J.P. Morgan’s acquisition of troubled Bear Stearns over the weekend took place with a 30 billion dollars financial help from the Federal Reserve, the US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson reported.

"Bear Stearns had a liquidity crisis and we felt it was very important to minimize its impact on our economy," Paulson said after his meeting Monday with U.S. President George Bush.

The aid was possible due to the market’s stability, which allowed the Fed to finance J.P. Morgan in order to purchase Bear Stearns for 2 dollars per share. Paulson also said that it was very important to resolve the matter before the Asian markets opened.

The price of the transaction was 236 million dollars, which was 28 dollars per share less than the price of Bear Stearns shares on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

Being asked for the reason why the Fed's actions for Bear Stearns was a lot more aggressive than other actions taken for homeowners that were facing foreclosure, Paulson said, "I would say, if you would ask Bear Stearns shareholders in terms of what had happened to their value, I don't think any of them would think this is was good for them."

The decision was rather easy to make due to the importance of orderly markets and the stability in the financial field, the US Treasury Secretary declared for the mass media.