In a terse blog post about an appearance on CNBC of Bears Stearns Cos. CEO Alan Schwartz, who pointed fingers at the media and just about everyone else for the bank's collapse, Silicon Alley Insider's Henry Blodget concludes Schwartz (pictured near right) is responsible for the bank's fall from grace, but SAI makes no mention of former chief Jimmy Cayne (pictured far right).
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SAI wrote:
Who is responsible for the collapse of Bear Stearns (BSC)?
According to Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz, the media. Or shortsellers. Or rumors. Or hedge funds. Or an act of God. Or any number of other agents other than the person who is actually most responsible: Alan Schwartz.
Sure Schwartz was at the helm when there was finally a "run" on the bank. And indeed, he oversaw the bank for six years as Cayne's co-president and COO before becoming CEO in August. But Cayne, who famously was out playing bridge when trouble first struck the bank last summer, probably deserves as much blame as Schwartz for Bear's tumble. After all, the mortgages business was ramped up under Cayne, not Schwartz, who oversaw the investment bank's advisory business. - Matthew Wurtzel
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