I had repeatedly argued here that the Goldman-SEC row had been nothing but a slick political publicity stunt, some excerpts:
“Moreover, it also seems ridiculous to perceive of a sustained path of attack, considering that Goldman Sachs has been more than a political ally to the Democratic Party. In fact the company has constantly played the role of key financier of the Democratic Party”
See Why The US SEC-Goldman Sachs Hoopla Is Likely A Charade
“We have long known that the global financial system have been "gamed" by the elite in cahoots with politicians. And part of the game is the borrow and spend policies, that actually benefits the banking cartel.
“As we earlier said, it won't take long for this political masquerade to be unraveled...
“What I have been saying is that this has been a political ruse meant to either shore up somebody's electoral image or an attempt to control the gold markets.”
See SEC-Goldman Sachs: Hindsight Bias, Staged For Political Advantage
“And this gives even more motivation for the ruling political class to use the Goldman caper as a likely prop as the "fall guy" role for political ends.
“We just don't oversimplistically regulate cartels out of existence, not when the cartel itself is lead by the government via the Federal Reserve.”
See: SEC-Goldman Sachs Row: The Rising Populist Tide Against Big Governments
“Moreover, there have been pressures for Goldman to amicably settle with the SEC even if “they’re right on the merits of the case”.
“And surprisingly, President Obama despite earlier reports to verbally assail Wall Street turned up with a conciliatory voice at a recent speech ``Ultimately, there is no dividing line between Main Street and Wall Street,” Obama said in his speech at Cooper Union, about two miles from the financial district. “We will rise or we will fall together as one nation.”
See: Markets Ignore US SEC-Goldman Sachs Tiff, More Political Dirty Dancing
It appears that this has been the case, as the Goldman-SEC row has officially been settled.
This from Bloomberg/Businessweek,
``Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s $550 million settlement with U.S. regulators yesterday will benefit the firm by ending three months of uncertainty at an affordable price. Now the rest of Wall Street begins calculating the cost.
``Investors welcomed the deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying the company won key points: The cost was below some analysts’ estimates of at least $1 billion; no management changes were required; and Goldman Sachs said the SEC indicated it doesn’t plan claims related to other mortgage- linked securities it examined. The stock’s late surge on anticipation of a settlement yesterday added more than $3 billion to the company’s market value, and it climbed further after New York trading closed.
“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.”
``In the settlement, unveiled less than two hours after the Senate passed legislation to reform the financial system and avert future crises, Goldman Sachs acknowledged that marketing materials for the 2007 deal at the center of the case contained “incomplete information.” In its April 16 suit, the SEC accused the firm of defrauding investors in a mortgage-backed collateralized debt obligation by failing to tell them that hedge fund Paulson & Co., which was planning to bet against the deal, had helped to design it.” (bold emphasis added)
Quid pro quo?
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