Ren Pingsheng and Jiang Qiurong met Gary Cohn, president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, in a spacious and luxurious office at Goldman Sachs' headquarters on Wall Street.

This is a bald man who is more than 1.9 meters tall and weighs nearly 200 pounds, with a ruddy and fleshy face, a long nose with fleshy tips, and a broad chin like a wrestler.

Although Cohen's appearance and conversation seem to be quite different from the usual style of Wall Street bankers, and he seems to be a guy who wins by brute force, Ren Pingsheng can see from his Jew-specific eyes that this person is extremely shrewd and cunning.

Cohen was born into a Jewish immigrant family in the Cleveland suburb of Ohio, where his father was an electrician who had little patience for his children. When Cohen was diagnosed with dyslexia at a very young age, one of his teachers once told Cohen's parents that if they were lucky and nurtured, their son might grow up to be a truck driver.

After graduating from American University, Cohen was fortunate enough to get a job selling window frames at U.S. Steel in his hometown, but that wasn't his ambition. Through his own efforts, he went to Wall Street to find a position as a trader, completely self-taught to learn the necessary financial knowledge of Wall Street, and through his own trading achievements step by step to Goldman Sachs, became a partner in 1994, was appointed president in 2006, became the deputy of Goldman Sachs CEO Frank Fan, and is currently the second person in Goldman Sachs.

Legend has it that Gary Cohen, nicknamed "Bison" on Wall Street, is known for his blunt and arrogant work attitude, and also describes his style of acting in the financial markets.

However, when this big man received Ren Pingsheng's visit, he behaved mildly and politely, and was very personable.

However, it is no wonder that Goldman Sachs Group has made a lot of profits in the listing of Universal Games, not only did they get a 4% financing commission in accordance with industry rules, and earned nearly $50 million in commissions from Universal Games, but also oversubscribed 12 million shares of Universal Games ADS, which has made a floating profit of 40% within a few days of listing.

In the eyes of investment banks, high-quality listed companies like Universal Games are their money jars.

And Ren Pingsheng is their God of Wealth.

You have to respect the God of Wealth who sends you money.

What's more, the Goldman Sachs Group, which has always been known for its long-sleeved dancing, will naturally not let go of any opportunity to grab wealth.

After a simple greeting, Ren Pingsheng directly stated the purpose of his visit.

Cohen's huge body sat in his comfortable executive chair, and said with a relaxed expression:

"No problem, Goldman Sachs' job is to close every deal and serve every powerful investor, as long as you are willing to pay the corresponding commissions and fees. ”

Speaking of this, a proud smile appeared on the Jew's long face.

"Of course, Goldman Sachs' commissions are higher than those of other investment banks, because our services are not comparable to other investment banks. ”

As the president of Goldman Sachs, Cohen certainly has a reason and confidence to say so.

Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is one of the oldest and largest investment banks in the world, providing a wide range of investment, advisory and financial services to the world, with a large number of multi-industry clients, including private companies, financial enterprises, government agencies and individuals. Goldman Sachs Group's 2007 profit reached $11.5 billion, ranking 61st on the Fortune Global 500.

Compared with Citigroup and ****, which are full-service banking groups, Goldman Sachs, as an investment bank, stopped its personal business early and focused on high-profit investment banking business and securities proprietary trading. Goldman Sachs' proprietary trading has always been ahead of all its competitors, and has been controversial for its professional, rational, and ruthless work style, with the media once deriding Goldman Sachs as "a giant vampire squid that mercilessly wraps its tentacles around the face of man." ”

Not only that, but the biggest difference between Goldman Sachs and its Wall Street counterparts is its relationship with the government. Goldman Sachs is a model for the global financial industry in maintaining and structuring government relations, and since US President Roosevelt appointed Sidney Weinberg, the head of Goldman Sachs, as assistant chairman of the Wartime Production Committee during World War II, Goldman Sachs has been indispensable in the composition of successive US administrations.

During this period, Goldman Sachs produced 2 US Treasury ministers, 1 European Central Bank president, and 1 World Bank president, all of whom are well-known figures in the economic circles, and even the current Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson was transferred from the position of CEO of Goldman Sachs Group. Goldman Sachs' tradition of close integration with American politics and its high degree of penetration into American financial politics have been met with mixed reviews from the outside world, and some people even call it the "Goldman Sachs administration".

Ren Pingsheng has a deep understanding of the history and current situation of Goldman Sachs, so he smiled slightly:

"I want the best service, which is why I choose Goldman Sachs. ”

Cohen had a satisfied smile on his face, and he spread his hands and said:

"OK, Mr. Ren, what kind of service do you want. ”

Ren Pingsheng glanced at Jiang Qiurong, and she immediately took out an investment plan from the briefcase she was carrying and handed it to Cohen opposite.

This investment plan was formulated by Jiang Qiurong in accordance with Ren Pingsheng's instructions.

The plan is divided into two main parts:

The first part is the CDS deal, KLC (King's Landing Capital) will invest $1 billion to buy $12 billion of BBB-rated CDS products through Goldman Sachs. The deal does not require an immediate payment of $12 billion, but an annual payment of $12 billion in 1% premiums, $120 million, and the remainder of the $1 billion can be deposited in the bank for 5% interest, or $44 million in interest, before it is paid, so that only $76 million will be spent in the first year.

The second part is short US stock trading, KLC (King's Landing Capital) will invest 400 million US dollars to seek 20 times leveraged financing from Goldman Sachs, mainly short targets for AIG (American International Group) and Citibank. At the current market trading price, buy 60,000 AIG short options (unit price 900 US dollars per share, 1 share for 100 shares) and buy 86,000 short options on Citibank (unit price 300 US dollars per share, 1 share for 100 shares).

According to the rules of the industry, Goldman Sachs charges a 5% commission for CDS transactions, that is, 50 million US dollars, and a 3% option premium for leveraged option transactions, that is, 240 million US dollars.

Transactions of this amount and scale are very rare, even on Wall Street.

Cohen looked at the plan in his hand, and his muscular face also showed a complicated expression, and he frowned and said:

"There is no problem with the transaction itself, with your strength and credit, Mr. Ren, we can also provide financing leverage. It's just that, from the professional standpoint of investment banking, I would like to ask one more question. ”

Ren Pingsheng nodded with a relaxed expression in approval.

Cohen crossed his hands, and the pair of eyes under his bare head projected a falcon-like light, and looked at Ren Pingsheng and said:

"Why are you shorting the United States?"

Ren Pingsheng looked intently at this Wall Street financial tycoon nicknamed Bison, the sharp light in his eyes was not inferior at all, and he asked rhetorically:

"What would you do if you saw that the house on the side of the road had started to catch fire?"

Cohen's pupils began to contract, and it was obvious that Ren Pingsheng's question caused him to think, he thought about it, and replied cautiously:

"If it were me, I would make an assessment of the value of the house, see if it was possible to salvage it, or if there were any valuables that had not been taken out, and then see what the fire situation was, and then make a decision. ”

Ren Pingsheng laughed three times, waved his hand and said:

"No, that's not what you really think. ”

Although he was denied by Ren Pingsheng in person, Cohen did not get angry, but showed a sly look and asked:

"Do you know what I'm really thinking?"

The smile on Ren Pingsheng's face quickly converged, and he straightened his body and said:

"If it were you, you'd rush into the burning house, take the most valuable thing, wait for the whole house to burn down, and then claim compensation from the insurance company. ”

Cohen's pupils contracted deeper, but Ren Pingsheng's voice was still low and powerful, and he said loudly:

"That's Goldman Sachs' style. ”

After listening to Ren Pingsheng's words, Cohen silently looked at the expressionless face in front of him for a long time, this is a very young Asian face, but it is not as restrained as the Asian he has seen before, but full of confidence and aggression.

Although it was only the first time they met, Cohen felt that the young man had the temperament of a Wall Street investor, and that they were all equally ambitious and ruthless.

Cohen felt he needed to reevaluate the young man in front of him and rethink the deal.

The atmosphere in the office was cold, but the three people in it had their own characteristics.

Cohen is as imposing as a mountain, Jiang Qiurong is as unintelligible as a breeze, and Ren Pingsheng is as inscrutable as a deep ocean.

Although these three forces are different, they form a rivalry with each other, and they will not change much for a while.

After a long time, Cohen picked up the plan again, looked at it a few times, and said slowly:

"There is no problem with the trading operation of buying short options, but Mr. Ren, if you want to buy CDS, there is a difficulty. ”

"CDS is a high-level financial derivatives transaction, which can only be purchased by investors who have obtained ISDA membership, and Mr. Ren's KLC does not currently have this condition and cannot directly trade CDS. ”

Ren Pingsheng had obviously taken Cohen's question into account, and he smiled slightly:

"That's exactly why I need Goldman Sachs. ”