Nor do they have much experience in passive investment: foreign operations are usually kept on a tight leash.

ECONOMIST: Japanese companies

Even Clear Channel is keeping Google on a tight leash, initially allowing the company access to less than 5% of its total ad inventory and drawing up what essentially amounts to a black list of existing advertisers that Google is prohibited from contacting.

FORBES

The recent highly publicised moves against corruption in India - the Commonwealth Games scam and the telecom licences scandal - have been all been prompted by a vigilant and increasingly exasperated Supreme Court, which has kept the investigative agencies on a tight leash.

BBC: Has India's government lost the plot on corruption?

The French government has to keep a tight leash on its finances, unemployment is around 10 percent and its exporters are struggling, not least in the auto sector, with both Peugeot-Citroen and Renault struggling.

NPR: Eurozone Recession Deepens As Germany Falters

So in other words, the NY Fed still has a pretty tight leash on the CIT group which Thain is likely working to loosen or cut off all together.

FORBES: Are Regulators Warming Back Up To John Thain's CIT Group?