DODD CITES DIMON'S NY FED SEAT
Post Wire Services
March 27, 2008 -- WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee yesterday expressed concern that JPMorgan head Jamie Dimon held a Federal Reserve Bank of New York board seat while his bank was talking with the Fed over the Bear Stearns takeover.
Sen. Christopher Dodd made his remarks in a radio interview.
"He [Dimon] also sits on the board of directors at the Federal Reserve in New York. Having decisions being made over the weekend with an institution where its leader is also a member of that board raises some serious issues," Dodd said.
When asked if he suspects Dimon's New York Fed board seat might have been a conflict of interest, Dodd said: "This is what we needed to talk about."
Also lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee said they are reviewing the terms of the buyout.
Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, and Iowa Senator Charles Grassley, the panel's top Republican are seeking details on how the buyout was negotiated.
In a separate action, Bear Stearns yesterday filed legal papers seeking to prevent former employees from using Bear Stearns client lists in their new jobs at other banks.
The bank asked that its former employees now working at UBS and Morgan Stanley be forced to return client lists or papers they had taken from Bear Stearns, and be prevented from contacting Bear Stearns clients for the purpose of taking their business to their new employers.
