The chain was complicated. Charles Prince, who was instrumental in Citigroup’s derivatives business, had little knowledge on the subject. He was encouraged in this by Robert Rubin, who at the time was a director on the bank’s board. Rubin had impressive credentials as a former Goldman Sachs executive and Treasury Secretary under President Clinton. Incidentally, he was also among the leading proponents of financial deregulation in the 1990s. Rubin reportedly urged Prince saying, “You have to take more risk if you want to earn more” (ibid.).4 To be fair, a factor in Rubin’s recommendation of derivatives business was a concern that Citigroup was falling behind rivals such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs (ibid.). This is dealt with in the next subsection in the discussion on competitive pressures.