- 121 - the loans at issue to Radcliffe and to BOT that it had funded was attributable to a desire to accommodate petitioner. In this regard, the March 3, 1986 letter stated that Union Bank was "pleased to have the opportunity to accommodate this valued Group customer [petitioner] and will entertain all reasonable requests." Based on our review of the entire record in these cases, petitioner has failed to persuade us that the Bank transactions took the form they did because those transactions afforded the U.S. banks in question an opportunity to earn a profit.88 With respect to petitioner's second contention (viz., the U.S. banks in question preferred cash as collateral for loans over tangible property located outside the United States because it would have been difficult for them to protect their security interest in and foreclose against such property),89 petitioner 88 Respondent contends that it is irrelevant whether the U.S. banks in question earned or had an opportunity to earn a profit on the Bank transactions. In view of our finding, we need not decide whether respondent is correct. We note, however, that the role of a person in a transaction has been ignored or recharac- terized even where that person was allowed to make a profit with respect to the transaction in which such person was involved. See Estate of Weiskopf v. Commissioner, 64 T.C. 78, 96-98 (1975), affd. without published opinion 538 F.2d 317 (2d Cir. 1976); see also Davant v. Commissioner, 366 F.2d 874, 878, 881 (5th Cir. 1966), affg. in part, revg. in part on another issue South Texas Rice Warehouse Co. v. Commissioner, 43 T.C. 540 (1965); Blueberry Land Co. v. Commissioner, 361 F.2d 93, 98 (5th Cir. 1966), affg. 42 T.C. 1137 (1964). 89 It is noteworthy that petitioner's contention appears to be at odds with his assertion on brief that Union Bank's security interest in the cash deposits pledged by Pioneer and Mandalay that secured the UB $1,300,000 loan was probably unenforceable because the pledges of those deposits violated Hong Kong cor- (continued...)Page: Previous 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 Next
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