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Bear Stearns Said Rebuffed Goldman Over 'Ulterior Motive'

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The New York Post reports that, according to a new book published about the last 72 hours of life over at Bear Stearns ('Street Fighters' by Kate Kelly), repeated attempts by Goldman Sachs to help Bear were rebuffed over fears of an 'ulterior motive'.

Former Bear CFO Sam Molinaro is quoted in the book, saying: 'When Goldman calls and offers assistance, it's usually a moneymaking opportunity for them'. Top executives over at Bear were apparently wary of letting Goldman look over its books, in case Goldman used the information to bet against the firm in the markets.

And The Financial Times reports that Goldman has agreed to pay $60m to settle claims from the Massachusetts Attorney-General's Office that the firm 'participated in unfair and deceptive practises involving subprime mortgages'. The firm, which admitted no wrongdoing, is alleged to have been associated with predatory lending practices.

Bloomberg reports that, according to two unnamed 'people with knowledge of the matter', Bank of America has sold a 5.8% stake in China Construction Bank, raising $7.3bn to strengthen its capital base.

In the meantime Dow Jones Newswires reports that BofA CEO Ken Lewis said in a recent conference call with Calyon Securities analyst Mike Mayo that he would like to repay the US government TARP funding within 'months, not years'.

Les Echos reports that UBS is to axe some 90 staff from its French private banking unit.

Finally, The Financial Times reports that investment banks are set to reap up to $500m in fees for arranging the billions in stock sales being undertaken by some of America's largest banks, who are required to beef up their balance sheets following their recent stress tests.

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