James Cook (American banker)

James Cook is an American investor, banker, and financier. He served as managing partner of The U.S. Russia Investment Fund (TUSRIF) and Delta Capital Management and chairman and CEO of GE Capital in Russia. He was the co-founder of Aurora Russia Limited, AIM-listed private equity firm active in Russia. He was instrumental in turning around Russia's financial system after the 1998 Russian financial crisis, when he launched the first mortgage bank in Russia and became known as the "father of mortgage lending" in Russia. He later introduced the first revolving credit card in Russia and launched a nationwide leasing company in Russia. Recently, he was a major fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

James Bernard Cook
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHampden–Sydney College
Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business
OccupationBanker

Early life

James Cook grew up in Richmond, Virginia.[1] He graduated from Hampden–Sydney College, and he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the Virginia Tech Pamplin College of Business.[1][2] He also graduated from the Mortgage Bankers Association's School of Mortgage Banking.[2][3]

Career

Cook worked in marketing for the Virginia Tech Credit Union while he was in college.[1] He subsequently worked as a loan officer for the Investors Savings Bank in Richmond.[1] By 1988, he joined the Virginia Housing Development Authority as a compliance officer.[1]

Cook went to work as deputy director of the Urban Institute in Russia in 1994,[1] where he was tasked with teaching Russian bankers about mortgages.[3] He began working for Delta Capital Management in 1996,[3] only to be promoted as its senior vice president in 2000.[4] Meanwhile, by 1999, he also served as the senior vice president of The U.S. Russia Investment Fund (TUSRIF),[5] an investment fund managed by Delta Capital.

Cook offered his first mortgage at the Delta Capital Management in 1997.[3] As most Russians had never taken loans before, Cook and other bankers turned to ex-KGB officers to do background checks for them.[1][6]

Cook was appointed as the chairman and chief executive officer of GE Consumer Finance, a Russia-based subsidiary of General Electric, in 2004.[3] He also served on the boards of directors of OSG, Unistream, Fora Bank, Kreditmart, DeltaBank, DeltaCredit, Europlan, Flexinvest Bank, and the ICICI Bank in Russia.[2]

Cook co-founded Aurora Russia Limited, a private equity firm,[7] in 2006.[3] The firm attracted $150 million,[3] and it was listed on the Alternative Investment Market, a submarket of the London Stock Exchange, until 2016.[8] Meanwhile, the two men created three businesses with the fund,[3] including KreditMart, a mortgage and consumer loan firm.[9]

Cook believes that the 1998 Russian financial crisis "was the best thing that could have happened" to Russian banks, as it taught them to diversify their assets.[4] He is known as the "father of mortgage lending" in Russia.[10]

Political activity

On October 4, 2015, Cook hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign at his Paris residence.[11][12][13]

References
  1. "Building Mortgage: Pamplin alumnus James Cook has been in on the ground floor of Russian influence" (PDF). Pamplin College of Business. Fall 2008. pp. 6–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  2. "James Bernard Cook". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  3. "James Cook, Father of the Russian Mortgage". Passport Magazine. May 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  4. Chipman, Andrea (October 30, 2000). "Small Businesses Redeem Reputation Of the West's Russian Loan Programs". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 30, 2016. "The crisis was the best thing that could have happened to us," said James Cook, Delta Capital's senior vice president. "It was really a good demonstration to commercial banks of how well they could diversify their risks," with smaller borrowers.
  5. Chazan, Guy (July 30, 1999). "Mortgage Loans Sweep Russia; New Concept Yet to Be Tested". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 29, 2016. "We've estimated that it's a multitrillion-dollar market," says TUSRIF Senior Vice President James Cook.
  6. Ritson, Alex (July 2, 2002). "Ex-KGB agents assist mortgage boom". BBC. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  7. "Company Overview of Aurora Russia Limited". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  8. "AIM – Suspension – Aurora Russia Limited". London Stock Exchange. March 6, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  9. "Company Overview of Kreditmart, OOO". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  10. Teddy, Alexander (June 16, 2010). "How to Hand Out Cash". The Moscow Times. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  11. Bennett, Kate (September 24, 2015). "Huma Abedin hosts a Paris soiree with Anna Wintour". Politico. Retrieved October 22, 2016. One thousand dollars buys entry to "An Evening with Huma Abedin and Anna Wintour" on Oct. 4, according to the invitation obtained by KGB File, at the Paris home of James Cook, an American-born financial businessman dubbed "the father of the Russian mortgage" by Passport Magazine, a publication for expats in Russia.
  12. Cohan, William D. (February 2016). "IS HUMA ABEDIN HILLARY CLINTON'S SECRET WEAPON OR HER NEXT BIG PROBLEM?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  13. Ostermann, Ophélie (September 29, 2015). "Paris Fashion Week : Anna Wintour collecte des fonds pour Hillary Clinton". Le Figaro Madame. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
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