History repeats itself as Morgan rides to the rescue

JP Morgan's acquisition of Washington Mutual, following its key role in the rescue of Bear Stearns, has led some to compare the bank's chief executive Jamie Dimon to his firm's legendary founder J Pierpont Morgan.

Morgan set up JP Morgan & Co in 1871 but is best-known for his role in rescuing the banking system in 1907. In a crisis known simply as The Panic, the economy was in recession there was a run on the banks, and President Roosevelt was forced to turn to Morgan to find a rescue plan.

Morgan rallied the era's greatest money men to his library, from where he brought calm to the markets, putting in $3 million of his own money as part of a $35 million federal aid package.

Robert Bruner, author of The Panic of 1907, told Reuters he sees similarities between Morgan's handling of that crisis and Dimon's acquisitions of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.

Dimon's JP Morgan was identified as the best vehicle to help save both Bear and WaMu because of its relatively sound fundamentals.

"He sets an example at an institution that is itself exemplar," Bruner said.

But sceptics say comparisons with the modern JPMorgan Chase and Dimon are misleading.

Where J Pierpont Morgan acted selflessly to save the system, they say Dimon has principally been concerned with good deals for shareholders.

However, most observers, also agree he deserves his current good fortune.Dimon, 52, began his career as a protégé of Sandy Weill at the company that would become Citigroup.

At the helm of JP Morgan, he has proven an able risk manager, and has avoided much of the credit-crisis mess that has hobbled his competitors.

"I think Jamie has earned the right by his performance to be a spokesman that people should pay attention to," Weill, the former Citigroup chief executive and chairman, said recently.