加里•科恩:给高盛帮倒忙的“高盛系”官员

When Robert Rubin resigned as co-head of Goldman Sachs to join Bill Clinton’s White House in 1993, he found “a sort of rugby scrum to get up close to the president” in the Oval Office. Mr Rubin sat at a discreet distance: “I always liked to be away from the centre,” he wrote in his autobiography.

1993年，当罗伯特?鲁宾(Robert Rubin)辞去高盛(Goldman Sachs)联合首席执行官的职位，加盟比尔?克林顿(Bill Clinton)领导的白宫时，他发现在白宫总统办公室“人们都争先恐后地试图接近总统”。鲁宾坐在不显眼的远处：“我总是想远离中心，”他在自传中写道。

Gary Cohn, who has made the same move from Goldman to become director of Donald Trump’s National Economic Council, has no such reticence. He stood at Mr Trump’s shoulder as the president declared his determination to scythe back financial regulation and stimulate more lending by banks.

同样告别高盛、出任唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)的国家经济委员会(National Economic Council)主席的加里?科恩(Gary Cohn)，却没有这么含蓄。在特朗普宣告决心砍掉金融监管，刺激银行扩大放贷时，他肩并肩站在特朗普身边。

The stock mArket loved their promise to ditch the “over-regulation” of the Dodd-Frank Act. In case the message was not clear, Mr Cohn contested a supportive suggestion by Maria Bartiromo, the Fox Business presenter, that it was chiefly aimed at small banks. “Maria, I’m saying all banks have been shackled by these rules. Big banks, small banks, medium-sized banks.”

股市喜欢他们承诺的废止《多德-弗兰克法》(Dodd-Frank Act)的“过度监管”。生怕话说得不够明白，科恩对福克斯商业频道(Fox Business)主持人玛丽亚?巴蒂罗姆(Maria Bartiromo)作出的支持性表示（称其主要针对小银行）提出异议。“玛丽亚，我说的是所有银行都受到了这些规则的束缚。大银行、小银行，中型银行。”

Goldman’s shares have risen by 37 per cent since Mr Trump’s election, reaching a record high this week. Investors expect it and other banks to return billions in capital to shareholders after the rollback — Morgan Stanley estimates that Goldman has $14bn in “excess capital”. But Mr Cohn has done nothing for Goldman’s reputation.

自特朗普当选以来，高盛股价已累计上涨37%，上周达到创纪录高点。投资者预测，在逆转监管改革后，高盛以及其他银行将把巨额资本返还股东；摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)估计，高盛拥有140亿美元的“过剩资本”。但科恩对高盛的声誉没有做出积极贡献。

There is a long tradition of Goldman executives moving into government after earning their fortunes. Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman partner, became US Treasury secretary this week, joining alumni such as Mr Rubin and Hank Paulson. Not for nothing is the investment bank sometimes known as “Government Sachs”.

高盛高管在获得巨额财富后进入政府任职，堪称一个长期传统。高盛前合伙人史蒂芬?姆努钦(Steven Mnuchin)上周成为美国财长，加入高盛系前辈鲁宾和汉克?保尔森(Hank Paulson)等人的行列。这家投行有时被称为“高盛政府”是不无道理的。

The principle is supposed to be that they are wealthy enough to put aside worldly things and dedicate themselves to public service. The idea is not for them to transfer from making money to making it easier for Goldman to make money. That is not how it should work, nor how it should look.

其中的原则理应是：这些人足够富有了，他们会抛开俗念，献身公职。其构想并不是让他们从赚钱变成让高盛更容易赚钱。这个传统不应该这样运作，也不应该给人以这样的印象。

In many ways, I hope that Mr Trump sticks with Mr Cohn since he is one of the least threatening figures in the administration. He is a pragmatic globalist who could temper the president’s inclination towards protectionism and conflict. I would take him in a heartbeat over Steve Bannon, the Goldman alumnus who is the president’s chief strategist and provocateur.

从很多方面来讲，我希望特朗普坚持重用科恩，因为他是特朗普政府内危害最小的人物之一。他是一位务实的全球主义者，有望缓和总统的保护主义和冲突倾向。我毫不犹豫地认为，他至少比另一位高盛系人士、总统的首席策略师和“煽动者”斯蒂夫?班农(Steve Bannon)更有水平。

Mr Cohn honestly believes in regulatory reform and was the most senior economic figure in place before Mr Mnuchin’s confirmation (although that only reinforces Goldman’s presence). His sin is tactlessness, not corruption: unlike Mr Rubin, he is relentless, restless and happiest at the front.

科恩真诚地相信监管改革，并且是姆努钦获得确认之前最高级的经济官员（尽管这只是强化了高盛的影响力）。他的罪过是不老练，而非腐败：与鲁宾不同，他冲在前面，坚持不懈、斗志昂扬而且乐此不彼。

It shows, though, how hard it is getting for Goldman to straddle the boundary between Wall Street and the White House. When Mr Rubin made the move, few people outside finance had heard of the bank, and he could remain obscure with relative ease. His first task as NEC director was to persuade Mr Clinton to reduce the fiscal deficit, not to curb financial regulation.

然而，这表明高盛要跨越华尔街和白宫之间的界限有多难。在鲁宾进入政府任职的那个年代，在金融界以外几乎无人听说过这家银行，他可以相对容易地躲在幕后。他担任国家经济委员会主席的首个任务是说服克林顿削减财政赤字，而不是限制金融监管。

There were signs then of how changes in finance would alter politics. “Many people might have been surprised to see a group of Democrats sitting around a table in Arkansas talking about the international bond market,” Mr Rubin wrote. Capital markets were taking the place of bank lending and Wall Street was moving to centre stage.

当时有迹象表明，金融行业的变革将改变政治格局。鲁宾写道：“很多人可能会感到意外的一幕是，一群民主党人围坐在阿肯色州的桌旁讨论国际债券市场。”那时，资本市场正取代银行放贷，华尔街正走向舞台中央。

Wall Street became Mr Paulson’s main challenge 15 years later: he was confronted by the 2008 crisis and found himself having to prop up investment banks. He was forced to gain a waiver from an ethics agreement he had signed on becoming Treasury secretary not to get involved in any transaction “particular to Goldman Sachs”.

15年后，华尔街成为保尔森的主要挑战：他遭遇2008年金融危机，发现自己必须支撑多家投行。他被迫从自己在出任财长时签署的一份道德协议获得豁免，该协议规定他不参与“与高盛有关”的任何交易。

The smooth functioning of capital markets is now vital and having someone at hand who knows them is crucial in the the world passed on by Mr Rubin, Mr Paulson and the presidents they served. This, as much as personality, led to Mr Cohn’s prominence.

如今，在这个由鲁宾、保尔森和他们所效力的总统留下的世界里，资本市场的平稳运行至关重要，具备一位了解资本市场的人极为关键。这一点，再加上个性，让科恩崭露头角。

Presidents have good reason to call on Goldman. They can get the boss — or second-in-command in Mr Cohn’s case — of a global financial institution to turn politics into economics. Mr Cohn holds sway because he was a tough, effective leader at Goldman: he is versed in what to do and how to get it done.

美国总统延揽高盛系人士是有很好理由的。他们可以得到一家全球金融机构的一把手（科恩是二把手），由其把政治问题转化为经济课题。科恩举足轻重的原因是他在高盛是一位坚韧高效的领导人：他深谙该做什么，以及怎么做。

But it is becoming awkward for Goldman. Having former executives in governments and central banks around the world is useful, as is the prospect of looser regulation. Being visible at the helm is embarrassing, especially when executive power is clearly being used to Wall Street’s benefit.

但这对高盛来说正变得难堪。有前任高管在政府和全球央行任职是有好处的，放松监管的前景也是好事。引人注目的“掌舵”位置则令人尴尬，特别是在行政权显然正被用来造福于华尔街的时候。

Mr Trump exploited Goldman as a target for populist resentment in his campaign, railing that Hillary Clinton’s speeches for the bank showed the need to “drain the swamp” in Washington. He forgot it when elected, but the complaint worked and his conduct since lends it even sharper potential.

特朗普曾在竞选期间把高盛当作民粹主义泄怒的对象，振振有词地说，希拉里?克林顿(Hillary Clinton)应邀为高盛发表演讲证明，有必要在华盛顿“抽干沼泽”。他在当选后忘记了这件事，但他的抱怨起到了作用，而他当选以来的所作所为使这个问题更加突出。

Goldman’s tradition of public service is not illusory: many former partners have governed impartially and some, including Gary Gensler, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, have been notably tough regulators. But appearances matter and Mr Cohn’s place by Mr Trump’s side did his old firm no favours.

高盛高管担任公职的传统并非虚幻：很多前合伙人在政府任职期间公正不阿，一些人（包括美国商品期货交易委员会(CFTC)前主席加里?詹斯勒(Gary Gensler)）成为了特别强硬的监管者。但形象很重要，科恩与特朗普肩并肩对他的老东家没有任何帮助。