“Les banquiers américains en touche”

“Les banquiers américains en touche”

… Tel est le titre de la revue de presse de Michel Grossiord sur Europe 1 hier matin (06:47, accessible depuis le site de cette station via iTunes).

Il y est largement fait mention de la duplicité des banques d'affaires US avec, tout particulièrement, Goldmann Sachs – dans la dissimulation et la falsification des chiffres fournis par la Grèce lors de son entrée dans la zone Euro. Et de sa duplicité actuelle, en tant que Banque conseil vs Banque de marché où, dans le premier cas, elle propose de nouveaux crédits à ce pays, tout en jouant les marchés sur une faillite du même état. Apparemment, un article récent du International Herald Tribune évoquerait ce sujet, oh combien intéressant.

“Morbihan”

Note

L’article en question est celui du New York Times (repris par le IHT) du 14 février 2010, de Louise Story, Landon Thomas Jr. et Nelson D. Schwartz, «Wall St. Helped to Mask Debt Fueling Europe’s Crisis». Extraits:

«As worries over Greece rattle world markets, records and interviews show that with Wall Street’s help, the nation engaged in a decade-long effort to skirt European debt limits. One deal created by Goldman Sachs helped obscure billions in debt from the budget overseers in Brussels.

»Even as the crisis was nearing the flashpoint, banks were searching for ways to help Greece forestall the day of reckoning. In early November — three months before Athens became the epicenter of global financial anxiety — a team from Goldman Sachs arrived in the ancient city with a very modern proposition for a government struggling to pay its bills, according to two people who were briefed on the meeting.

»The bankers, led by Goldman’s president, Gary D. Cohn, held out a financing instrument that would have pushed debt from Greece’s health care system far into the future, much as when strapped homeowners take out second mortgages to pay off their credit cards.

»It had worked before. In 2001, just after Greece was admitted to Europe’s monetary union, Goldman helped the government quietly borrow billions, people familiar with the transaction said. That deal, hidden from public view because it was treated as a currency trade rather than a loan, helped Athens to meet Europe’s deficit rules while continuing to spend beyond its means.

»Athens did not pursue the latest Goldman proposal, but with Greece groaning under the weight of its debts and with its richer neighbors vowing to come to its aid, the deals over the last decade are raising questions about Wall Street’s role in the world’s latest financial drama.

»As in the American subprime crisis and the implosion of the American International Group, financial derivatives played a role in the run-up of Greek debt. Instruments developed by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and a wide range of other banks enabled politicians to mask additional borrowing in Greece, Italy and possibly elsewhere…»