Republicans love Goldman Sachs. The truth about who is for and who is against reform on Wall Street is slowly being revealed.
SEC Said to Vote 3-2 to Sue Goldman Sachs Over CDOs (Update2)
By Jesse Westbrook
April 19 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission split 3-2 along party lines to approve an enforcement case against Goldman Sachs Group Inc., according to two people with knowledge of the vote.
SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro sided with Democrats Luis Aguilar and Elisse Walter to approve the case, said the people, who declined to be identified because the vote wasn’t public. Republican commissioners Kathleen Casey and Troy Paredes voted against suing, the person said.
Schapiro, an independent appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, cast the deciding vote in a high-profile case for the second time this year. In February, she sided with Democrats in a $150 million settlement with Bank of America Corp. tied to its takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co.
“She’s not worried about consensus because ultimately, this case is going to be decided by a jury trial,” said Peter Henning, a former federal prosecutor and SEC attorney who teaches at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. “It might help Goldman a little bit in the public-relations battle to show that there is division.”
The SEC on April 16 accused Goldman Sachs, the most profitable company in Wall Street history, of creating and selling collateralized debt obligations in 2007 tied to subprime mortgages without disclosing that hedge fund Paulson & Co. helped pick the underlying securities. Goldman Sachs also didn’t disclose to investors that Paulson was betting against the securities, the SEC said.
SEC spokesmen John Nester declined to comment.
Public Outrage
Goldman Sachs said in a statement last week that the SEC’s allegations are “completely unfounded in law and fact.” The company said it will “vigorously” contest the case and “defend the firm and its reputation.”
The company became emblematic of public outrage at the banking industry after posting a record $13.4 billion profit in 2009, a year after receiving $10 billion in U.S. aid during the financial crisis. It repaid the funds in June. The company, led by Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein, 55, has been criticized by lawmakers for issues from pay practices to helping Greece mask the size of its debts.
Goldman Sachs plunged 13 percent on April 16 after the SEC announced its case. The shares rose $2.62, or 1.6 percent, to $163.32 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
Bucked Consensus
Schapiro, 55, has bucked consensus in approving enforcement cases and new regulations. In February, she joined Aguilar and Walter in 3-2 votes for rules to restrict on bearish stock bets and to encourage companies to disclose how climate change may alter financial results.
The vote on short-sale restrictions prompted Erik Sirri, a former head of the SEC’s division of trading and markets under Schapiro, to say the agency made a political decision rather than one based on market data.
Schapiro’s predecessor, Christopher Cox, tried to seek consensus on SEC actions, triggering criticism from investors that he wouldn’t take on contentious cases or rules. Cox stepped down as SEC chairman in January 2009.
Goldman Sachs, which reports first-quarter earnings tomorrow, was warned nine months ago by the SEC that agency investigators wanted to bring a case, people with direct knowledge of the talks said. The company made counter-arguments in response to the so-called Wells notice before disclosing to investors in March that it was cooperating with regulators.
The SEC didn’t tell the company that it planned to file its suit on April 16, which Goldman Sachs interpreted as a sign the agency has become unusually adversarial, according to a person close to the firm.
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