Merrill was dying to clear Long-Term’s trades, but Long-Term refused, because it got this service from Bear Stearns, where J.M. had a friend, Vincent Mattone, who had formerly been with Salomon. Clearing brokers perform many vital functions, such as record keeping and settling trades. Though clearing is usually a lucrative business, Bear had agreed to give Long-Term attractive terms because it, too, hoped to get more of Long-Term’s trading business. Bear also lent money to six or seven of the partners so they could raise their personal investments in the fund. However, Long-Term quickly discovered that Bear could not be pushed around.