JP Morgan Chase & Co., in a deal backed by the Federal Reserve, agreed last week to purchase faltering Bear Stearns at a discount price. Bear Stearns' correspondent clearing unit, long second fiddle to the firm's high-profile prime brokerage and trading businesses, could prove to be a significant acquisition for JP Morgan.
"We think Bear will be better for this situation, we'll be better for it, and we have confidence [in Bear] going forward," said Howard Abner, chairman of Jersey City, N.J.-based Abner Herman & Brock, which manages $800 million in unleveraged assets and is one of Bear Stearns' larger brokerage correspondents.
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