The Kaiser on "English pirates"

On 12 December 1916, the Central Powers offered to start peace
negotiations without mentioning any terms. When President Wilson tried
to get involved by calling for detailed suggestions about terms, this
was the Kaiser's reaction:

"If the President wants to end the war all he need do is make good a
threat of denying the English pirates any more munitions, close the
loan market in their face and institute reprisals against
letter-snatching and black lists. That would quickly end the war
without any notes, conferences, etc." [Michael Balfour, "The Kaiser
and his Times," Houghton Mifflin (1964) p.370]

In 1988, PBS broadcast the series "An Ocean Apart," dealing with
British-American relations. In the episode dealing with World War I,
the narrator stated that, following Britain's bankruptcy in 1915(?),
an American financier acted as a purchasing agent for the British. This
financier had raised more than $2 billion when the U.S. entered the
war. This series was accompanied by a book of the same title, written
by David Dimbleby and David Reynolds, Random House (1988). I have been
unable to check this book. Does anyone know the name of the financier?

Domenico Rosa

Vaughan Sanders...

J. P. Morgan and co is who you are looking for I think.
At the start of 1915 Britain was financing and encouraging (through Morgan)
US peace time industry to turn to munitions and had ample funds, Winchester
and Remington couldn't cope with orders for Le Enfield rifles for example.
France on the other hand needed credit, Wilson decided credit wasn't a loan
and so didn't breach neutrality, also the $ had fallen from $4 to the Ł in
1914, to $6 to the Ł
January 15 1915, J P Morgan and co became purchasing agent for Great
Britain, charging a 2% commission on the first $10 million and 1%
thereafter, and in May a similar agreement was made with France.
US trade with the allies rocketed from $80 million in 1914 to $600 million
in 1915.