This week the credit crunch has brought Wall Street yet another new experience: JPMorgan Chase has embarked on an unprecedented campaign on behalf of Bear Stearns’ staff. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chairman and chief executive, is personally writing to rivals and clients asking them to consider former Bear staff who are being sacked after the takeover by JPMorgan. Could this be a template for behaviour as investment banks in New York and London embark on the latest rounds of job cutting?

The move is not soft-hearted but hard-headed. Even if only partly successful, it should play well with the 5,000 or so of the 14,000 Bear employees displaced by the deal. Those who find jobs in Wall Street and surrounds – either as a result of the bank’s efforts or in any event – will be less inclined to bad-mouth JPMorgan for picking up Bear at a bargain price. It may also reduce the severance pay deals and redundancies that JPMorgan must find.