Greek Debt Crisis: How Goldman Sachs Helped Greece to Mask its True Debt

Der Spiegel ^ | 02/08/2010 | By Beat Balzli

[SeekAndFind]

Goldman Sachs helped the Greek government to mask the true extent of its deficit with the help of a derivatives deal that legally circumvented the EU Maastricht deficit rules. At some point the so-called cross currency swaps will mature, and swell the country's already bloated deficit.

Greeks aren't very welcome in the Rue Alphones Weicker in Luxembourg. It's home to Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office. The number crunchers there are deeply annoyed with Athens. Investigative reports state that important data "cannot be confirmed" or has been requested but "not received."

Creative accounting took priority when it came to totting up government debt.Since 1999, the Maastricht rules threaten to slap hefty fines on euro member countries that exceed the budget deficit limit of three percent of gross domestic product. Total government debt mustn't exceed 60 percent. The Greeks have never managed to stick to the 60 percent debt limit, and they only adhered to the three percent deficit ceiling with the help of blatant balance sheet cosmetics. One time, gigantic military expenditures were left out, and another time billions in hospital debt. After recalculating the figures, the experts at Eurostat consistently came up with the same results: In truth, the deficit each year has been far greater than the three percent limit. In 2009, it exploded to over 12 percent.

Now, though, it looks like the Greek figure jugglers have been even more brazen than was previously thought. "Around 2002 in particular, various investment banks offered complex financial products with which governments could push part of their liabilities into the future," one insider recalled, adding that Mediterranean countries had snapped up such products.

Greece's debt managers agreed a huge deal with the savvy bankers of US investment bank Goldman Sachs at the start of 2002.

[SeekAndFind]

The article is From 5 years ago. But people forget. It's more relevant now that Greece is in default.

[Starboard]

Mediterranean countries had snapped up such products

Contagion on the horizon?

[Kozak]

EVERYONE knew the Greeks Italians Portugese and Spanish were lying.

[SeekAndFind]

Yet, they all went along with the lie...

They get what they deserve.

[Mariner]

"Yet, they all went along with the lie..."

Many helped tell the lie, for a minor commission.

Sachs probably made $500mil or more on this simple transaction.

And who knows what payoff went to the rating agency for these suspect instruments.

[minnesota_bound]

They got the high interest rate at the beginning and those that were smart sold their position with a big profit.

[TBP]

Goldman Sachs should be closed down.

[masadaman]

In 2008 when the bad mortgage sh!t was hitting the fan, former GS Chairman, then Sec. of Treasury Henry 'Hank" Paulson took a call from Lloyd Blankfein, GS CEO. Blankfein was going to be out $20 billion if AIG failed as it was the insurer of many Goldman bets which went south. To save GS, Paulson forcibly took control of AIG destroying its equity and shareholder base while putting the American taxpayer at risk to save Goldman's butt.

AIG's former Chairman, Maurice 'Hank" Greenberg sued Treasury winning in federal court last week i.e., Treasury was found to have violated of the Constitution's takings provision. But he was refused any compensation by the Court which said basically, "Yeah, the government broke the law and screwed your company and you and its shareholders too , but that 's life."

[TBP]

Let’s let Goldman go under.