"Today's settlement sends positive message of deterrence and accountability," said the SEC's director of enforcement, Robert Khuzami.
Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $550 million to settle civil charges that it duped clients by selling mortgage securities that were secretly designed by a hedge-fund firm to cash in on the housing market's collapse.
Goldman agreed to pay $550 million to resolve allegations that the company misled investors who bought subprime mortgage-related securities created by Goldman. Although Goldman neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing, it made a rare concession that its marketing materials for the securities had been "incomplete," which it acknowledged was a "mistake."
"It is a major victory for the SEC because you don't find other settlements in which the defendant admits it made materially misleading disclosure," said John Coffee, a Columbia University securities-law professor. "This is one where they really bet the farm on this case by taking on the most esteemed firm on Wall Street, and they obtained a concession by Goldman that they misled their clients."
Still, the penalty equals 4% of Goldman's $13.4-billion profit last year. Moreover, investors concluded the settlement was worth much more to Goldman than it would pay.
"It is a major victory for the SEC because you don't find other settlements in which the defendant admits it made materially misleading disclosure," said John Coffee, a Columbia University securities-law professor. "This is one where they really bet the farm on this case by taking on the most esteemed firm on Wall Street, and they obtained a concession by Goldman that they misled their clients."
Still, the penalty equals 4% of Goldman's $13.4-billion profit last year. Moreover, investors concluded the settlement was worth much more to Goldman than it would pay.
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