"Goldman Sachs looks to repay TARP money" by Bloomberg News | March 25, 2009
NEW YORK - Goldman Sachs Group, once the most profitable firm on Wall Street, is talking with US regulators about repaying the $10 billion it received from the government by mid-April, a person familiar with the matter said.
Goldman Sachs hasn't formally applied to give back the money, which it received as part of the first round of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the person said, declining to be identified because the talks are private.
Bank executives are chafing under increased scrutiny that accompanied the bailout money, as public outrage over bonuses and executive perks intensifies. The government may be reluctant to let any banks pay back the TARP money now, because it could pressure other companies that still need the cash to return it, according to Peter Sorrentino of Huntington Asset Advisors.
That doesn't make sense. Why would they be chafing unless they did something wrong? Why would the government not want to be repaid? That last reason sounds as flimsy as hell; if you needed the money and were using it correctly, wouldn't you keep it anyway?
Goldman Sachs doesn't expect to be allowed to repay the TARP money until the Treasury finishes so-called stress tests of major banks' financial stability, the person said. Regulators expect to complete the review in April.
"We've indicated our desire to repay TARP capital sooner rather than later, but obviously won't do anything without the approval of our regulators," Goldman Sachs spokesman Lucas Van Praag said.
Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., said Goldman Sachs should return the TARP funds if it's able, and regulators shouldn't discourage exit strategies for banks that want to end their participation in the program. The New York Times reported yesterday that Goldman Sachs was negotiating to return the money. A Treasury spokesman declined to comment.
David Viniar, Goldman Sachs's finance chief, said Feb. 4 that running the company without government money "would be an easier thing to do."
Then why did they take it?
The firm, which set a Wall Street record for pay in 2007.... Goldman Sachs is also considering a sale of part of its 4.9 percent stake in Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. to raise more than $1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.
They are a stakeholder in a Chinese bank, huh?
Investors would likely welcome the sale as a means to raise capital and create a more predictable earnings stream, said William Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Optique Capital Management....
And whatever the globalist investor wants, well, that's what's important to the Boston Globe.
Not YOU, reader!
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