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| '''The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.''' is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. | |||
| '''The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.''', or simply '''Goldman Sachs''' ({{nyse|GS}}), is a ] that engages in ], ] services and ]. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the ] area of ] at 85 ] but has its ] at 30 Hudson Street, ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&sll=40.704066,-74.006395&sspn=0.187914,0.31929&q=goldman+sachs&om=1&ll=40.704581,-74.01125&spn=0.011745,0.019956|title=Goldman Sachs— Google Maps|accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> The firm has offices in all global financial centers and acts as a ] and money manager for ]s, ], and ] families around the world. Goldman offers its clients ] & ] advice, ] services, ], and engages in ], and ] deals. It is a ] in the ] ]. | |||
| Former Goldman Sachs employees such as ] and ] have held high positions in the federal government, regardless of which party was in the White House. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| ===1869–1930=== | |||
| Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 by ] ]ish immigrant ].<ref>{{cite news |first=Leah Nathans |last=Spiro |coauthors=Stanley Reed |title=INSIDE THE MONEY MACHINE–In a big-is-all business, Goldman vows to go it alone |url=http://www.businessweek.com/1997/51/b3558118.htm |work=BusinessWeek |publisher=The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. |date=1997-12-22 |accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> In 1882, Goldman's son-in-law ] joined the firm which prompted the name change to Goldman Sachs.<ref></ref> The company made a name for itself pioneering the use of ] for ] and was invited to join the ] in 1896. | |||
| In the early 20th century, Goldman was a player in establishing the ] market. It managed one of the largest IPOs to date, that of ] in 1906. It also became one of the first companies to heavily recruit those with ] degrees from leading ], a practice that still continues today.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} | |||
| On December 4, 1928, it launched the Goldman Sachs Trading Corp. a ] with characteristics similar to that of a ]. The fund failed as a result of the ], hurting the firm's reputation for several years afterward.<ref>{{cite news |first=Justin |last=Fox |title=GOLDMAN: WE RUN WALL STREET |url=http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/05/16/8260146/index.htm |work=Fortune magazine |publisher=Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company |date=2005-05-16 |accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> For this case and others like Blue Ridge Corporation and Shenandoah Corporation ] wrote: ''The Autumn of 1929 was, perhaps, the first occasion when men succeeded on a large scale in swindling themselves''. | |||
| ===1930–1980=== | |||
| In 1930, ] assumed the role of senior partner and shifted Goldman's focus away from trading and towards ]. It was Weinberg's actions that helped to restore some of Goldman's tarnished reputation. On the back of Weinberg, Goldman was lead advisor on the ] ] in 1956, which at the time was a major ] on Wall Street. Under Weinberg's reign the firm also started an investment research division and a ] department. It also was at this time that the firm became an early innovator in ]. | |||
| ] joined the firm in the 1950s as a securities trader, which started a trend at Goldman where there would be two powers generally vying for supremacy, one from investment banking and one from securities trading. For most of the 1950s and 1960's, this would be Weinberg and Levy. Levy was a pioneer in ] and the firm established this trend under his guidance. Due to Weinberg's heavy influence at the firm, it formed an investment banking division in 1956 in an attempt to spread around influence and not focus it all on Weinberg. | |||
| In 1969, Levy took over as Senior Partner from Weinberg, and built Goldman's trading franchise once again. It is Levy who is credited with Goldman's famous philosophy of being "long-term greedy," which implies that as long as money is made over the long term, trading losses in the short term are not to be worried about. That same year, Weinberg retired from the firm. | |||
| Another financial crisis for the firm occurred in 1970, when the ] went ] with over $80 million in commercial paper outstanding, most of it issued by Goldman Sachs. The ] was large, and the resulting lawsuits threatened the partnership capital and life of the firm. It was this bankruptcy that resulted in ]s being created for every issuer of commercial paper today by several credit rating services.<ref name="Hahn Instruments" >{{cite book | |||
| |last=Hahn |first=Thomas K. |editor=Timothy Q. Cook and Robert K. Laroche editors | |||
| |title=Instruments of the Money Market | |||
| |url=http://www.richmondfed.org/publications/economic_research/instruments_of_the_money_market/instruments.pdf | |||
| |format=PDF |accessdate=2007-01-17|edition=Seventh Edition |publisher=Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond |location=] | |||
| |chapter=Commercial Paper |chapterurl=http://www.richmondfed.org/publications/economic_research/instruments_of_the_money_market/ch09.cfm | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| During the 1970s, the firm also expanded in several ways. Under the direction of Senior Partner Stanley R. Miller, it opened its first international office in ] in 1970, and created a ] division along with a ] division in 1972. It also pioneered the "]" strategy in 1974 during its attempts to defend Electric Storage Battery against a hostile ] bid from International Nickel and Goldman's rival ].<ref name="Bloomberg 2004 Friedman" >{{cite news | |||
| |first=Holly |last=Rosenkrantz |coauthors=Newton-Small, Jay | |||
| |title=Bush Economic Adviser Friedman to Resign, Aide Says | |||
| |url=http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a5PUdvzX0pXc&refer=news_index | |||
| |publisher=Bloomberg.com |date=2004-11-23 |accessdate=2007-01-17 | |||
| }}</ref> This action would boost the firm's reputation as an ] because it pledged to no longer participate in hostile takeovers. | |||
| ] (the son of Sidney Weinberg), and ] assumed roles of co-senior partners in 1976, once again emphasizing the co-leadership at the firm. One of their initiatives was the establishment of the 14 business principles<ref name="Goldman Sachs 14 principles" >{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/about-us/business-principles.html | |||
| |title=Business Principles | |||
| |accessdate=2008-01-24|publisher=The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc | |||
| }}</ref> that are still used to this day. | |||
| ===1980–1999=== | |||
| In the 1980s, the firm made a move by acquiring J. Aron & Company, a ] firm which merged with the Fixed Income division to become known as Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities. J. Aron was a player in the coffee and gold markets, and the current CEO of Goldman, ], joined the firm as a result of this merger. In 1985 it underwrote the public offering of the ] that owned ], then the largest ] offering in history. In accordance with the beginning of the ], the firm also became involved in facilitating the global ] movement by advising companies that were spinning off from their parent governments. | |||
| In 1986, the firm formed Goldman Sachs ], which manages the majority of its mutual funds and ]s today. In the same year, the firm also underwrote the IPO of ], advised ] on its acquisition of ] and joined the ] and ]s. 1986 also was the year when Goldman became the first ] bank to rank in the top 10 of ] and ] in the ]. During the 1980s the firm became the first bank to distribute its investment research electronically and created the first public offering of original issue deep-discount ]. | |||
| ] and ] assumed the Co-Senior Partnership in 1990 and pledged to focus on ] of the firm and strengthening the Merger & Acquisition and Trading business lines. During their reign, the firm introduced paperless trading to the New York Stock exchange and lead-managed the first-ever global ] by a U.S. corporation. It also launched the ] (GSCI) and opened a ] office in 1994. It was this same year that ] assumed leadership of the firm following the departure of Rubin and Friedman. The firm joined ] and partners in a 50-50 join ownership of ] during 1994, but later sold the shares to ] in 2000. In 1996, Goldman was lead underwriter of the ] IPO and in 1998 it was global coordinator of the ] IPO. In 1999, Henry Paulson took over as Senior Partner. | |||
| ===1999–present=== | |||
| One of the largest events in the firm's history was its own ] in 1999. The decision to go public was one that the partners debated for decades. In the end, Goldman decided to offer only a small portion of the company to the public, with some 48% still held by the partnership pool.<ref>{{cite news | |||
| |first=Leah Nathans |last=Spiro | |||
| |title=Goldman Sachs: How Public Is This IPO? | |||
| |url=http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_20/b3629102.htm |work=BusinessWeek Online |publisher=The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. |date=1999-05-17 |accessdate=2007-01-17 | |||
| }}</ref> 22% of the company was held by non-partner employees, and 18% was held by retired Goldman partners and two longtime investors, ] and ]'s Kamehameha Activities Assn (the investing arm of ]). This left approximately 12% of the company as being held by the public. With the firm's 1999 IPO, ] became ] and ] of the firm. Today, after further stock offerings to the the public, Goldman is 67% owned by institutions (such as pension funds and other banks). MSN Money has the complete list.<ref>{{cite | |||
| |url=http://moneycentral.msn.com/ownership?Symbol=GS |work=MSN Money |publisher=Microsoft |date=2009-07-13 |accessdate=2009-07-13 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| In 1999 Goldman acquired ], one of the world's premier market-making firms, for $531 million. More recently, the firm has been busy both in investment banking and in trading activities. It purchased ], one of the largest ] on the New York Stock Exchange, for $6.3 billion in September 2000. It also advised on a debt offering for the ] and the first electronic offering for the ]. It merged with ], the ] investment bank and opened a full-service broker-dealer in Brazil. It expanded its investments in companies to include ], ], and in January 2007, ] alongside ] to own sole broadcast rights to the ]. The firm is also heavily involved in energy trading, including the oil speculation market, on both a principal and agent basis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8878 |title=Perhaps 60% of today's oil price is pure speculation |publisher=Global Research |accessdate=2008-06-09}}</ref> | |||
| Its sizable profits made during the 2007 Subprime mortgage financial crisis led the New York Times to proclaim that Goldman Sachs is without peer in the world of finance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/goldman-sachs-marches-on-with-bushs-candidate-for-world-bank-451094.html |title=Goldman Sachs marches on with Bush's candidate for World Bank |publisher=The Independent |accessdate=2008-05-15}}</ref> The firm's viability was later called into question as the crisis intensified in September 2008. | |||
| In May 2006, ] left the firm to serve as ], and Lloyd Blankfein was promoted to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Former Goldman employees have headed the New York Stock Exchange, the World Bank, the U.S. Treasury Department, the White House staff, and firms such as Citigroup and Merrill Lynch. | |||
| In January 2007, Goldman Sachs acquired the Entertainment and Production sector of Canadian film/television company ], as well as the ] franchise. Distribution rights went to ]. | |||
| On September 21, 2008, Goldman Sachs received Federal Reserve approval to transition from an ] to a ]. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSNWEN838420080922 |title=Goldman Sachs to be regulated by Fed |publisher=Bloomberg |accessdate=2008-09-21}}</ref> | |||
| On September 22, 2008, the last two major investment banks in the United States, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, both confirmed that they would become traditional bank holding companies, bringing an end to the era of investment banking on ]. <ref>, '']'', September 22, 2008</ref> The Federal Reserve's approval of their bid to become banks ended the ascendancy of the securities firms, 75 years after Congress separated them from deposit-taking lenders, and capped weeks of chaos that sent Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. into bankruptcy and led to the rushed sale of Merrill Lynch & Co. to Bank of America Corp. <ref>, '']'', September 22, 2008</ref><ref>Duke, Simon ''Mail'' on line.</ref> | |||
| In March 2009 it was reported that in 2008, Goldman Sachs, alongside other major US and international financial institutions, had received billions of dollars during the unwind of insurance arrangements purchased from ], including $12.9bn from funds provided by the US ] to bail out AIG.<ref>, The Politico, March 15, 2009</ref><ref>, The New York Times, March 15, 2009</ref> And although Goldman was among ten large financial institutions that the Treasury allowed to pay back their TARP emergency capital infusions, the firm still has benefits from $28 billion in subsidization from the government in form of cheap debt backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.<ref>{{cite news | |||
| |first=Graham |last=Bowley and Jenny Anderson | |||
| |title=For Goldman, a Swift Return to Lofty Profits }}</ref> | |||
| ==Corporate affairs == | |||
| ] in Jersey City]] | |||
| {{As of|2006}}, Goldman Sachs employed 23,467 people worldwide. It reported earnings of US$9.34 billion and record earnings per share of $19.69.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our_firm/investor_relations/financial_reports/docs/earnings/4Q06_ER-FINAL-External.pdf|title=GOLDMAN SACHS REPORTS RECORD EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE OF $19.69 FOR 2006|accessdate=2007-01-17|date=2006-12-12|format=PDF|publisher=The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.|pages=p. 1}}</ref> It was reported that the average total compensation per employee in 2006 was US$622,000.<ref>{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Gavin |title=Good deal: Average Goldman Sachs employee makes $622,000 |url=http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/12/12/good_deal_average_goldman_sachs_employee_makes_622000/?p1=MEWell_Pos2 |work=The Boston Globe |publisher=The New York Times Company |date=2006-12-12 |accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> However, this number represents the ] of total compensation and is highly skewed upwards as several | |||
| hundred of the top earners command the majority of the Bonus Pools, leaving the median that most employees earn well below this number.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/biz/features/15197/|title=Please, Sir, I want Some More|accessdate=2007-08-24|publisher=New York Magazine|date=2005-12-05}}</ref> In Business Week's recent release of the ''Best Places to Launch a Career 2008'', Goldman Sachs was ranked #4 out of 119 total companies on the list. The current Chief Executive Officer is ]. The company ranks #1 in Annual ] when compared with 86 peers in the Investment Services sector. Blankfein earned a $67.9 million bonus in his first year. He chose to receive "some" cash unlike former ] ], his predecessor who chose to take his bonus entirely in company | |||
| stock.<ref>{{cite news|title=Goldman Awards Blankfein a Record $67.9 Million Bonus (Update1) |author=Harper, Christine|work=Bloomberg.com|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ac1OzKh7snD4|date=2007-12-21|accessdate=2007-12-21}}</ref> | |||
| Recently Goldman Sachs has been increasingly involved in both advising and brokering deals to privatize major ]s by selling them off to foreign investors. In addition to advising ] on the ] deal, Goldman Sachs has worked with ] governor ]'s administration on ] projects, and according to John Schmidt, the former adviser to the ] ], it was a Goldman Sachs representative who first pitched the city on the idea of leasing out the ]. Goldman Sachs has played a major role in advising states on how to structure privatization deals—even while positioning itself to invest in the ] market. Conflicts of interest in such transactions are difficult to quantify. <ref name="The Highwaymen">{{cite news|last=Schulman|first=Daniel|title=The Highwaymen|publisher=''Mother | |||
| Jones''|date=2007-01-01|url=http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/01/highwaymen.html|accessdate=2007-04-30}}</ref> | |||
| Goldman Sachs is divided into three businesses.<ref>http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/about-us/index.html</ref> | |||
| ====Investment banking==== | |||
| ] is divided into two divisions and includes '''Financial Advisory''' (], investitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings and spin-offs) and '''Underwriting''' (public offerings and ] of ], equity-related and debt instruments). Goldman Sachs is one of the leading investment banks, appearing in ]. In mergers and acquisitions, it gained fame historically by advising clients on how to avoid hostile takeovers, moves generally viewed as unfriendly to shareholders of targeted companies. Goldman Sachs, for a long time during the 1980s, was the only major investment bank with a strict policy against helping to initiate a ], which increased Goldman's reputation immensely among sitting management teams at the time. The investment banking segment accounts for around 17 percent of Goldman Sachs' revenues.<ref>Based on SEC filings for the last twelve months | |||
| ending May 31, 2008.</ref> | |||
| ====Trading & Principal Investments==== | |||
| Trading and Principal Investments is the largest of the three segments, and is the company's profit center.<ref name="bloomberg.com"></ref> The segment is divided into three divisions and includes '''Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities''' (trading in ] and ] products, ] and loans, currencies and commodities, structured and derivative products), '''Equities''' (trading in equities, equity-related products, ], ] and executing client trades in equities, ], and ]s on world markets), and '''Principal Investments''' (merchant banking investments and funds). This segment consists of the revenues and profit gained from the Bank's trading activities, both on behalf of its clients (known as flow trading) and for its own account (known as ]). | |||
| Most trading done by Goldman is not ], but rather an attempt to profit from ] in the process of acting as a ]. Around 68 percent of Goldman's revenues and profits are derived from this area.<ref name="bloomberg.com"/> Upon its IPO, Goldman predicted that this segment would not grow as fast as its Investment Banking division and would be responsible for a shrinking proportion of earnings. The opposite has been true however, resulting in ]'s appointment to President and Chief Operating Officer after ]'s departure to run the ] and ]'s departure for an academic position in China. | |||
| ====Asset management and securities services==== | |||
| ] and ] is a rapidly growing business for Goldman as it gains market share.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} It is separated into two divisions, and includes '''Asset Management''', which provides large institutions and very wealthy individuals with investment advisory, financial planning services (Private Wealth Management & AYCO), and the management of ]s, as well as the so-called alternative investments (]s, ], infrastructure funds, real estate funds, and ]s). The '''Securities Services''' division provides ], financing services, and securities lending to mutual funds, hedge funds, ]s, foundations, and ]s. This segment accounts for around 19 percent of Goldman's earnings {{Fact|date=June 2008}}. | |||
| ] is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. | |||
| In 2006, the Goldman Sachs Asset Management ] was the largest in the ] with $29.5 billion under management.<ref>{{cite news | first=Shaheen | last=Pasha | title=Banks' love affair with hedge funds | url=http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/05/news/companies/banks_hedgefunds/index.htm?postversion=2006100607 | publisher=CNNMoney.com|date=2006-10-06|accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> {{As of|2007}}, the fund was valued at $32.5 billion, the second-largest fund hedge fund after competitor ] $33.1 billion fund.<ref>{{cite news|title=The List: The World's Largest Hedge Funds|url=http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3967|publisher=Foreign Policy|date=September,2007|accessdate=2008-01-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=James|last=Mackintosh|title=Biggest hedge funds tighten grip|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a1937de0-0994-11dc-a349-000b5df10621.html|publisher=Financial Times|date=2007-05-24|accessdate=2008-01-18}}</ref> | |||
| In August 2007, it emerged that Goldman had to spend $2 billion to rescue its own Global Equity Opportunities ] from "significant market dislocation".<ref></ref> | |||
| ===GS Capital Partners=== | |||
| {{main|Goldman Sachs Capital Partners}} | |||
| GS Capital Partners is the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs. It has invested over $17 billion in the 20 years from 1986 to 2006. One of the most prominent funds is the GS Capital Partners V fund, which comprises over $8.5 billion of ].<ref>>{{cite web|url=http://www2.goldmansachs.com/client_services/merchant_banking/pia/capital/index.html|title=GS Capital Partners |accessdate=2007-02-08|publisher=The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc}}</ref> On April 23, 2007, Goldman closed GS Capital Partners VI with $20 billion in committed capital, $11 billion from qualified institutional and high net worth clients and $9 billion from the firm and its employees. GS Capital Partners VI is the current primary investment vehicle for Goldman Sachs to make large, privately negotiated equity investments.<ref>>{{cite web|url=http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070423005856&newsLang=en|title=GS Capital Partners VI|publisher=Business Wire}}</ref> | |||
| ====Major Assets (GS Group)==== | |||
| *The Ayco Company, L.P. (Financial Advisory) | |||
| *Cogentrix Energy (Energy) | |||
| *American Casino & Entertainment Properties (Casinos) | |||
| *] (Oil Refinery) | |||
| *Myers Industries, Inc. (Plastic & Rubber) | |||
| *USI Holdings Corporation (Insurance & Finance) | |||
| *] LLC (Energy) | |||
| *Queens Moat Houses (Hotels) | |||
| *Sequoia Credit Consolidation (Finance) | |||
| *Shineway Group (Meat Processing) | |||
| *Equity Inns, Inc. (Hotels) | |||
| *KarstadtQuelle property group (Retailer) | |||
| *Nursefinders Inc. (Healthcare) | |||
| *Latin Force Group, LLC (Media) | |||
| Constellation Enery Group | |||
| === Predictions === | |||
| In December 2005, four years after its report on the emerging "]" economies (], ], ], and ]), Goldman Sachs named its "]"<ref></ref> list of countries, using macroeconomic stability, political maturity, openness of trade and investment policies and quality of education as criteria: ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], the ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite news|first=Jasim Uddin|last=Khan|title=Bangladesh on Goldman Sachs 'Next Eleven' list|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/12/15/d5121501107.htm|work=The Daily Star|date=2005-12-15|accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> | |||
| ===Corporate citizenship=== | |||
| Goldman Sachs has received favorable press coverage for conducting business and implementing internal policies related to reversing global climate change.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Street Turns Green|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/36497 |work=] |publisher=Newsweek, Inc.|year=2007 |accessdate=2007-11-23}}</ref> According to the company web site, the Goldman Sachs Foundation has given $94 million in grants since 1999, with the goal of promoting youth education worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our_firm/our_culture/corporate_citizenship/gs_foundation/index.html|title=The Goldman Sachs Foundation|accessdate=2007-05-18|publisher=The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc}}</ref> The company also has been on Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For list since the list was launched in 1998.<ref>{{cite news|title=100 Best Companies to Work 2007, All Stars|url=http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/allstars/|work=]|year=2007|accessdate=2007-05-18}}</ref> | |||
| In November 2007, Goldman Sachs established a ]-advised fund called Goldman Sachs Gives that donates to ] around the world, while increasing their maximum employee donation match to $20,000.<ref></ref> | |||
| In March 2008, Goldman launched the ] initiative to train 10,000 women from predominantly developing countries in business and management. | |||
| ====Investments==== | |||
| <table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 width=95%> | |||
| <tr bgcolor=DDDDDD cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0><td width="18%" valign=top>'''Investment'''</td> | |||
| <td width="8%" valign=top>'''Year'''</td> | |||
| <td width="74%" valign=top>'''Company Description'''</td> | |||
| <td width="8%" valign=top>'''Ref.'''</td></tr> | |||
| <tr><td bgcolor=E8EFF9 width=“18%” valign=top>''''''</td> | |||
| <td width="8%" valign=top>unknown</td> | |||
| <td width="74%" valign=top>Is a Hospitality Company owned and operated by Goldman Sachs, it features ], ], ] and ] hotel brands.</td></tr> | |||
| </table> | |||
| ==Criticism and controversy== | |||
| === GoldmanSachs criticism site === | |||
| In 1986, ] was convicted of passing inside information to ] on a takeover deal.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ford S. |last=Worthy |coauthors=Brett Duval Fromson and Lorraine Carson |title=WALL STREET'S SPREADING SCANDAL |url=http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1986/12/22/68462/index.htm |work=] |publisher=Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company |date=1986-12-22 |accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> ], who was a senior Partner, the Head of Risk Arbitrage, and a protégé of ], was also convicted of insider trading, with his own account and with the firms.<ref>{{cite news |first=Landon Jr. |last=Thomas |title=Cold Call |url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/columns/businessclass/5693/index.html |work=] |publisher=New York Magazine Holdings LLC |date=2002-02-18 |accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> | |||
| On November 11, 2008, the Los Angeles Times reported that Goldman Sachs, which earned $25 M from underwriting California bonds, had advised other clients to "short" those bonds.<ref> "", Sharona Coutts, Marc Lifsher and Michael A. Hiltzik, '']'', ], ]</ref> Shorting is essentially betting that the state will default on the bonds, which serves to drive up the cost of the issue to the state. | |||
| In April 2009, Goldman's former in house counsel John Squires who had moved to law firm ] sent a ] letter to Michael Morgan founder of ''GoldmanSachs666.com'' for trademark violation.<ref></ref> The site has published negative articles and conspiracy theories on the firm and their alleged involvement in the global financial crisis. <ref> "", ], '']'', ], ]</ref> The case was voluntarily dismissed on June 19, 2009, after Morgan agreed to put a disclaimer on the website saying the site was not affiliated with or approved by Goldman.<ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| During 2008 Goldman Sachs came under criticism for an apparent revolving-door relationship in which its employees and consultants have moved in and out of powerful US Government positions, where there may exist the potential for a conflict of interest. Former Treasury Secretary ] was a former CEO of Goldman Sachs. The current chief economic adviser to President Obama, ], was noted for receiving $5.2 million from hedge fund ] in 2008 and speaking fees (ranging from $45 thousand to $135 thousand per event) from banks including Goldman Sachs, ], ], ] and ]<ref>"", ], '']'', ], ]</ref> at a time when he was expected to become the most influential financial official in the U.S. Government.<ref name="sal">"", ], '']'', ], ]</ref> Former bank regulator ], appearing on '']'' on ], ], accused the financial industry of massive fraud, citing the role ] played before being promoted to Treasury Secretary as well as the successful efforts of ], former Goldman CEO ] (Geithner's mentor) and ] in the late ] to block regulation of the financial derivatives market.<ref> "", '']'', ], ]</ref> According to ], former head of the ], Summers, Rubin and Greenspan blocked her efforts to regulate the derivatives market, on the grounds that the financial industry were objecting.<ref> "", Rick Schmitt, '']'', March/April, 2009</ref> Born was then succeeded as head of the CFTC by former Goldman Sachs executive ], who stated that he "should have done more to rein in exotic financial instruments that have battered global markets". <ref> "", ], '']'', ], ]</ref> Additional controversy attended the selection of former Goldman Sachs ] ] as chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Geithner, despite President ]'s pledge to limit the influence of lobbyists in his administration.<ref> "", Justin Rood and Emma Schwartz, '']'', ], ]</ref> | |||
| In July 2009, ] contributer ] published an article on Goldman Sachs titled, 'The Great American Bubble Machine', where he condemns the company as "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money," and going on to assert that Goldman Sachs and similar companies have come out ahead in every economic recession and bubble since ]. The piece generated much media attention and controversy, evoking a response by a Goldman Sachs spokesman describing it as "an hysterical compilation of conspiracy theories". He added, "we reject the assertion that we are inflators of bubbles and profiteers in busts, and we are painfully conscious of the importance in being a force for good." Taibbi rebutted, "Goldman has its alumni pushing its views from the pulpit of the U.S. Treasury, the NYSE, the World Bank, and numerous other important posts; it also has former players fronting major TV shows. They have the ear of the president if they want it." | |||
| === First Quarter 2009 and December 2008 Financial Results === | |||
| In April 2009, there was controversy that Goldman Sachs had 'puffed up' its Q1 earnings by creating a December 'orphan month' into which it shifted large writedowns <ref>"", ], '']'', ], ]</ref>. In its first full quarter as a ], the firm reported a USD 780M net loss for the single month of December alongside Q1 net earnings of USD 1.81B (Jan-Mar)<ref> - Goldman Sachs Investor Relations (accessed 22-04-2009)</ref><ref name="off"/> | |||
| The accounting change to a calendar fiscal year, which created the stub month, was required when the firm converted to a bank holding company and declared in Item 5.03 of its ] ] filing of ] ]<ref> "</ref>. The December loss also included a USD 850M writedown on loans to bankrupt chemical maker ], as reported in late December (the chemical maker formally declared bankruptcy on January 6 but the loan would have been marked-to-market – it became clear in mid/late-December that Lyondell would not be able to meet its debt obligations).<ref> - Reuters (accessed 22-04-2009)</ref><ref> - Bloomberg (accessed 22-04-2009)</ref> | |||
| Most financial analysts and the mainstream financial press (], ], etc), aware of the accounting change and deteriorating market conditions into December, were unsurprised by the December loss (Merrill Lynch took at least USD 8.1B of losses in the same period<ref> - Option Hustler (accessed 22-04-2009)</ref>). However, their lack of reaction and reporting of what was a widely expected result may have contributed to the surprise attributing this as a sign that the firm was trying to 'hide' losses in December. On the contrary, the results of December 2008 were discussed up front and in detail by CFO ] in the first few minutes of the firm's Q1 2009 conference call, and were fully declared on page 10 of its earnings release document.<ref> - Goldman Sachs Investor Relations (accessed 22-04-2009)</ref><ref> - Goldman Sachs Investor Relations (accessed 22-04-2009)</ref> | |||
| On 22 April 2009, ] also reported <ref> "", ], '']'', ], ]</ref> a USD 1.3B net loss for the single month of December, alongside a USD 177M loss for the first quarter (Jan-Mar).<ref> - Morgan Stanley (accessed 22-04-2009)</ref> However, whereas Goldman Sachs' first-quarter earnings (Jan-Mar) were well-above forecasts<ref> - ] (retrieved 22-04-2009)</ref> (which led to the speculation that the firm may have 'conveniently' shifted losses into December), Morgan Stanley's results for the same Jan-Mar period were below consensus estimates.<ref> - Bloomberg (accessed 22-04-2009)</ref> This, in addition to Morgan Stanley's losses in December, would appear to support Goldman's rejection of the notion that they deliberately shifted losses into December.<ref name="off">"", ] (retrieved 22-04-2009)</ref> Like Goldman Sachs, ] converted to a ] after the bankruptcy of ] in September 2008. | |||
| As of June 22, 2009, the company was on track to complete its "most profitable year ever"<ref></ref>, and moving forward with plans to reward its workers with record bonus payments. | |||
| === Involvement with the bailout of AIG === | |||
| ] was bailed out by the US government in September 2008 after suffering a crisis in liquidity, whereby the ] lent USD 85B (initially) to AIG to allow the firm to meet its collateral and cash obligations. | |||
| In the ensuing months as AIG's obligations to counterparties were being unwound, Goldman Sachs was the largest single recipient of this money (USD 12.9B), although similar payments were also made to ] and ] (USD ~12B each), ] (USD 8.5B), ] (USD 6.8B), and other major US and international financial institutions.<ref>http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/economicsunbound/archives/2009/03/german_and_fren.html#more</ref> (As of April, 2009, US Government loans to AIG totaled over $180 billion.) | |||
| This money was owed to counterparties under legally-binding contracts purchased from AIG. However, due to the size and nature of the payouts there was considerable controversy in the media and amongst some politicians as to whether banks, including Goldman Sachs, may have benefited materially from the bailout and if they had been overpaid.<ref name="deal">"", '']'', ], ]</ref>, <ref>http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/inspector-to-audit-aigs-counterparty-payouts/</ref> The ] ] announced in March 2009 that he was investigating whether AIG's trading counterparties improperly received government money.<ref>http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/cuomo-widens-his-aig-investigation/?hp</ref> | |||
| ==== Possibility of economic loss in an AIG bankruptcy ==== | |||
| Goldman Sachs has maintained that its net exposure to AIG was 'not material', and that the firm was protected by ] (in the form of ]s with other counterparties) and USD 7.5B of ].<ref>http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/goldman-maintains-it-had-no-aig-exposure/</ref> The collateral and ]s would have protected the firm from incurring an economic loss in the event of an AIG bankruptcy. The firm states that the cost of these ] was over USD 100M.<ref name="wk">"", letter from ], Managing Director, Goldman Sachs & Co, '']'', ], ]</ref> However, because AIG was bailed out and not allowed to fail, these ] did not pay out. | |||
| Some have speculated that the ] against their AIG exposure would not have paid out if AIG was allowed to fail, because of the systemic knock-on effects of AIG's failure to other financial institutions selling insurance against AIG. This is sometimes cited as a reason why AIG's bailout was, in effect, bailing out Goldman Sachs. However, in practice, ]s are ] (i.e., valued at their current market price) and their positions netted between counterparties '''daily'''. Thus, as the cost of insuring AIG's obligations against default rose substantially in the lead-up to its bailout, the sellers of the CDS contracts had to post more ] to Goldman Sachs. Thus, the firm claims its ] were effective and the firm would have been protected against an AIG bankruptcy and the risk of knock-on defaults, had AIG been allowed to fail.<ref name="wk"/> However, as with the bankruptcy of ], wider and longer-term systemic and economic turmoil brought on by an AIG default would probably have affected the firm and all other market participants. | |||
| ==== Effect of AIG wind down on earnings in 2009 ==== | |||
| Some have also claimed that Goldman's earnings in 2008 and Q1 2009 benefited materially from the bailout. However, in a statement by CFO ], the firm stated that profits related to AIG in Q1 2009 "rounded to zero", and profits in December were not significant. He went on to say that he was "mystified" by the interest the government and investors have shown in the bank's trading relationship with AIG.<ref>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aVJT1NtIY3DQ&refer=home</ref> | |||
| ==== Final AIG meetings on 15th September at the New York Federal Reserve ==== | |||
| Some have cited, although incorrectly as others have noted<ref> - Economics of Contempt (blog) (retrieved 29-04-2009)</ref>, that Goldman Sachs received preferential treatment from the government by being the only Wall Street firm to have participated in the crucial September meetings at the New York Fed, which decided AIG's fate. Much of this has stemmed from an inaccurate but often quoted . The article was later corrected to state that ], CEO of Goldman Sachs, was "'''one of''' the Wall Street chief executives at the meeting" (emphasis added). ] has also reported that representatives from other firms were indeed present at the September AIG meetings.<ref> - Bloomberg (retrieved 29-04-2009)</ref> Furthermore, Goldman Sachs CFO ] has stated that CEO Blankfein had never met with his predecessor and then-] ] to discuss AIG<ref> - MarketWatch (retrieved 29-04-2009)</ref>; ] was not present at the September meetings at the New York Fed. It is also a lesser known fact that ] was hired by the Federal Reserve to advise them on the AIG bailout.<ref> - Bloomberg (retrieved 29-04-2009)</ref> | |||
| The relationship with, and bailout of AIG was controversial because the bailout was crafted by then-] ], ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs until 2006; people saw the potential for a conflict of interest between his past and present roles. | |||
| === Former-New York Fed Chairman's ties to the firm === | |||
| In May 2009, it was reported that the Chairman of the New York Fed, Stephen Friedman, was a former-director at, and shareholder of Goldman Sachs, having retired from the firm in 1994 and retained substantial stock.<ref name="ok">"" - Financial Times (accessed 10-05-2009)</ref> The controversy and criticism caused by what was seen as a conflict of interest between Friedman's new role as supervisor and regulator to Goldman Sachs (due to its conversion from securities firm to a ]), and in particular, his purchase of shares in the firm when it traded at historical lows in Q4 2008, forced him to resign on May 7 2009. Although Friedman's purchases of Goldman stock did not violate any Fed rule, statute, or policy, he stated that the Fed did not need this distraction. He also claims his purchases, made while approval of a waiver was pending, were motivated by a desire to demonstrate confidence in the company during a time of market distress.<ref> - Financial Times (accessed 10-05-2009)</ref> | |||
| Friedman was named Chairman of the New York Fed in January 2008. However, Goldman's conversion to bank holding company in September 2008 meant it was now regulated by the Fed and not the SEC. When it became apparent that Timothy Geithner, then-New York Fed president would leave his role at the Fed and become Treasury Secretary, a temporary one-year waiver of a rule was granted to Friedman that would otherwise forbid Fed board members from direct interest with those it regulated ('class C' directors). | |||
| Friedman therefore agreed to remain on the board until the end of 2009 to provide continuity in the wake of the turmoil caused by Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy. Had the waiver not been granted, the New York Fed would have lost '''both''' its president and its chairman (or Friedman would have had to divest his Goldman shares).<ref name="ok"/> This would have been highly disruptive for the New York Fed's role in the capital markets, and Friedman claims he agreed to stay on the NY Fed board out of a sense of public duty, but that his decision was "being mischaracterised as improper".<ref> - ] (accessed 10-05-2009)</ref> | |||
| Currently, the corporation has two executives with ties to the Obama administration and also a board member on the TARP monitoring committee. <ref>{{cite web| url=http://stock-broker-security.com/goldman-sachs-tarp-bank/|title= U.S. Financials-Goldman Sachs |accessdate=2009-06-18 |date=2009-06-18 |work= U.S. Financials-Goldman Sachs }}</ref> | |||
| === $60 million settlement for Massachusetts subprime mortgages === | |||
| On May 10, 2009 the Goldman Sachs Group agreed to pay up to $60 million to end an investigation by the Massachusetts attorney general’s office into whether the firm helped promote unfair home loans in the state. The settlement will be used to reduce the mortgage payments of 714 Massachusetts residents who had secured subprime mortgages funded by Goldman Sachs. Michael DuVally, a spokesman for Goldman said it was “pleased to have resolved this matter,” and declined to comment further. This settlement may open the door to state government actions against Goldman throughout the United States aimed at securing compensation for predatory mortgage lending practices.<ref> "", ], '']'', ], ]</ref> | |||
| == List of officers and directors == | |||
| As of Nov 27, 2008<ref>"", '']</ref> | |||
| {| class="wikitable" | |||
| ! Name | |||
| ! Nationality | |||
| ! Current Position | |||
| ! Since | |||
| ! Total Annual Compensation | |||
| ! Long-Term Incentive Plans | |||
| ! All Other | |||
| ! Fiscal Year Total | |||
| ! Options | |||
| ! Value | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center| {{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |] of the board & ] | |||
| |2006 | |||
| |]600,000.00 | |||
| | - | |||
| |$235,943.00 | |||
| |$1,113,771.00 | |||
| |837,127 | |||
| |$63,215,422.00 | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |] & ] | |||
| |1999 | |||
| |$600,000.00 | |||
| | - | |||
| |$222,492.00 | |||
| |$1,100,320.00 | |||
| |506,445 | |||
| |$34,942,903.00 | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |], ] & ] | |||
| |2006 | |||
| |$600,000.00 | |||
| | - | |||
| |$163,841.00 | |||
| |$3,661,729.00 | |||
| |828,259 | |||
| |$61,033,100.00 | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |Vice Chairman | |||
| |2006 | |||
| |$16,843,500.00 | |||
| | - | |||
| |$79,736.00 | |||
| |$26,002,896.00 | |||
| |430,905 | |||
| |$30,624,806.00 | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |Vice Chairman & Chairman of Goldman Sachs, Asia | |||
| |2008 | |||
| |$600,000.00 | |||
| | - | |||
| |$2,250,850.00 | |||
| |$5,308,735.00 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|UK}} | |||
| |Vice Chairman, Co-CEO - International | |||
| |2008 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |Executive Vice President, Global Head - Compliance | |||
| |2004 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |Executive Vice President, ], Co-Head - Legal Department | |||
| |1999 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Co-Head - Legal Department | |||
| |2000 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |] | |||
| |1999 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|Sweden}} | |||
| |Director | |||
| |2003 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |Director | |||
| |2005 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |Director | |||
| |2002 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|India}} | |||
| |Director | |||
| |2006 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |Director | |||
| |1999 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |Director | |||
| |2004 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|India}} | |||
| |Director | |||
| |2008 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |] | |||
| |align=center|{{flagicon|USA}} | |||
| |Director | |||
| |2000 | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| | - | |||
| |- | |||
| |} | |||
| ==Alumni== | |||
| <!-- Per a compromise reached on this article's talk page, please do not add alumni to this list who are mentioned elsewhere in this article. Thank you --> | |||
| *] - 58th ] (1965-1969) | |||
| *] - Former ] Secretary, ex-Chairman of ]. | |||
| *] - Former ] Secretary. | |||
| *]- Hedge Fund Manager of ESL Investments. Brought K-Mart out of Bankruptcy in 2003. | |||
| *] - former ] | |||
| *] - CNBC Host | |||
| *] - Governor of the State of New Jersey. | |||
| *] - Head of Global Banking at ] | |||
| *] - Author of ''My Life as a Quant'' and co-developer of the ]. | |||
| *] - founder of TheStreet.com, best selling author, and host of Mad Money on CNBC | |||
| *] - President and co-founder of ] | |||
| *] - Perma-bull market forecaster formerly of ] | |||
| *] - member of the ] and current managing director at ] | |||
| *] - ] (2001-2005), ] (2005-2006), ''] President''. | |||
| *] - Current Governor of the ] <ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| *]- President & Trustee of ]. | |||
| *] - former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability | |||
| *] - Wrestler, who is working for ]. | |||
| *] - Australian politician, currently the federal leader of the ]. | |||
| *] - former Chairman and CEO, Merrill Lynch, and former chairman of the NYSE. | |||
| *] - Chairman and President, Wachovia. | |||
| *], ] (2007-) | |||
| *], ] twice (1996-1998 and 2006-2008) and ] (1999-2004)<ref name=Italians>{{cite news | |||
| | author = ] | |||
| | title = Italians claim country run by Goldman Sachs | |||
| | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2809685/Italians-claim-country-run-by-Goldman-Sachs.html | |||
| | publisher = ] | |||
| | date = 30 May 2007 | |||
| | accessdate = 2009-04-14 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| *], governor of the ] (2006- )<ref name=Italians /> | |||
| *], Italian deputy treasury chief (2006-2008)<ref name=Italians /> | |||
| *] - CEO of ] | |||
| ==Goldman in the mortgage market== | |||
| === Actions in the 2007- subprime mortgage crisis === | |||
| Despite the ], Goldman was able to profit from the collapse in subprime mortgage bonds in the summer of 2007 by selling subprime ] ]. Two Goldman traders, ] and ], are credited with bearing responsibility for the firm's large profits during America's sub-prime mortgage crisis.<ref>''Time Online'', December 19, 2007, </ref> The pair, who are part of Goldman's ]s group in New York, made a profit of $4bn by "betting" on a collapse in the sub-prime market, and ] mortgage-related securities. By summer of 2007, they persuaded colleagues to see their point of view and talked around skeptical risk management executives <ref name="autogenerated1">''The Guardian'', December 21, 2007, | |||
| </ref>. The firm initially avoided large subprime writedowns, and achieved a net profit due to significant losses on non-prime ] loans being offset by gains on ] mortgage positions. | |||
| Goldman Sachs' newest acquisitions are to include the subprime portfolio of imploded mortgage company Popular Financial Holdings late in the third quarter of 2008. <ref> ''Market Watch'',Popular Announces Substantial Sale of Loan and Servicing Assets of its U.S. Mortgage Unit Popular Financial Holdings to Goldman Sachs,</ref> | |||
| Detractors believe that Goldman wasn't quite as careful with its clients' money as it was with its own—its flagship Global Alpha ] tumbled 37% in the global credit crunch.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> As most individual investments of hedge funds are not made public, however, no one can know exactly what assets the firm traded during the period leading up to the credit crisis. | |||
| === 2008 Berkshire Hathaway Investment in Goldman Sachs === | |||
| Goldman Sachs got help from ], which bought $5 billion in Goldman's preferred stock, and got also warrants to buy another $5 billion in Goldman's common stock. Goldman also received $10 billion of capital from the U.S. government in October 2008, under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. | |||
| ===Goldman Sachs' Alternative Mortgage Products=== | |||
| {{off-topic}} | |||
| {{Refimprove|date=February 2009}} | |||
| In 2006, Goldmans Sachs' mortgage-bonds division, Alternative Mortgage Products (known as GSAMP for short), issued 83 home-loan-backed bonds, valued at $44.5 billion.{{Fact|date=February 2009}} In the subprime sector, it grew its business by 59% from 2005, offloading some $12.9 billion on to fund managers.{{Fact|date=February 2009}} | |||
| According to Inside Mortgage Finance, ''that made GSAMP the 15th biggest issuer of subprime-backed bonds in 2006''. According to the website ABAlert.com (Asset-backed Alert), Goldman Sachs was one of the top 10 sellers of ] (CMO's) and may have sold about $100 billion in CMO's over the last two and a half years. <ref> Finfacts Ireland, 'How Goldman Sachs made money from US subprime mortgages on the way up and down', December 4, 2007 </ref> | |||
| But, by the start of the third quarter this year, those securities were being downgraded by the credit ratings agencies faster than any other subprime lender. According to a Reuters report, Citigroup's research (June 22, 2007), stated "portions of Goldman's GSAMP-issued bonds, which include subprime loans from a variety of lenders, have been downgraded a combined 69 times by Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service in the year through June 15. Sixty of the GSAMP downgrades refer to classes from 2006 bonds," Citigroup added, and Allan Sloane in ''The Washington Post'' stated that one of Goldman's 2006 crop - the GSAMP Trust 2006- S3 - may actually be "the worst deal…floated by a top-tier firm." One in every six of the 8,274 mortgages bundled together in GSAMP Trust 2006-S3 was already in default 18 months later. Whoever bought the S3 bonds will have either taken a 100% loss, or are waiting to sell it off at a heavy discount. <ref>''The Washington Post'', An Unsavory Slice of Subprime, October | |||
| 16, 2007 .</ref> | |||
| == Works about Goldman Sachs == | |||
| * | |||
| *{{cite book |author=Vault |title=Vault employer profile. Goldman Sachs |publisher=Vault, Inc. |location=New York |year=2006 |isbn=1-581-31469-8}} | |||
| *{{cite book |author=WetFeet |title=The Goldman Sachs Group |publisher=WetFeet |location=San Francisco, CA |year=2004 |isbn=1-582-07450-X}} | |||
| *{{cite book |author=] |title=The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs |publisher=] |location=New York |year=2008 |isbn=1-594-20189-7}} | |||
| *{{cite book |author=] |title=Goldman Sachs: The Culture Of Success |publisher=] |location=New York |year=1999 |isbn=0-679-45080-7}} | |||
| *{{cite book |author=Lindskoog, Nils |title=Long-term Greedy: The Triumph of Goldman Sachs |publisher=McCrossen Pub. |location=Appleton, WI |year=1998 |isbn=0-965-21533-4}} | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| {{portal|Companies|Factory 1b.svg}} | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| == References == | |||
| {{reflist|2}} | |||
| == External links == | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * by Matt Taibbi, ''Rolling Stone'', July 9-23 2009 - | |||
| * by Peter Daou, ''The Huffington Post'', July 17 2009 | |||
| {{50 largest US banks}} | |||
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Revision as of 01:17, 19 July 2009
 | |
| Company type | Public (NYSE: GS) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Founded | 1869 |
| Founder | Marcus Goldman |
| Headquarters | New York, USA |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Lloyd C. Blankfein (Chairman) & (CEO) |
| Products | Investment Banking Prime brokerage Asset Management Commercial Banking |
| Revenue |  US $ 53.579 billion (2008) |
| Operating income | US $ 2.336 billion (2008) |
| Net income | US $ 2.322 billion (2008) |
| Total assets | US $ 884.547 billion (2008) |
| Total equity |  US $ 64.369 billion (2008) |
| Number of employees | 27,898 (Q1 2009) |
| Website | GS.com |
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.