By Matthew Russell Lee
NEW YORK, May 3 -- Citibank's senior adviser William Rhodes and Citigroup board member Ernesto Zedillo spoke Tuesday as two of three panelists on sovereign debt, with an emphasis on Greece, at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Both predicted and promoted debt restructuring.
But when Inner City Press asked them to comment on the Greek government's charges against Citigroup trader Paul Moss, who spread buzz about restructuring just before Easter, and to distinguish their presentations from his, Zedillo cut in.
“The gentleman is retired,” he said, gesturing at Rhodes. “I am a board member of Citigroup and I never comment” on the company, Zedillo said, to some audience laughter.
To Paul Moss and many in Greece, of course, it is not so funny.
Moderator Roger Altman had introduced Rhodes in terms of his 53 years at Citigroup and Zedillo as a member of the board of director of Citigroup and Alcoa. The CFR program listed Rhodes as, currently, a Citigroup “senior adviser.”
If after the charges against Citigroup's Paul Moss for spinning Greek debt restructuring these two are going to refuse to answer questions, some wonder, should they be speaking in this way about... Greek debt restructuring?
Their co-panelist Adam Lerrick, helpfully identified as the chairman of Sovereign Debt Solutions Limited offered as solution that weak banks disappear, either acquired by larger ones or “liquidated” -- he called the difference “a matter of indifference.” He accused the International Monetary Fund of “fudging.”
As Inner City Press reported from last month's Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, the IMF is pitching bank mergers, specifically praising the acquisition of Fortis of Belgium by BNP Paribas.
So what of Greece's Hellenic Postbank and ATEbank? Watch this site.
Footnote: Rhodes repeatedly told the audience, you know what I mean, you worked in this during previous debt restructurings. One questioner identified himself as a “creditors' advocate.” We note that Citigroup in Indonesia is charged with a role in the death of a borrower while being interrogated about his Citi credit card debt. Some advocacy, that...
