In an opinion column for New York Times, Greg Smith, who worked in equity derivatives, said Goldman had become “as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.”
Goldman Sachs issued a short statement in response:
“We disagree with the views expressed, which we don’t think reflect the way we run our business. In our view, we will only be successful if our clients are successful. This fundamental truth lies at the heart of how we conduct ourselves.”
Calls to Smith, who was a vice president in derivatives sales at the firm, were referred to the bank’s press office.
“It makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off. Over the last 12 months I have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as “muppets,“” Smith said in the newspaper.
Smith’s letter set off a blizzard of comments on Twitter and other social media. In the UK “muppet” is used a derogatory term to describe someone who is regarded as being ignorant.
Smith gave no further details about his allegation in the column, which said the London-based banker had spent 12 years at the bank and was resigning on Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs, fourth among investment banks last year according to fee-income rankings compiled by Thomson Reuters and Freeman Consulting, was once described as “a great vampire squid” in the Rolling Stone music magazine. The reference was to the extensive influence of Goldman in politics and business.
In recent years it has faced a series of high-profile incidents potentially damaging to its image after the near-collapse of the global banking system since the middle of 2007.
One of its bankers, Fabrice Tourre — who referred to himself as “fabulous Fab” in e-mails — is still embroiled in legal claims in the United States after allegations that he duped buyers of a complex credit instrument.
And two years ago, Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein caused a media storm when he said that as a banker he was just “doing God’s work,” defending high banker pay and the role their institutions play in the economy.
