Senate report hits Goldman
A US senate panel yesterday accused Goldman Sachs of misleading clients and manipulating markets in the most damning official report so far on Wall Street’s role in the financial crisis.
Carl Levin, chairman of the senate permanent subcommittee on investigations, tore into Goldman at a press briefing on his panel’s 639-page report, which is based on a review of tens of millions of documents over two years. Levin accused Goldman of profiting at clients’ expense as the mortgage market crashed in 2007. “In my judgment, Goldman clearly misled their clients and they misled Congress,” he said.
A Goldman Sachs spokesman said: “While we disagree with many of the conclusions of the report, we take seriously the issues explored by the subcommittee.”
The report also criticised Deutsche Bank and credit rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.
“Blame for this mess lies everywhere – from federal regulators who cast a blind eye, Wall Street bankers who let greed run wild, and members of Congress who failed to provide oversight,” said Republican senator and report co-author Tom Coburn.
Levin said he would refer the matter to the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, saw his bank criticised by a senate panel yesterday