A consortium of four nations, the United States, England, France and Germany, was formed to participate in the Hubei Guangdong Railway loans and afterwards the signing of the Currency Reform Loan Contract. Japan and Russia became concerned, and because of their special relations with England and France, joined the Consortium. The relations between Japan, Russia and the United States grew intense, and when the consortium was about to sign a new loan contract, President Wilson discontinued American support for the loan and withdrew from the organization, claiming that the terms would damage Chinese sovereignty. After World War I, the Germans were defeated, Russia was troubled by its own revolution, and England and France were financially weaker than before, so the Consortium was eventually controlled by Japan. To restrict Japan's monopoly, the United States initiated the organization of a new consortium. After it managed to take over the leadership of the organization, the United Stated tried in vain to control its loans to China.