Goldman Sachs: Advisors to the Kremlin

How juicy this news report is. Imagine, Goldman Sachs has finally found its niche! Of course, those dictators in Russia can identify a fellow traveler when they see one. They understand about putting people in high places where they can then work to subvert the rules that run a system fairly. They know that banks prefer totalitarian governments that are stable, unregulated and not necessarily ethical rather than those messy democracies that make rules and regulations in order to protect the public. (See Max Keiser's report here.)

Putin probably admires a bank that knows how to create exotic (junk) derivatives which can be fraudulently rated as safe and then sold to unsuspecting pension and savings funds. He surely knows how to manipulate the system and must view with pride GS's maneuvering of markets and manipulating of products so that they are on the winning side no matter which side their bet is on. Yes, indeed, this is a marriage made in heaven.

Jamie Dimon And Lloyd Blankfein Are Now Advising The Kremlin
by Katya Wachtel - The Business Insider

The Kremlin is desperate to turn Moscow into a throbbing global financial center, but they need some help to do it.

Right now Moscow is ranked 68th out of 75 cities in the Global Financial Centers Index, says Bloomberg.

So who have they asked for some help? Pretty much every bank chief from another global financial center: Wall Street.

Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon and Vikram Pandit have all just been recruited by the Kremlin to advise Russia on how to turn Moscow into a finance hub, Bloomberg reports.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev announced 27 people in total to be part of the group. Apart from the Goldman, JP Morgan and Citi chiefs, BofA's Brian Moynihan was also asked, and so was Blackstone head Steve Schwarzman.

Even though it looks like Russia pretty much asked any American bank CEO to join the project, there's one name noticeably absent: Morgan Stanley's Jim Gorman.

What's weirder is that the ex-CEO (and current Chairman) John Mack, was asked to help out. Awkward.

Russia wants to "lessen its dependence on natural resources by promoting “innovative” technologies, selling state assets and creating a “special sovereign” fund to attract foreign capital," Medvedev said. And he wants American bankers to help create the legal and physical infrastructure required to "lure financial flows to the Russian capital."

“We believe it is very important to participate in the committees advising President Medvedev on how to transform Moscow into a financial center,” said Dimitri Agishev, a Deutsche Bank spokesman, in an e-mailed statement. Russia continues to be a key market with ample opportunities.”

Read the full article here