While Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., had the spotlight Thursday with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and the heads of J.P. Morgan & Chase Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos., testifying before his committee, the senior Democrat and Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, not to be outdone, joined the dog-and-pony-show too.
Continue reading below
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., (pictured near right) and the committee's ranking member, Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, (pictured far right) on Thursday sent a letter to Alan Schwartz and James Dimon, the respective chief executives of Bear Stearns and J.P. Morgan, seeking information about the pay and severance packages agreed upon as part of the change-of-control agreement in the deal combining the two banks.
Dimon and Schwartz, of course, couldn't respond immediately, because they were busy testifying before the Senate Banking Committee. In addition to Schwartz and Dimon, other key participants that testified at the hearing included Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox and Robert Steel, undersecretary for Domestic Finance.
Baucus and Grassley asked for all details about employment contracts, including stock and deferred compensation agreements. Both Grassley and Baucus on March 26 expressed concern about the U.S. government's $29 billion commitment to the deal and what it means to taxpayers. This effort follows up on a separate endeavor launched by Grassley on Wednesday to have the SEC's inspector general investigate why the agency failed to pursue reports of trouble at securities firm Bear Stearns, including allegations that the firm was improperly valuing mortgage-related securities. - Ron Orol
See the Baucus/Grassley letter (pdf)
See related story about Senate Banking Committee hearings from TheDeal.com
