Instead Of Going To Prison For Running A Criminal Organization: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. awarded Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein $23 million in salary and cash and stock bonuses for 2015
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. awarded Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein $23 million in salary and cash and stock bonuses for 2015, down 4.2 percent from a year earlier, after profit slumped and shares lagged behind peers. The total excludes a long-term incentive award, which is disclosed later in the year.
Blankfein, who also serves as chairman, received restricted shares valued at $14.7 million, half of it tied to future performance, the New York-based company said Friday in a filing. Blankfein, 61, typically receives about 30 percent of his total bonus in cash, making that portion about $6.3 million, a person with knowledge of the payout said, asking not to be identified because it hasn’t been announced. He also receives a $2 million annual salary.
Goldman Sachs Agrees to Pay More than $5 Billion in Connection with Its Sale of Residential Mortgage Backed Securities
The Justice Department, along with federal and state partners, announced today a $5.06 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs related to Goldman’s conduct in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2007. The resolution announced today requires Goldman to pay $2.385 billion in a civil penalty under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) and also requires the bank to provide $1.8 billion in other relief, including relief to underwater homeowners, distressed borrowers and affected communities, in the form of loan forgiveness and financing for affordable housing. Goldman will also pay $875 million to resolve claims by other federal entities and state claims. Investors, including federally-insured financial institutions, suffered billions of dollars in losses from investing in RMBS issued and underwritten by Goldman between 2005 and 2007.
“This resolution holds Goldman Sachs accountable for its serious misconduct in falsely assuring investors that securities it sold were backed by sound mortgages, when it knew that they were full of mortgages that were likely to fail,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Stuart F. Delery. “This $5 billion settlement includes a $1.8 billion commitment to help repair the damage to homeowners and communities that Goldman acknowledges resulted from its conduct, and it makes clear that no institution may inflict this type of harm on investors and the American public without serious consequences.”
