Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein has also a big question to answer us Venezuelans.

Sir, Brooke Masters writes that when “Sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations it had misled clients about mortgage-backed securities… Lloyd Blankfein… launched a top-to-bottom cultural review and spent 18 months visiting clients to reassure them that Goldman had got the message on ethics.” “Goldman Sachs has big questions to answer” November 7.

So Masters rightly asks so what happened as “Last week, the US Department of Justice revealed that two former senior Goldman bankers had been criminally charged with helping to loot 1MDB, a Malaysian state investment fund that authorities allege was victim of one of the biggest frauds of all time.”

Sir, I have my own question. After Mr Blankfein’s much-touted ethics revamp in 2011, what on earth was he doing lending, in May 2017, to a notoriously human rights violating odious regime, namely Venezuela’s Maduro’s?

In fact, as I see it, corrupting not some government official but the regime itself, by offering fresh money in return for the possibility of huge returns, sounds to me as something quite punishable by US’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

We are now in November 2018, and Mr Blankfein has not found it within himself to yet utter the smallest “Venezuelans, I am so sorry”

Sir, what kind of elite do we have when a Lloyd Blankfein still gets invited to all kind of academic and social engagements?

@PerKurowski

The risk premiums for a suspect of human rights violating nation will increase, which, sadly, will also attract investors

Sir, Gillian Tett, with respect to how business should or could behave in cases of human rights violations, like that of Khashoggi, if confirmed, writes: “since western businesses are scrambling to maintain their investments there at a time of rising Sino-American tensions. “What will we do the next time that the Chinese toss dissidents in jail or clamp down on local journalists?” asks one chief executive. The answer is not clear.” “The Khashoggi case puts US businesses in a moral bind”, October 19.

How much has the risk premiums required by anyone wanting to invest in Saudi Arabia gone up after the Khashoggi incident, and after how Saudi Arabia reacted against Canada when its Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted concerns about the news that several social activists had been arrested in Saudi Arabia? These must have increased a lot, and an initial public offering of the Saudi oil giant Aramco is rumored cancelled.

That costs of course the human rights violating nation a lot… but those higher risk premiums also attract… as we can notice when a Goldman Sachs finances a notorious human rights violating regime like Venezuela’s Maduro’s.

The answer to the chief executive’s what to do question, should have to include “what our shareholders have mandated us”. Unfortunately too many shareholders also turn a blind eye to ugly realities, when for instance a Goldman Sachs announces record returns on equity.

What do we lack? Perhaps the will of a responsible elite that is willing to shame those who behave in a disgraceful manner, in a completely apolitical way. We need a society whose members would not invite Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein to have tea at their homes. 

Sir, I have not been able to find the reference to it on the web but, some years ago, in Swedish television, I remember having heard something about a Swedish king who said he feared more the opinions of Stockholm’s high societies ladies than Russia. 

@PerKurowski

True elite should fight odious polarization and not allow itself to be painted into a corner by the neo-parochialism of political correctness.

Sir, Rana Foroohar writes: “there’s research to show that elites are less likely to part with their biases than the ordinary person. This is probably because they believe themselves to be better educated and informed than the masses, which may well be true. “The elites are ignoring deglobalisation” August 15.

If we include bank regulators as part of the elite (they would hate it if we don’t), these do indeed find it very hard to part with their biases. It is sad because they’ve gotten it totally wrong.

You ask them: Why do you want banks to hold more capital against what is especially dangerous for our bank system because it is perceived or decreed as safe, than against what is perceived risky and therefore poses no threat? Their eyes glaze over and they never answer, except for when they make it as if they’ve heard a coTmplete different question.

The direct consequence of those risk weighted bank capital requirements is plain awful. It only guarantees, especially large exposures, to what’s perceived as especially safe, against especially little capital, dooming our bank systems to especially severe crises. 

Forrohar asks: What is the next big thing the global elite is missing?

My answer would be it is missing out way too much on how polarization and redistribution profiteering, among other empowered by low cost and far reaching social media, is creating odious social divisions that will tear it to pieces.

What could de elite do? To begin with, find ways to restrict those peddling opinions for money (donations). Whenever something exploitable in terms of polarization happens, my inbox is swamped by donation requests to allow the favored anti-devil-champion of turn to enter into battle and save us.

Recently Lawrence Summers in “I discovered the rest of America on my summer holiday” described America’s small communities’ parochialism with “The conversations we overheard hewed close to local matters.”

In the discussion of the article on the web I commented “Political correctness, that which only allows focusing on small-predefined sections of an issue, rather than allowing considering its wider context, is a living example of a neo-parochialism you find in universities and big cosmopolitan cities”

Sir, a true elite does not allow itself to be painted into a corner by political correctness.

Red and blue, or, red or blue

@PerKurowski

Martin Wolf, a country needs its elites to inspire much more the “possible” than to preach the “impossible”.

Sir, in “Way back Home”, about his World War II days, we hear Rod Stewart singing: “we always kept the laughter and the smile upon our face. In that good-old-fashion British way with pride and faultless grace”.

And then we read Martin Wolf, reciting six impossible, not one possible, and ending with: “The EU holds the cards and it knows it holds the cards…The UK is no longer its 19th-century self, but a second-rank power in decline”, “Six impossible notions about ‘global Britain’’ November 31.

How utterly depressing!

We saw when Holland got smacked with the Dutch disease, and instead of just taking it laying down, they forgot about manufacturing, and decided to become the distributors of Europe… (at least that is the version I have been told)

Just days ago, November 29, in “Challenges of a disembodied economy” Martin Wolf discussing Jonathan Haskel’s and Stian Westlake “Capitalism without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy” was illustrating the huge changes the world was going through, when for instance “Apple, the world’s most valuable company, owns virtually no physical assets. It is its intangible assets — integration of design and software into a brand — that create value.” In such a new world, is really the UK dependence on EU the same as previously seen? Does anyone really know what cards one holds nowadays? 

The day after Brexit, Britain will not be very different from EU, it will mostly be sharing the same old and new problems as EU and, unless Britain decides that is not to happen, there is nothing that eliminates the possibility of Britain’s relations with EU being more intensive and better than ever. A divorce, though it might be traumatic, does not mean the divorcees cannot get along splendidly.

Does that mean the Brexit road is easy rosy? Of course not, but there is a vital need for Britain, and for Wolf, to stop lamenting so much, and get down to work at doing the best, not out a bad situation, but out of an for everyone unknown situation.

Like when Rod Stewart’s song ends with hearing Churchill reciting: "We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." 

PS. To begin with you should reverse having surrendered your banks to dangerous risk aversion, and eliminate the loony risk weighted capital requirements for banks. 

@PerKurowski

How does the social sanctioning of Maduro’s financiers compare to that of Trump’s bad taste Joe/Mika tweet?

Sir, John Paul Rathbone in reference to the helicopter event in Venezuela writes: in “a plot twist barely worthy of a B-movie… whatever actually happened, one thing is clear: Mr Maduro, nearly half of whose cabinet members are generals, now has an excuse to repress more.” “Venezuela’s B-movie drama is moving from farce into tragedy” June 30.

Really, is that an excuse? Really, do you think anyone declaring: “If we cannot win with votes we will win with weapons” (which is what Maduro really said) need an excuse?

Sir, and let us be more precise. Venezuela moved from farce (if ever it was a farce) to tragedy a long time ago. Just ask the 2 million, out of 32, who had already have had to migrate to foreign lands, abandoning friends and family.

There is currently an incredible amount of social sanctioning of Donald Trump because of his “Psycho Joe” – “Crazy Mika” tweet. Rightly so, but Trump’s bad taste tweet represented no crime against humanity and, when compared to Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, he is clearly more of a Church Boy.

So, comparatively speaking there has been extraordinary little sanction of those who, incapable of resisting juicy margins, finance the Maduro government, like Goldman Sachs. For instance, how many have closed out their accounts at Goldman Sachs or how many have disinvited Lloyd Blankfein from a social event?

Sir, when an elite becomes incapable of sanctioning one of its own, reality will come back and bite it.

PS. Watching my inbox fill up with solicitations of donations in order to fight Trump, every time he puts his foot in the mouth, which should indicate these mess-ups are strong motivators, indicates some could have a deep love-hate relationship with him.

PS. Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein. Want to see how your client Maduro teargasses young Venezuelans in a closed truck?

@PerKurowski

Martin Wolf, what do we call those who exploit elites’ intellectual laziness? Aren’t they also demagogues?

Sir, I refer to Martin Wolf’s “Democrats, demagogues and despots”, December 21.

If a demagogue is “a leader in a democracy who gains popularity by exploiting prejudice and ignorance among the common people, whipping up the passions of the crowd and shutting down reasoned deliberation”, what do we call those that though with more discretion and elegance, do the same among the elite?

In this case I refer directly to those who promise: “We will make the banks safe, because we will force these to hold more capital against what is perceived as risky than against what is perceived as safe”, and are then believed, by for instance many prestigious columnists.

Is that not exploiting a prejudice against those who anyhow, precisely because they are perceived ex ante as risky, already find it harder and more expensive to access bank credit, and therefore pose no major risks ex post to banks?

Is that not exploiting a prejudice in favor of those who anyhow, precisely because they are perceived ex ante as safe, already find it easier and less expensive to access bank credit, and could therefore really pose major risks ex post to banks?

Is that not exploiting the ignorance or naiveté of those who believe regulators could make banks safe without affecting their social purpose of allocating credit efficiently to the real economy?

Of course technocratic demagogues do not operate within any type of democracy, far from it, most often mumbo jumbo and research papers suffices to impress. And of course they are no despots, at least not wittingly.

Like Martin Wolf I do feel very uncomfortable with recent developments. Clearly Brexit needed not to be, and Trump does not fit the profile of what we have grown accustomed to at least hope for as that of a president in the USA.

But the elite must accept it is very much responsible for what is happening. Just for a starter it has allowed many technocratic tribes, like in Brussels and Basel, to operate unencumbered for way too long. It would seem the “elite” has relinquished its responsibilities and now prefers to live in the comfort of blissful ignorance.

If in doubt, just see the difficulties I have had trying to get straight answers to some very basic questions.

The world is under the siege by growing environmental problems, by robots taking jobs, by fake news because truth is not competitive enough, by terrorism and growing violence, by crony statism, by facing excessive debts everywhere… and by much more. Sir, where is your elite?

@PerKurowski

In the midst of the Venezuelan pandemonium, is not selling petrol at less than $2 cents a liter a crime?

Sir, Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez, describing Venezuela’s current plight writes: “Food and medicine are scarce. Anemic oil prices and a heavy debt load leave scant foreign exchange for the import sector. “Venezuela sets the stage for a chaotic and tragic exit” May 30.

What’s worse, within the pandemonium, few react to that petrol, even after it was raised a 6.000 percent in February this year, is still being sold at less than $2 cents per liter. Perhaps the most serious problem in Venezuela is not Maduro, but the lack of a responsible elite, that is willing to speak up on what is wrong and right.

If the price of petrol sold domestically was raised to its world value, and the resulting revenues all paid out in cash, to all citizens, that could provide them with what they might need to cover the basic food needs. And, to top it up, that would free a lot of petrol for exports.

I myself have tried for long to have the Organization of American States to look into if whether giving away petrol almost for free, while there is lack of food and medicines, does not qualify as an economic crime against humanity. Seemingly OAS/OEA prefer to look the other way.

@PerKurowski ©

Martin Wolf should be careful throwing stones at “short-sighted elites”. He is part of it.

Sir, Martin Wolf writes of the “failings of short-sighted elites” “An elite at the mercy of its own creation” May 17.

I fully share the serious concerns Wolf expresses, though I do believe he points the finger way too much at the Republican elite, forgetting that it really takes two to tango.

But, that said, when it comes to blaming short-sighted elites, I must point out that Wolf himself should be very careful with throwing stones

Banks are currently required to hold more capital against what is perceived as risky than against what is perceived, decreed (sovereigns) or concocted (AAA securities) as safe. And that allows banks to leverage more their equity with what is safe than with what is risky. And so that allows banks to earn higher risk adjusted returns on equity with what is “safe” than with what is “risky”.

That sets up the banks to dangerously overpopulate existing safe havens; and that stops banks from exploring risky bays where new sources of growth and job opportunities for the next generation could be found. And if that is not short-sighted what is?

And Martin Wolf, one who we can guess considers himself as part of the elite, has preferred to ignore or to keep mum on the dumb credit risk aversion of the absolutely useless bank regulators hauled up in the Basel Committee.

Had Wolf helped to point out the dangers of such shortsighted regulations; the QEs and other such stimulus would not have been so wasted; the economy could evidence some signs of hope; and so there could be much less of that discontentment that facilitates the job of demagogues.

PS. In case Martin Wolf needs a refresher on Basel madness this aide memoire might be helpful

@PerKurowski ©

But what if the elite does not possess the necessary qualifications to function as an elite?

Sir, it is interesting how Martin Wolf, as FT`s leading economic commentator a part of the elite, is able to distance himself from the elite in order to recommend to the elite what to do. “Bring the elites closer to the people” February 3.

Wolf suggest for example: “capitalism must be kept competitive… One response is to promote competition ruthlessly. This will require determined action”.

Indeed, but yet Wolf has steadfastly refused to object current bank regulations that clearly curtail, more than what is usual, the capacity of those perceived as “risky”, like SMEs and entrepreneurs, to compete for bank credit in fair terms.

During soon three decades the pillar of bank regulations have been the risk weighted capital requirements for banks. What kind of crazy elite could feel so empowered so as to dare introduce regulations that utterly distort the allocation of bank credit to the real economy? And, to top it up, base it on one of the few risks that are already cleared for by banks? And, to top it up, base it on the risk of the assets of the banks, and not on the risks that banks cannot manage the risk of their assets?

The regulators, in Basel II, set the risk weight for ‘prime’ AAA rated assets at 20 percent, and at 150 percent for ‘highly speculative’ below BB- rated assets. I just ask again, for the umpteenth time, what have we done to deserve regulators who believe that what is ex ante perceived as so risky is more dangerous to banks than what is perceived as so safe?

In Basel I they set the risk weight of sovereign at zero percent and that of the private sector at 100 percent. And I just ask again, for the umpteenth time, what have we done to deserve regulators who impose such statism through the backdoor?

Wolf writes: “The governance of complex modern societies requires technical knowledge” — and he mentions that a Republican candidate has been described as a “mountebank”. I don’t know about that but “mountebank”… charlatan, is a term quite applicable to the members of the bank regulatory elite… and to their little helpers and defenders.

Sir, an elite that acts like members of a mutual admiration club, is a totally useless elite. The elite, in order to fulfill its functions, needs to be able to socially sanction its members.

PS. At this moment, when clearly it is important to find ways to fight growing inequality, it is also the responsibility of the elite to make sure that endeavor is not commanded and carried out by some redistribution profiteers… which would just make it all much worse… as we Venezuelans can testify.

@PerKurowski ©