Goldman Sachs Earns 250m as Punishment for Fraud

As middle class and low-income families continue to struggle to keep from going bankrupt and losing their homes, the U.S bank and finance corporation Goldman Sachs made a profit by agreeing to settle their civil suits and pay a fine of $550 million U.S dollars for fraudulent activity and misleading investors. [source]

The UK's Royal Bank of Scotland, which is now 84% owned by the UK taxpayer and lost about $840m in investments as result of Goldman Sachs fraud, will receive $100m compensation. The German bank IKB Deutsche Industriebank will receive $150m, with the remaining $300m going to the US Treasury. [source]

In a statement, Goldman Sachs said the move to settle their fraud cases was "the right outcome for our firm, our shareholders and our clients". In this they were most certainly correct. As a result of the “deal” Goldman Sachs’ stock rose today by 4.5% - earning the firm $800 million dollars. The resulting net profit for those of us not inclined to math: 250 million U.S dollars. [source]

Neo-liberal pundits everywhere are hailing this a huge win for a few dozen wealthy elites who continued to make record breaking profits throughout the “financial crisis”. From BusinessWeek Magaizine: 

“You’d have to look at it as a victory for Goldman,” said Peter Sorrentino, senior portfolio manager at Huntington Asset Advisors in Cincinnati, which manages $13.3 billion including Goldman Sachs shares. “This takes a cloud off the stock.” [source]

Goldman Sachs made a profit of $3.5 billion dollars in the first three months of this year – most of which went directly to a few dozen U.S and foreign citizens. [source] Lesson for the kids: crime does pay.



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