Lloyd Blankfein

WASHINGTON - Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein says Wall Street compensation needs to be overhauled and hedge funds subjected to government oversight to reduce excessive risk taking that stoked the global financial crisis. Lloyd Blankfein, who received compensation valued at nearly $43 million last year, said yesterday lessons from the crisis include the need to "apply basic standards to how we compensate people in our industry. " The chief executive of the Wall Street powerhouse suggested a handful of guidelines, including having an individual's performance evaluated over time...

NEW YORK — When Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executives and shareholders gather this morning for the company’s annual meeting, the room might look a little like a house of worship. A coalition of religious groups headed by a nun, a priest, and the chief executive of a Jewish organization will be there to press Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to evaluate whether it’s paying executives too much. Goldman chief executive Lloyd Blankfein will have no choice but to listen. The group has won a coveted spot on the annual meeting agenda.

NEW YORK - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chief executive Lloyd Blankfein is getting a $9 million stock bonus for 2009, a modest payday by Wall Street standards that appears aimed at quelling criticism of the bank’s compensation practices. Blankfein will receive more than 58,000 shares of restricted stock that can’t be cashed in for five years, the bank said in a securities filing yesterday. Blankfein will receive no cash as part of his bonus. Blankfein’s bonus reflects Wall Street’s changing pay culture.

NEW YORK — The chief executive of Goldman Sachs told a jury at an insider trading trial yesterday that a former board member violated the company’s confidentiality policies when he discussed board secrets with a then-billionaire hedge fund boss. Chief executive Lloyd Blankfein listened as federal prosecutors played snippets of a 2008 telephone conversation record by the FBI between Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam and ex-Goldman board member Rajat Gupta. When asked if Gupta had broken board rules in the chat, Blankfein responded, “Uh … yes.’’ ...

NEW YORK - Goldman Sachs Group said yesterday that it is launching a $500 million initiative, called 10,000 Small Businesses, to help employers overcome financial and educational barriers that can limit growth and the creation of jobs. The initiative includes a commitment by Goldman Sachs to invest $300 million through a combination of lending and philanthropic support. The money will be directed to community development financial institutions to increase capital and technical assistance available to small businesses in underserved communities.

NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs’s chief executive and other top officers are accused in a pair of shareholder lawsuits of lax oversight in deals involving risky mortgage-backed securities that later went bad. The lawsuits filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court name Lloyd Blankfein and the firm’s entire board of directors as defendants. The suits follow civil fraud charges filed last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission over the same investments. The SEC says Goldman committed fraud by failing to disclose important information about the securities that...

NEW YORK -- Shoring up its leadership team after the departure of Henry Paulson, who will take over the Treasury Department, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has named two presidents and chief operating officers and a vice chairman to assist incoming chief executive Lloyd Blankfein. Jon Winkelried and Gary Cohn will serve as presidents and co-chief operating officers under Blankfein. Winkelreid was most recently co-head of Goldman Sachs investment banking division, while Cohn co-headed the company's global securities trading business.

WASHINGTON - Challenged by a skeptical special commission, top Wall Street bankers apologized yesterday for risky behavior that led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. But they still declared it seemed appropriate at the time. The bankers - whose companies collectively received more than $100 billion in taxpayer assistance to weather the crisis - offered no regrets for executive pay that is now likely to increase as a result of their survival. They did say they are correcting some compensation practices that could lead to excessive risk-taking.

NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs brought its campaign to improve its image directly to investors yesterday as chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said the investment bank will do better at “listening to the concerns of our shareholders.’’ Blankfein also told the company’s annual meeting that Goldman is creating a business standards committee to study its practices as it fights civil fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange...

NEW YORK — The chief executive of Goldman Sachs told a jury at an insider trading trial yesterday that a former board member violated the company’s confidentiality policies when he discussed board secrets with a then-billionaire hedge fund boss. Chief executive Lloyd Blankfein listened as federal prosecutors played snippets of a 2008 telephone conversation record by the FBI between Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam and ex-Goldman board member Rajat Gupta. When asked if Gupta had broken board rules in the chat, Blankfein...

NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs brought its campaign to improve its image directly to investors yesterday as chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said the investment bank will do better at “listening to the concerns of our shareholders.’’ Blankfein also told the company’s annual meeting that Goldman is creating a business standards committee to study its practices as it fights civil fraud charges brought by the Securities and Exchange...

NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs’s chief executive and other top officers are accused in a pair of shareholder lawsuits of lax oversight in deals involving risky mortgage-backed securities that later went bad. The lawsuits filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court name Lloyd Blankfein and the firm’s entire board of directors as defendants. The suits follow civil fraud charges filed last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission over the same investments. The SEC says Goldman committed fraud by failing to disclose important information about...

NEW YORK - Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chief executive Lloyd Blankfein is getting a $9 million stock bonus for 2009, a modest payday by Wall Street standards that appears aimed at quelling criticism of the bank’s compensation practices. Blankfein will receive more than 58,000 shares of restricted stock that can’t be cashed in for five years, the bank said in a securities filing yesterday. Blankfein will receive no cash as part of his bonus. Blankfein’s bonus reflects Wall Street’s changing pay culture.

WASHINGTON - Challenged by a skeptical special commission, top Wall Street bankers apologized yesterday for risky behavior that led to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. But they still declared it seemed appropriate at the time. The bankers - whose companies collectively received more than $100 billion in taxpayer assistance to weather the crisis - offered no regrets for executive pay that is now likely to increase as a result of their survival. They did say they are correcting some compensation practices that could lead to excessive risk-taking.

NEW YORK - Goldman Sachs Group said yesterday that it is launching a $500 million initiative, called 10,000 Small Businesses, to help employers overcome financial and educational barriers that can limit growth and the creation of jobs. The initiative includes a commitment by Goldman Sachs to invest $300 million through a combination of lending and philanthropic support. The money will be directed to community development financial institutions to increase capital and technical assistance available to small businesses in underserved communities.

WASHINGTON - Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein says Wall Street compensation needs to be overhauled and hedge funds subjected to government oversight to reduce excessive risk taking that stoked the global financial crisis. Lloyd Blankfein, who received compensation valued at nearly $43 million last year, said yesterday lessons from the crisis include the need to "apply basic standards to how we compensate people in our industry. " The chief executive of the Wall Street powerhouse suggested a handful of guidelines, including having an individual's performance...

NEW YORK — When Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executives and shareholders gather this morning for the company’s annual meeting, the room might look a little like a house of worship. A coalition of religious groups headed by a nun, a priest, and the chief executive of a Jewish organization will be there to press Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to evaluate whether it’s paying executives too much. Goldman chief executive Lloyd Blankfein will have no choice but to listen. The group has won a coveted spot on the annual meeting agenda.

The chief executives of the nation's largest financial institutions sent a letter to The White House and to members of the U.S. Congress, urging them come to an agreement this week to raise the nation's borrowing limit. A deal must be made by Aug. 2 to avoid a default by the U.S. on its debt obligations. Bank of America Corp.'s Brian Moynihan, JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Jamie Dimon, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Lloyd Blankfein and others warned on Thursday that the consequences on not acting would be grave for the economy, the job market, and for...

NEW YORK -- Shoring up its leadership team after the departure of Henry Paulson, who will take over the Treasury Department, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has named two presidents and chief operating officers and a vice chairman to assist incoming chief executive Lloyd Blankfein. Jon Winkelried and Gary Cohn will serve as presidents and co-chief operating officers under Blankfein. Winkelreid was most recently co-head of Goldman Sachs investment banking division, while Cohn co-headed the company's global securities trading business.