Goldman Sachs, SEC Continuing Settlement Discussions

Shareholders have been pushing Goldman Sachs [NYSE: GS] to seek an all-in-one settlement, according to The Wall Street Journal. Goldman propositioned the SEC to continue settlement discussions. Though it isn't clear how the agency responded, the SEC likely wouldn't agree to any broad settlement unless it was confident that the deal can withstand scrutiny from lawmakers and a federal judge who would agree to approve the deal, according to people familiar with the SEC's position. "It's a no-brainer that if you're going to resolve one government investigation, you try to resolve as many as you can as broadly as you can," said Robert G. Morvillo, a veteran defense lawyer. How to structure a settlement that is narrow enough to satisfy Goldman is another issue, including limiting its legal liability, but allowing the SEC to go after the company if the agency uncovers new evidence of wrongdoing related to the existing cases. Goldman and SEC spokesmen declined to comment. Goldman is holding steady with the settlement talks as they want to avoid ending the case with a civil-fraud charge, and even a deal where Goldman took a silent position, neither admitting nor denying committing fraud in the Abacus deal would likely damage the 141-year-old firm's reputation amongst their clients and possibly create a flood of civil lawsuits. Even if the SEC and Goldman agree to a deal, criminal prosecutors are looking into whether Goldman's employees committed securities fraud in connection with their mortgage trading. Goldman hasn't commented on the criminal investigation. You Can't Afford Miss Out On These Money Making Trading