Lloyd Blankfein, the embattled CEO of Goldman Sachs, told clients in a telephone call yesterday that he feels under siege due to a Securities and Exchange Commission probe that scrutinizes Goldman for misrepresenting a debt product tied to subprime mortgages. Blankfein, apparently channeling his inner Glenn Beck, reportedly told investors that “the government is out to kill” his firm:
One person who received a call from the Goldman chief said he was told the regulator’s case against the bank was politically motivated and would ultimately “hurt America”. […]
“He was very aggressive,” said one person called by Mr Blankfein on Wednesday. “He feels that the government is out to kill them, that they are under attack and the whole thing is totally political.”
Mr Blankfein said the SEC action “hurts America”, this person said.
Blankfein has previously denied that Goldman has profited from government support, despite the fact that the firm’s profits have been driven by cheap access to federal dollars. Blankfein, who holds the honor of receiving the biggest bonus ever given to a Wall Street CEO, has asserted that he is just a banker doing “God’s work.”