The credit crunch has claimed another victim. For the first time in its 84-year history, storied investment bank Bear Stearns recorded a quarterly loss. But Bear Stearns is not alone; America’s biggest banks are being humbled like never before, and America could be losing its place as the world’s financial center.

Bear’s chairman and chief executive, Jimmy Cayne, said he was “obviously upset” with the bank’s $1.9-billion writedown. According to the Telegraph, although the writedown was larger than expected, most investors were pleased that the bank did not need to seek a foreign-financed bailout, which other big U.S. banks have recently opted for.

Since November, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, three of America’s biggest banks, were reduced to seeking foreign-financed bailouts to sustain their normal operations.

In November, Citigroup, America’s largest bank, went cap in hand to the United Arab Emirates government for a bailout. Citigroup had to pay 11 percent interest to attract the state-owned UAE investment fund, which agreed to purchase a 4.9 percent stake. Some analysts referred to the 11 percent interest level as a “loan shark” rate.

Last week, Morgan Stanley petitioned the Chinese government for financing, after posting its own first-ever loss in its 72-year history. The Chinese government purchased a 9.9 percent stake in the troubled bank and will receive 9 percent annual interest for its trouble over the next two and a half years.

On Monday, beleaguered U.S. banking giant Merrill Lynch was also forced to announce that it had sought a financial savior. Temasek Holdings, the Singaporean state-owned fund, agreed to purchase a $4.4 billion chunk of Merrill.

With so many U.S. banks forced to turn to foreign governments for bailouts, Americans should question the solvency of the U.S. financial system. Not only are its big banks faltering, but few U.S. companies are willing or able to invest in them when the investing is good.

Is America losing its place as the center of global finance? When First World banks must go to other countries for loans, it makes you wonder.