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HomeWill Fabrice Tourre be Paul Mozer and Lloyd Blankfein be John Gutfreund?
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 19th, 2010 1:29 PM |
While some may view Friday’s charges by the SEC as a mere flesh wound against the all powerful Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs, I think this situation has the potential to mushroom far beyond that.
I am sure that Goldman Sachs is currently running full throttle in terms of damage control. In fact, given that Goldman was served with a Wells Notice many months ago, there is no doubt in my mind that Goldman has been ‘circling the wagons’ in regard to its legal exposures. That said, Goldman can not fully nor properly prepare for public backlash and investor outrage. As much as Goldman can do to disparage the SEC’s case, the fact is the much bigger case against Goldman will be held in the court of public opinion. (more…)
Doing Biz with Goldman Sachs = ‘Swimming with the Sharks’
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 16th, 2010 12:03 PM |
Given the breaking news of Goldman Sachs being charged with fraud, I am bumping up this story from my original posting on April 14th.
If you are swimming with sharks, you had better be careful.
I have had an extraordinary number of people visit Sense on Cents as a result of searching for information on how Goldman Sachs operates. Although many believe Goldman’s operations to be one massive conspiracy, I would not blindly and wantonly generalize about an entire organization. By the same token, Goldman is certainly not a pack of choir boys either. (more…)
Volcker Rule Gains Support of Former Treasury Secretaries
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 22nd, 2010 3:59 PM |
Score major points for former Fed Chair Paul Volcker in his pursuit to restructure Wall Street. How so?
A letter in this morning’s Wall Street Journal from five former Treasury Secretaries endorses Volcker’s proposal to limit proprietary trading activities in our largest banks. The letter reads,
We who have served as secretary of the Treasury in both Republican and Democratic administrations write in support of the proposed legislation to prohibit certain proprietary activities of commercial banking organizations—the so-called Volcker rule, as part of needed financial reform (“It’s Time for Financial Reform Plan C,” by Alan Blinder, op-ed, Feb. 16).
The principle can be simply stated. Banks benefiting from public support by means of access to the Federal Reserve and FDIC insurance should not engage in essentially speculative activity unrelated to essential bank services. (more…)
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Should Investigate…
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 11th, 2010 9:28 AM |
Will America ever truly learn what happened on Wall Street that brought our markets, our economy, and our country to its knees?
We should not expect the incestuous Wall Street-Washington partners to implicate themselves and thoroughly expose their shortcomings. A full 16 months since the failure of Lehman Bros. and how much have we truly learned? What change has really occurred? Who has been fired in Washington? Who has been indicted on Wall Street? Will the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, charged with investigating the factors which facilitated our economic disaster, truly be effective?
The truth may hurt but if the hard questions are not asked, the failings are not exposed, and those responsible are not held to account, then the lessons will not be learned, and the experience will likely repeat itself.
Will the commission pretend to investigate, but ultimately wilt under the pressure of the incestuous pillars of power? Will the commission rise above the fray, hold people and institutions to account, and make our country proud? Will the commission use its power to subpoena, if need be?
Whom should the commission pursue? What agencies and institutions should the commission target? If I were on the commission, I would recommend pursuing the following targets: (more…)
Goldman Sachs Doing God’s Work?
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 10th, 2009 12:20 PM |
Do you get the sense that Wall Street in general and Goldman Sachs in particular are getting overly miffed at the disdain heaped upon it by the American public? I do.
In a spirited defense put forth by Goldman Sachs CEO, Lloyd Blankfein invokes the Lord’s name in promoting the virtues of Goldman Sachs’ work. Aggressive move by Mr. Blankfein. The Wall Street Journal highlights this story in writing, Goldman Sachs’ Blankfein on Banking: ‘Doing God’s Work’:
The Times of London’s mammoth 6,900-word piece on Goldman Sachs over the weekend contains plenty of fodder for those that see the investment bank as Wall Street’s top dog, as well as those that see it as a creepy, conspiratorial vampire squid of finance.
But the key quote that’s getting attention comes in Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein’s exchange with a reporter after a question on whether there should be limits to compensation:
Is it possible to make too much money? “Is it possible to have too much ambition? Is it possible to be too successful?” Blankfein shoots back. “I don’t want people in this firm to think that they have accomplished as much for themselves as they can and go on vacation. As the guardian of the interests of the shareholders and, by the way, for the purposes of society, I’d like them to continue to do what they are doing. I don’t want to put a cap on their ambition. It’s hard for me to argue for a cap on their compensation.”
So, it’s business as usual, then, regardless of whether it makes most people howl at the moon with rage? Goldman Sachs, this pillar of the free market, breeder of super-citizens, object of envy and awe will go on raking it in, getting richer than God? An impish grin spreads across Blankfein’s face. Call him a fat cat who mocks the public. Call him wicked. Call him what you will. He is, he says, just a banker “doing God’s work”
Wow!! Let’s navigate. (more…)
The King of Wall Street: Larry Fink
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 17th, 2009 11:17 AM |
BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink
With the downfall of Wall Street over the last two years, we have seen some giants within the industry summarily dismissed and, in certain cases, demonized. Who knows what the future holds for Dick Fuld, Jimmy Cayne, John Thain, and Angelo Mozilo.
With their demise, who now reigns over the Wall Street kingdom? Many would debate that either Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs or Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase is the “king of the court.” Well, Lloyd and Jamie certainly wield significant power and influence on Wall Street, but there is no doubt that the King of Wall Street is the CEO of BlackRock, Larry Fink.
Who is Larry Fink? What is BlackRock? How did he ascend to the throne?
I consider myself fortunate to have worked for Larry for the first 5 years of my career at First Boston. I learned the business under his watch. He was more than fair with me and I owe him a debt of gratitude for giving me an opportunity.
Larry came to Wall Street in the late ’70s and is largely credited, along with Lew Ranieri of Salomon Bros., for developing the mortgage-backed securities sector. First Boston and Salomon dominated the MBS sector of the market in the ’80s with a combined 70%-75% market share. I certainly did not fully appreciate it at the time, but my 7 years at First Boston were a fabulous education.
During my last two years at First Boston, I did not work for Larry. He moved on to join Blackstone, a new private equity venture. BlackRock was a part of Blackstone and subsequently spun off.
BlackRock was initially a shop that primarily marketed mutual funds. Over the last 21 years, BlackRock has experienced tremendous growth, both organically and via acquisitions. Just the other day, BlackRock purchased Barclays Global Investors for $13 billion. With BGI in the fold, BlackRock will have approximately $2.8 trillion in assets under management.
BlackRock typically gets the first call from Washington when workout situations arise. They were engaged to assess and manage the risks upon the demise of Bear Stearns and AIG.
BlackRock is recognized as the preeminent risk manager on Wall Street. In fact, one of BlackRock’s most profitable units is a risk management division known as BlackRock Solutions. How uncanny that BlackRock has flourished based upon its risk management capabilities. Why? Under Larry’s watch at First Boston in the mid to late ’80s, risk management within our MBS business was almost non-existent.
I would never air dirty laundry nor talk out of school, but Larry himself has referenced this time period as being a tremendous education for him along with a sore spot. Let me expound. (more…)
