Goldman agrees to pay $22M to settle weekly 'huddles' charges
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay a hefty fine to hit a settlement with US regulators over flaws at weekly 'huddles'.
The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) had accused Goldman Sachs of failing to implement measures to prevent leaks from "trading huddles", where privileged hedge fund clients could have been provided access to secrets from the bank's research analysts.
Goldman Sachs neither confessed nor denied the charges, but it agreed to pay $22 million to settle charges.
Robert Khuzami, the head of enforcement at SEC, said Goldman failed to implement policies to control the risk despite being notified by the SEC about the significance of such controls.
Speaking on the topic, Khuzami said, “Goldman failed to implement policies and procedures that adequately controlled the risk that research analysts could preview upcoming ratings changes with select traders and clients.”
Goldman has long been the subject of criticism. It has been criticizd over its role in several financial crises in the world, including housing market slump in the US and the debt problems of the Greek Government.
Greg Smith, the former head of European equity derivatives business at Goldman Sachs, quit the bank after describing its environment as "toxic and destructive".
