Wilmington Trust Clarifies Bear Stearns Holdings
In a statement released today, Wilmington Trust Corporation sought to clarify their relationship with Bear Stearns Cos.
Why you might ask?
Delawareonline sums it up:
In its February filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wilmington Trust said its clients held 27.3 million shares of Bear Stearns, valued at the time at about $2 billion. Shortly after the New York Stock Exchange’s opening today, Bear Stearns’ price was about $3 a share. At $3 a share, Wilmington Trust’s February stake would be worth about $82 million.
That explains the need to clear things up, but is it really that bad? Not according to Wilmington Trust. Their holdings were primarily in their capacity as trustee for clients. So basically, it’s other people’s money.
Read the Statement here.