Lloyd Blankfein: "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, the only non-government employee at the 4-man meeting to decide the fate of AIG, sent a letter of apology and appreciation to various officials yesterday (Frank, Bachus, Shelby and Dodd) for the government's support during the financial crisis.  There was no word on his thank you to former CEO of Goldman and Treasury, Hank Paulson.

What about a letter to taxpayers, Lloyd?  The stooges in Washington gave the go-ahead, we gave the cash.  A press release thanking us might be something to think about. 

As long as we are discussing TARP repayment (I'll get into it more deeply this weekend), don't be fooled.  Goldman and all the others have FDIC-backed debt still floating; Goldman got at least $13 billion from AIG payouts at par (some have said $20 billion); Goldman will benefit from the TALF and the remaining components of Geithner's P-PIP plus the myriad other Fed-Treasury-FDIC programs. 

Still waiting on 'thank-yous' from the other CEOs.

From Dealbook we have the following quotes:

Lloyd C. Blankfein, told leading Congressional lawmakers on Tuesday that he regretted Goldman had “participated in the market euphoria” that led to the financial crisis.

Mr. Blankfein said Goldman was “grateful for the government’s extraordinary efforts and the taxpayers’ patience” during the crisis. And he acknowledged in letters obtained by DealBook that “certain practices were unhealthy” for the banking system.

In his letters to lawmakers, Mr. Blankfein wrote that Goldman had “an explicit contract with our shareholders to be responsible stewards of their capital.”

“While we regret that we participated in the market euphoria and failed to raise a responsible voice, we are proud of the way our firm managed the risk it assumed on behalf of our client before and during the financial crisis,” he said.

Mr. Blankfein added: “We believe that repayment of the government’s investment is a strong sign of progress and one measure of the ability to recover from the crisis. But real stability can return only if our industry accepts that certain practices were unhealthy and not in the long-term interests of individual institutions and the financial system, as a whole.”

Mr. Blankfein did not specifically identify the unhealthy “certain practices” in his letter, although he committed Goldman “to working constructively with regulators and policymakers to address systemic weaknesses and gaps that may have contributed to the financial crisis.”

Copy of Blankfein Apology

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word  (Elton John 1976 LIVE)

Comments

[DailyBail]

Another one bites the dust.

Eddie Bauer files for bankruptcy

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/18/business/18bauer.html?em

[DailyBail]

JPMorgan and 9 Other Banks Repay TARP Money

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/jpmorgan-repays-treasury-as-tarp-exits-continue/

Big banks repay government bailout funds

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE55G3OR20090617

[DailyBail]

Buy a toaster, get a free bank.

http://housingdoom.com/2009/04/19/buy-a-toaster-get-a-free-bank/

[DailyBail]

U.S. lenders slid after Standard & Poor’s reduced its credit ratings on 18 banks, including Wells Fargo & Co., Capital One Financial Corp. and KeyCorp, citing tighter regulation and increased market volatility. Keycorp dropped 7.8 percent.

Carolina First Bank, Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc., Huntington Bancshares Inc., Synovus Financial Corp. and Whitney Holding Corp. were cut to “junk” status. High-yield, high- risk, or junk, debt is rated below BBB- by S&P.

“Financial institutions are now shedding balance-sheet risk and altering funding profiles and strategies for the marketplace’s new reality,” S&P credit analyst Rodrigo Quintanilla said today in a statement. “Such a transition period justifies lower ratings as industry players implement changes.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aah0VD81qMHg

[DailyBail]

China risks trade suicide

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/5561347/China-risks-trade-suicide.html

[DailyBail]

Three Not-So-Optimistic Economists (VIDEO)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/15/three-not-so-optimistic-e_n_215759.html?ref=patrick.net

[DailyBail]

Strange Inconsistencies in the $134.5 Billion Bearer Bond Mystery

http://seekingalpha.com/article/143462-strange-inconsistencies-in-the-134-5-billion-bearer-bond-mystery?source=from_friend&ref=patrick.net

[DailyBail]

Horrible Jumbo Market Shows The Real State Of Housing

http://www.businessinsider.com/horrible-jumbo-market-shows-the-real-state-of-housing-2009-6

[DailyBail]

Former President George W. Bush fired a salvo at President Obama on Wednesday, asserting his administration's interrogation policies were within the law, declaring the private sector not government will fix the economy and rejecting the nationalization of health care.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/18/bush-takes-swipes-at-policies-of-obama/

Does he have any credibility left...?...

[Ain't Bullshittin']

NO...it was under HIS watch that the "Maestro" printed cash so we could revamp the FAKE economy and invade IRAQ. I'm not saying IRAQ did not need a regieme change but I am saying it would NOT have been affordable w/o Greenie printing. Just sayin'....

[DailyBail]

It was Greenspan who made sure the housing bubble replaced the tech bubble.