Goldman Sachs (GS) May Take Chinese Money To Pay Back TARP Money

Chinese capital usually makes it way to the US Treasury when the communist central government buys American debt. It is the most direct route, but clearly not the only one.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs (GS) may sell part of its 4.9% stake in the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China  for $1 billion, and will presumably use that money to as part of a payment to give the federal government back all the TARP money the US investment bank took last year.

Or Goldman may just keep the money. It may have concerns about the nature of its Chinese investment. The Journal writes one person familiar with the matter said Goldman’s move to reduce its ICBC stake is motivated by a desire to curb a “concentrated” position that hasn’t been hedged because of the terms of its initial agreement with the Chinese bank.

Douglas A. McIntyre