JPMorgan and NY Fed to provide Bear Stearns financing : US Business

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co on Friday said it, along with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, agreed to provide secured funding to Bear Stearns, as necessary, for up to 28 days.

The Fed, through its discount window, will provide non-recourse, back-to-back financing to JPMorgan Chase, the commercial bank said. JPMorgan said it does not believe this transaction exposes its shareholders to any material risk.

JPMorgan Chase also said it is working with Bear Stearns on securing permanent financing or other alternatives for the company.

Alan Schwartz, president and chief executive officer of Bear Stearns, said in a separate statement: "Bear Stearns has been the subject of a multitude of market rumors regarding our liquidity. We have tried to confront and dispel these rumors and parse fact from fiction.

"Amidst this market chatter, our liquidity position in the last 24 hours had significantly deteriorated. We took this important step to restore confidence in us in the marketplace, strengthen our liquidity and allow us to continue normal operations."

(Reporting by Joseph A. Giannone, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

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