what role did deregulation play in the bear stearns collapse 
some economists have attributed the subprime mortgage crisis to financial deregulation particularly the 1999 repeal of parts of the glass steagall act this repeal removed the legal barriers between commercial and investment banking allowing banks like bear stearns to issue and underwrite securities these securities would ultimately become a major catalyst for the financial collapse 14who benefited from the bear stearns collapse while there are no clear winners from the bear stearns collapse stockholders would have suffered arguably greater losses had the bank gone bankrupt jpmorgan chase which acquired bear stearns at fire sale prices would also benefit although it would be some time before jpmorgan would break even 13who went to jail for the 2008 financial crisis although the 2008 financial crisis caused a public outcry there was no reckoning for the bankers who were blamed for the crisis two managers at bear stearns hedge funds were arrested for misleading investors but they were found not guilty 15 the only successful prosecution was of kareem serageldin a credit suisse executive who was convicted of mismarking bond prices to hide the bank s losses 16the bottom lineformerly one of the largest investment banks on wall street the collapse of bear stearns is now regarded as a cautionary tale against corporate greed and the whims of the free market in the housing bubble of the early 2000s bear stearns leaned heavily into mortgage backed securities vastly underestimating the risks of the subprime housing market when the housing market collapsed and borrowers began to default the value of those securities plummeted ultimately bear stearns was acquired by jpmorgan in a fire sale since the purchase was supported by the federal reserve the acquisition raised ethical questions about corporate bailouts and the government s role in a market economy 2