E. Gerald Corrigan, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said yesterday that he will join Goldman, Sachs & Co. as chairman of the firm's international advisers group.
Corrigan, 52, will assume the post effective Jan. 3, 1994.
In the post, Corrigan will manage the firm's new six-member international advisory unit. The unit's main thrust is to advise bankers and lenders in emerging the other foreign markets.
Corrigan noted that Goldman Sachs already plays a prominent role in global banking. Stephen Friedman, senior partner and chairman of the firm's management committee, said that the advisory group will increase the firm's presence in emerging markets.
Friedman said that business growth in Asia, Europe, and the Far East mandated that the firm create an international advisory group.
"Jerry Corrigan is one of the most highly respected central bankers in the world, Friedman said. "Our clients and the firm will benefit greatly from his exceptional judgment, knowledge of financial systems, and leadership in the global financial community."
At a press conference, Corrigan said he decided to join Goldman Sachs after the firm met two specific requirements.
"First, I really wanted nothing to do with trading activities until the middle part of next year, to show people that the umbilical cord with the Fed is completely severed," Corrigan said. "I also wanted nothing to do with the commercial banking industry in the United States or in foreign countries."
Corrigan said his past duties at the Federal Reserve overseeing the banks made the stipulations necessary.
Before Corrigan stepped down in July 1993, he had spent 25 years with the Federal Reserve.
Before being named president of the New York Fed in 1985, he served for five years as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of in Minneapolis.
From August 1979 through August 1980, Corrigan served as a special assistant to then-Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Paul A. Volcker.
Corrigan was named a vice president at the Fed in 1976 and joined the bank in 1968.
Corrigan earned a doctorate in economics from Fordham University in 1971.
After resigning from his position at the Fed this summer, Corrigan was named by President Bill Clinton to head the Russian-American Enterprise Fund.
Although Corrigan said his main focus will be on the business at Goldman, he said he still plans to remain involved in the business development in the former Soviet Union.
"I am going to be in Moscow the week after next," he said." There is a rather significant level of entrepreneurialism now in Russia."
Corrigan said his role at Goldman Sachs will be project-driven, something he said will help both Russia and the administration of his personal friend, Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
