Video - Bill Black on Goldman Sachs derivatives fraud.
WaPo | Even before the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Goldman last week, accusing it of creating a complex financial product designed to fail and selling it to unknowing investors, the firm had become a frequent target of investigators. In courts and in Congress, Goldman has been accused of a range of misdeeds, including manipulating oil prices and using taxpayer money for handsome bonuses.
The company has maintained that it did nothing improper in any of those cases. In the Massachusetts settlement, it admitted to no wrongdoing, and a spokesman said Goldman was never a leading issuer or underwriter of residential mortgage-backed securities. Yet, to many Goldman critics, the SEC lawsuit underscores their worst image of the firm as a cold bank that places its profit before anything else -- client interests, customer needs and its obligation to society as a leading American corporation.
Although Goldman quickly agreed to settle the Massachusetts case, it is gearing up for a court battle with the SEC. The case, analysts said, challenges the heart of Goldman's motto -- "Our clients' interests always come first" -- and could set off a new wave of lawsuits against the firm.
"Anyone who's ever done any investment through Goldman who's lost a significant amount of money all the sudden starts to say, 'Gee, I wonder if there was something else out there that they were doing, which they didn't tell me about, which would have made me not want to invest?' " said Richard L. Scheff, chairman of the law firm Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads. "If I'm a person who's lost money, why would I think it's limited to this? You're talking about someone's duty to their clients. That's the principle at issue here."
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