Bear Stearns CEO Will Step Down

Add Bear Sterns CEO Jimmy Cayne's to the list of rolling heads in the subprime mortgage market collapse, reports the Wall Street Journal. Cayne, 73, has been the target of board and shareholder angst over the 53% drop in the bank’s stock last year—the largest of any of the big securities firms. He began informing directors yesterday of his decision.

CEO since 1993, Cayne will likely remain chairman as Bear attempts to recover from an $854-million fourth quarter loss. He is expected to be succeeded as CEO by Alan Schwartz, 57, Bear’s current president and a respected dealmaker. Citigroup CEO Charles Prince and Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O'Neal also lost their jobs due to the subprime debacle. (More Bear Stearns stories.)