Who Else Did Magnetar Deals?

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A Magnetar is a special kind of a pulsar, which is a very small, compact neutron star that periodically emits light.

The news that the SEC is investigating Merrill Lynch’s role in putting together complex mortgage-related securities for the hedge fund Magnetar is sending chills through Wall Street offices.

Merrill was not the only investment bank that put together CDOs—or collateralized debt obligations—for Magnetar. At least nine other banks put together Magnetar deals.

In fact, one of those banks—JPMorgan Chase—is already the subject of an SEC investigation into Magnetar deals. In the summer of 2007, JPMorgan put together a CDO-squared—a CDO comprised of other CDOs—that ended up being one of the riskiest deals done by Magnetar.

We know the names of the other banks that did deals for Magnetar because of the investigative journalism of Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein at Pro Publica. They uncovered the names of 26 Magnetar deals—and the names of the banks that put them together.

In addition to Merrill and JPMorgan, the banks that put together Magnetar deals were Calyon, Citigroup, UBS, Wachovia, Lehman Brothers, Mizhuo, and Deutsche Bank.

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