Critics are blaming Alan Greenspan for today’s financial crisis, but now the former Federal Reserve chief is fighting back.

Greenspan sets the record straight in an exclusive interview.

Part 1

Part 2

What are others saying about Alan Greenspan

Alan Greenspan unfair blame for sub prime crisis…

The Stock Market Crash Of October, 1987

Bear Stearns reaped a profit of $115 million or 86¢
a share before the JP Morgan takeover.

The Federal Reserve Was Ready to Make Lending Available to Other Brokers on Same Day They Helped Out Bear Stearns; Borrowers at Discount Window Included Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers.

Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz was in the hot seat on Capitol Hill as lawmakers review rescue plan. In the days leading up to the fire sale of investment bank firm Bear Stearns, the company was the topic of rumors, speculation and fear that led the venerable Wall Street firm to the brink of ruin.

Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz, testified about those uncertain days before the Senate Banking Committee.

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon is quadrupling the price of Bear Stearns from the price he agreed o pay just nine days ago and yet he is still managing to get kudos for the deal.

I think he made a steal. I think what will happen as five or 10 years and now when we do not remember what the Subprime Mortgage Industry is about, they will spin that off at a very significant profit.

FBI: 2008 Could Be Record Year for Suspicious Activity Reports

Financial institutions filed a record 15,000 suspicious activity reports (including instances of mortgage fraud) with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the first fiscal quarter of this year. If the pace keeps up, more than 60,000 SARs will be filed, outstripping 2007, when 46,717 reports hit the system.

In a briefing on January 29, FBI officials said the agency has 14 major “corporate fraud” investigations under way involving mortgage or related companies. The focus, officials said, was on subprime mortgage firms, their accounting and lending practices, and insider trading. The agency did not specify any cases, but it is well known that the collapse of New Century Financial, is the subject of a major probe.

As previously reported, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the failure of several subprime firms, focusing on, among other things, their investment bankers, including Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley.

Bear Stearns chief executive, James Cayne, stepped down. This has been widely expected. Surprising, though, do you think since he is staying on as chairman, some people were calling for him to be ousted after the problems that they had over the summer. He is being succeeded by Alan Schwartz. Alan is considered collegial, reaching out to various clients, part of what you have to do as chief executive. He has been co-president since 2001 and took over an investment bank.

Brokerages to Report Earnings This Week: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns. Brokerage Earnings Outlook with Howard Silverblatt of S&P.

Bear Stearns Mortgage unit accused of predatory loan servicing. DuPont’s CEO Holliday says US recession is unlikely.

Cuomo Subpoenas Street Firms on Underwriting

As part of an expanding probe into the mortgage crisis, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed loan underwriting records from a handful of Wall Street firms, according to industry sources.

Wednesday morning The Wall Street Journal identified three firms that reportedly received subpoenas: Bear Stearns, Deutsche Bank, and Merrill Lynch.

The Attorney General’s office has already subpoenaed records from contract underwriting firms, including The Bohan Group, San Francisco, and Clayton Holdings.

One executive close to the matter indicated that “The Street is trying to blame the contractors they used.” At deadline time, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office had not commented. Bear Stearns, Deutsche Bank, and Merrill Lynch had not released any statements on the matter.