at a luncheon hosted by Ben Bernanke and attended by most every other Wall Street BSD? Or maybe he was invited and was just too busy trying to put out fires on the home front. In any case, Bernanke hosted one hellofa gathering (click on picture to enlarge)....
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke lunched on March 11 with a Who's Who of Wall Street leaders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Jamie Dimon, three days before the central bank rescued Bear Stearns Cos. from bankruptcy.
Other guests included Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. CEO Richard Fuld, Morgan Stanley President James Gorman, Citigroup Inc.'s Robert Rubin, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Merrill Lynch & Co. CEO John Thain. Alan Schwartz, the CEO of Bear Stearns, was not listed among the attendees.
The luncheon at the New York Fed gave Bernanke a chance to hear from chiefs of some of the biggest U.S. financial companies and hedge funds in the middle of his most tumultuous month as central bank chief. The meeting came hours after he announced plans to lend $200 billion of Treasuries in exchange for debt including mortgage-backed securities.
The chairman's March 11 lunch with financial-industry executives was held at the New York Fed, with Geithner also attending. Bernanke and Geithner told Congress last month that they were informed of Bear Stearns's troubles on March 13.
Other people at the gathering were Citadel Investment Group LLC CEO Kenneth Griffin, American Express Co. CEO Kenneth Chenault, Duquesne Capital Management LLC CEO Stanley Druckenmiller and Caxton Associates LLC Chairman Bruce Kovner.
Bernanke Lunched With Dimon, Rubin Before Bear Rescue - Bloomberg





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