Bear-Stearns Assets AAA?

At the hearing today, James Dimon said "While we wanted to help, and I believe we were the only firm ultimately in a position to help, we had to protect the interests of our shareholders."

He said that the collateral offered to the Fed for the loan consisted of "investment grade" assets, and not the riskier batch of mortgage-backed securities and other soured assets held by Bear.

One simple question.  If they are AAA, why wouldn't JP Morgan take it as part of Bear Stearns.  Even if the $30 billion assets go down to $29 billion, it would not effect JP Morgan as it is taking the first $1 billion hit anyway.

In yesterday's ceremony, Ben B. said that "with the very glaring exception of the 1930s, the Fed has been an eff-ective market stability regulator..... At the time of the Depression, liquidationist theory was supported by the Treasury, and it was partly on the basis of that theory that the Fed stood by and let a third of the banks in the country fail. The financial stability that was not addressed was a major contributor to the Depression, not just in the US but abroad. Today we will not let prices fall at 10 per cent a year, we will act to keep the economy growing and stable. There are very great differences between the 1930s and today."