BlackRock Profits At Bear's Expense

BlackRock boss Larry Fink may want to thank the Federal Reserve for handing him a fistful of new business yesterday.

As part of JPMorgan's sweetened takeover bid for beleaguered brokerage giant Bear Stearns, the Fed tapped BlackRock to manage the $30 billion portfolio of mostly battered mortgage securities that it is taking on to fund the deal.

That should give BlackRock at least $54 million each year that it manages the assets, based on the average fee the firm typically charges for managing fixed-income portfolios. Analysts believe the firm's fees could be much higher for this assignment, given the complexity of the portfolio.

Comments

[Rule Of Law]

Did I read this correctly--The Fed is taking on those securities? Is that in their charter? Shouldn't Morgan be the proud owners of those AAA Gold Plated securities? What's wrong with this picture?

[WIpatriot]

How the hell does this just continue unchallenged?

First we give a free loan to business without Congress' approval and prez signature, and now we farm out the management of the loan to another scummy financial firm on Wall Street. WTF is going on here?