Why Was Dimon So Touchy About The Guarantee Details?

Posted by John Carney, May 30, 2008, 10:08am

What was it that prompted JP Morgan cheif Jamie Dimon to call Citigroup's Vikram Pandit a jerk? Apparently Pandit was asking how the deal to buy Bear Stearns would affect the risk to Bear's trading partners on certain long-term contracts. This was a crucial issue because many of Bear's counter-parties had been unwinding contracts for fear the investment bank might collapse. As part of the deal, JP Morgan had put in place a durable guarantee that it hoped send a very strong signal that would stop the run on Bear.

But for some reason the Pandit's question irked Mr. Dimon. "Stop being such a jerk," he told Pandit. A little over a week later, JP Morgan would attempt to get out of the guarantee and unnamed sources started saying that JP Morgan never meant to enter into it to begin with.

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Posted in: Bear Stearns, Citigroup, JPMorganChase, James Dimon

Comments

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 10:17AM

save us Bess....

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 10:23AM

who taught this douche how to write...painful to read.

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 10:35AM

because (according to the WSJ account) Vikram was on a conference call and asked a tricky question without bothering to announce himself; perhaps an innocent gaffe, perhaps a two-bit ploy -- either way an annoyance and in the pressure cooker of the moment, when the principal of the deal is hearing the blather of non-principals -- Vikram wasn't committing a dime and JP's sticking its neck out was a virtual bailout for Citi, too -- Mr. Dimon, who is Greek and grew up in Queens, gave him a piece of his mind, ala "STFU, Bozo! I'm the one committing capital"

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 10:36AM

because (according to the WSJ account) Vikram was on a conference call and asked a tricky question without bothering to announce himself; perhaps an innocent gaffe, perhaps a two-bit ploy -- either way an annoyance and in the pressure cooker of the moment, when the principal of the deal is hearing the blather of non-principals -- Vikram wasn't committing a dime and JP's sticking its neck out was a virtual bailout for Citi, too -- Mr. Dimon, who is Greek and grew up in Queens, gave him a piece of his mind, ala "STFU, Bozo! I'm the one committing capital"

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 10:36AM

because (according to the WSJ account) Vikram was on a conference call and asked a tricky question without bothering to announce himself; perhaps an innocent gaffe, perhaps a two-bit ploy -- either way an annoyance and in the pressure cooker of the moment, when the principal of the deal is hearing the blather of non-principals -- Vikram wasn't committing a dime and JP's sticking its neck out was a virtual bailout for Citi, too -- Mr. Dimon, who is Greek and grew up in Queens, gave him a piece of his mind, ala "STFU, Bozo! I'm the one committing capital"

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 10:41AM

apologies for the trifecta. I think I said it well enough the first time.

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 11:15AM

that is not a tricky question, that is the most basic question anyone could have asked actually.

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 11:25AM

A counterparty asks if it's safe to continue trading with you and you tell them off. That's the sort of stupid that you have to learn on the job.

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 11:39AM

has anyone seen the guy with the Jimmy Cayne picture on wall street today? If so where is he?

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 11:40AM


11:25-

You're a wiener if that's how you summarize the situation.

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 11:55AM

Mr. Pandit -- who did not initially identify himself -- asked a shrewd but technical question: How would the deal affect the risk to Bear Stearns's trading partners on certain long-term contracts?

That looks like 'can we trust you with our money', so ich bin ein wiener.

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 12:00PM

this is different from the first couple times it was brought up how?

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 12:20PM

I hear there was some guy in a spin class who was tossed off his bike. Any coverage on that?

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 1:16PM

Tossed off on his bike?

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 1:32PM

Good post 10:28 The douche must have gone to the Charlie Gasparino school of journalism. There's only one "ding dat Gasbag does worser than rightin and dats talkin...duh".

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 1:51PM

It was a pretty stupid question - Bear was about to fold; with JPM stepping in the counterparties were clearly better off. Dimon was polite.

Posted by guest, May 30, 2008 2:19PM

Citi is the biggest joke on the street... What a disaster, going from the powerhouse of Wall Street to the laughingstock! Freakin lawyers...

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