Julio Borges, the opposition lawmaker who heads the National Assembly, wrote a letter of protest to Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive
of Goldman Sachs, accusing the Wall Street firm of looking to make a “quick buck off the suffering of the Venezuelan people.”
Goldman Sachs has defended the deal, saying that many other investors, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, own the bonds and
that its asset management division bought the securities on the secondary market, without interacting with the Venezuelan government.
Mr. de Sousa also points out that unlike pure sovereign bonds issued by the government, Pdvsa securities lack legal mechanisms, like collective
action clauses, which can help a government negotiate favorable terms with foreign bond holders if it defaults on its debt.
As investors see it, if you can buy a Pdvsa bond at 30 cents on the dollar, which also provides a double-digit yield, even if this
government — or another for than matter — has to default, the gains made on the investment would be enough to overcome any loss
Goldman Buys $2.8 Billion Worth of Venezuelan Bonds, and an Uproar Begins -
By LANDON THOMAS Jr. MAY 30, 2017
Venezuelan bonds would seem to be an unlikely target for global investors.
That is because global investment giants like BlackRock
and Goldman have become ready sources of financing, quick to lend billions in dollars or even local currencies, to governments in Africa, Latin America and Asia that in the past relied on banks.
