Well, that has been answered already by the powers that be. The answer is obviously, YES according to the massive bailouts that all these banks received either directly or indirectly. Do I think it is? In another thread, http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2614507&highlight=foreign#post2614507 I suggest that if we did not have a GS, then foreign firms would fill the role. So, it is very possible that GS is in some strange way, "Infrastructure".