Reply #29: Right, no connection at all.

[PassingFair]

"Greece made a huge deal with Goldman Sachs in 2002 for cross-currency swaps in which government debt issued in dollars and yen was swapped for euro debt for a certain period, to be exchanged back into the original currencies at a later date. These transactions are not contrary to the current E.U. rules per se, as they are actually part of normal government refinancing. However, in the Greek case the bankers created a special kind of swap with fictional exchange rates. That enabled Greece to receive a far higher sum than the actual euro market value of ten billion dollars or yen. In that way Goldman Sachs managed to arrange an additional credit of up to one billion dollars for the Greek government. This credit, disguised as a swap, did not appear in the Greek debt statistics.<17>

Ben S. Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman, said the U.S. Central Bank is reviewing derivatives contracts arranged between Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and investment banks with Greece.<18> It remains to be seen if, in the near future, E.U. officials will amend their legislation to crack down on swap transactions that might be used to mask real financial situations."