The rescue of Bear Stearns faced further scrutiny in Congress on Tuesday as a powerful Democratic lawmaker demanded more information on the selection of BlackRock as investment manager for $30bn in the bank’s mortgage assets. 

A key element of the takeover of Bear by JPMorgan Chase was the quick decision to bring in BlackRock, a New York-based asset management firm run by Laurence Fink, as a portfolio adviser for the $30bn (£15bn) of mortgage assets, which will be used as collateral for a $29bn loan from the Federal Reserve. BlackRock and the Fed agreed to determine the fee for the arrangement at a later date.