ShalomNewYork.com

Bear Stearns figures prominently for the New York Fed. The firm, heavily involved in fixed-income securities, sustained a rapid-fire implosion last March. It was the first major casualty of the credit crisis.The prospect of the bank’s collapse was so worrisome it forced a radical intervention by the Fed to forestall an outright failure, the first in a series of unprecedented actions undertaken by the government in an effort to stem the credit crunch.The central bank brokered Bear’s sale to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and in a controversial move, took onto its books some $29 billion of Bear’s assets. These are held on the Fed’s balance sheet in a vehicle called Maiden Lane, which is currently valued at $26.85 billion.The New York Fed declined to comment on the hire.Some Fed observers were surprised by the hire given that Mr. Alix was officially responsible for overseeing risk at a firm that suffered one of the fastest-moving failures in history. more@WSJ.com