Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, said on Friday that not even God could lead Goldman Sachs without criticism, as he defended the investment bank’s head after a rare attack from within its own ranks.
Goldman has been battling a stream of negative press since Greg Smith, a middle-ranking derivatives salesman, resigned on Tuesday, publicly accusing Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive, of presiding over a “toxic” culture in which bankers were “ripping off clients” and referring to customers as “muppets”.
Mr Bloomberg said the attack on Mr Blankfein was ridiculous. “He’s trying to lead this firm at a time when God couldn’t lead it without being criticised,” the billionaire mayor, who started his own career as an investment banker, told the Financial Times.
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The New York mayor, who founded one of the world’s biggest financial news and data organisations which counts Goldman among its clients, said “someday you can tell me” why The New York Times published the article, adding that it was “beyond me”.
That view was echoed by James Gorman, chief executive of Goldman rival Morgan Stanley, who also attacked the newspaper for publishing Mr Smith’s unsolicited article.
“To pick a random employee, I just don’t think it’s fair and I didn’t think it was balanced,” he said at an event hosted by Fortune magazine. “There but for the grace of God go us.”
Ah yes, these paragons of capitalism are so offended by the Times publishing Smith's resignation letter and making Goldman look like the evil company it is, but somehow they're not offended by New York City going back on its word by releasing the Teacher Data Reports that use a value-added measurement with a maximum margin of error of 87% to the press so that the NY Post and other papers could slander individual teachers with headlines like NEW YORK'S WORST TEACHERS.
Hypocrites.
It's also not a surprise that the Masters of the Universe who like to dish the abuse out can't take it when it's leveled back at them - in this case, quite fairly.
As the Bloomberg-owned Businessweek reported on March 15, Goldman Sachs is scummy at best in it's business practices.
Nothing Smith said was out of line and hasn't been reported before about Goldman.
It wasn't like his letter has a margin of error in it, let alone a MOE of 87%.
Yet somehow Bloomberg and Blankfein and the crook running Morgan Stanley are offended by the truth showing up in the Times.
It reminds me of what a union lawyer I knew used to say: "Scratch a bully, and find a punk."
ReplyDeleteIt never fails to astound me how, when you try to defend yourself against the attacks of a sociopath, they accuse you of being the aggressor, and some people are gullible enough to believe it.
You can see why they reacted so strongly to Ocuppy and Zuccoti - behind the money and the expensive suits and p.r., they're cowards and, as you note, punks.
ReplyDeleteBut to see Bloomberg actually go down to Goldman and try and dry their tears a day after the Smith letter - wow.
Bloombergs comments do not surprise me one bit. What really surprises me is the morons who allowed and then voted him in for a third term. I will also be surprised if Christine Quinn Bloomberg heir apparent is NOT voted in.
ReplyDeleteI also will be surprised if Quinn doesn't win - she'll have the backing of the moneyed interests and the newspapers.
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