Goldman Sachs loses market value after searing Greg Smith essay
By Christine Harper, Updated: Thursday, March 15, 7:50 AM
March 15 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. saw $2.15 billion of its market value wiped out after an employee assailed Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfeins management and the firms treatment of clients, sparking debate across Wall Street.
The shares dropped 3.4 percent in New York trading yesterday, the third-biggest decline in the 81-company Standard & Poors 500 Financials Index, after London-based Greg Smith made the accusations in a New York Times op-ed piece.
Smith, who also wrote that he was quitting after 12 years at the company, blamed Blankfein, 57, and President Gary D. Cohn, 51, for a decline in the firms moral fiber. They responded in a memo to current and former employees, saying that Smiths assertions dont reflect the firms values, culture or how the vast majority of people at Goldman Sachs think about the firm and the work it does on behalf of our clients.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, 84, whose Volcker rule would limit banks like New York-based Goldman Sachs from making bets with their own money, called Smiths article a radical, strong piece. Im afraid its a business that leads to a lot of conflicts of interest, Volcker said at a conference in Washington sponsored by the Atlantic.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/goldman-sachs-loses-market-value-after-searing-greg-smith-essay/2012/03/15/gIQAn686DS_story.html