Goldman CFO says clients past Levin: analyst
Goldman Sachs believes its clients are largely past the regulatory investigations and accusations that have surrounded the bank, according to an analyst who met its Chief Financial Officer.
Goldman Chief Financial Officer David Viniar said the bank does not expect the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to bring any more claims against it after a $550 million settlement last year, according to a report from Susquehanna Financial Group analyst David Hilder.
Viniar also said a report from a Senate subcommittee -- known as the Levin report -- unfairly accused the bank's employees of failing to disclose information at hearings, according Hilder.
But Clients have moved on, Viniar told Hilder.
Customers paid the bank more than $9.2 billion in the first quarter, excluding revenue from Goldman's investing and lending activities.
Many large and small firms competed with (Goldman Sachs) for that revenue, and clients chose to pay it to (Goldman), Hilder wrote.
The U.S. government chose Goldman as the lead seller of nearly $9 billion worth of American International Group Inc
Goldman has been the subject of intense scrutiny for more than a year. The bank settled civil fraud charges with the SEC related to one of its collateralized debt obligation trades last July for $550 million.
The subcommittee report, promoted by Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, has revived criticism of Goldman recently. Viniar noted the SEC had already reviewed the documents in Levin's report as part of its earlier probe, Hilder said in his report.
In addition to the Justice Department and SEC reviews of the Levin report, Goldman also disclosed recently that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is looking into the activities of a subsidiary. The Federal Reserve is also investigating the foreclosure practices of its mortgage servicing subsidiary, Litton Loan Servicing.
(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; editing by Andre Grenon)
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