Bear Reports EMC Civil Probe

Bear Stearns said in a recent SEC filing that it generated a $115 million net profit in the quarter ended Feb. 29 and indicated that developments in the troubled period since then have included a civil investigation of its EMC Mortgage Corp. unit. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing for the first fiscal quarter, which showed Bear's net income had fallen about 79% on a year-to-year basis, Bear Stearns said it has been cooperating with a March Federal Trade Commission demand for "documents and data relating to EMC's business and servicing practices." The company also said that liquidators of mortgage-related hedge funds named Bear Stearns as a defendant in an April lawsuit. In the fall, Bear had said in a filing that there was a criminal probe of the funds. Bear Stearns can be found online at http://www.bearstearns.com.