Experts are calling Goldman Sachs $5.1bn mortgage settlement over accusations of wrongdoing prior to the financial crisis as just "window-dressing", since buried in the fine print are provisions that will allow the bank to pay hundreds of millions of dollars less, perhaps as much as $1bn, than the headline figures, and that is before the tax benefits of the deal are included. The settlement, which was announced on Friday, includes a $700m penalty for Goldman's role in misleading investors about its exposure to subprime mortgages. Goldman said in a statement on Monday: "We are pleased to put these legacy matters behind us. "They appear to have grossly inflated the settlement amount for PR purposes to mislead the public, while in the fine print, enabling Goldman Sachs to pay 50% - 75% less", according to Better Markets' Dennis Kelleher.
Experts are calling Goldman Sachs $5.1bn mortgage settlement over accusations of wrongdoing prior to the financial crisis as just "window-dressing", since buried in the fine print are provisions that will allow the bank to pay hundreds of millions of dollars less, perhaps as much as $1bn, than the headline figures, and that is before the tax benefits of the deal are included. The settlement, which was announced on Friday, includes a $700m penalty for Goldman's role in misleading investors about its exposure to subprime mortgages. "They appear to have grossly inflated the settlement amount for PR purposes to mislead the public, while in the fine print, enabling Goldman Sachs to pay 50% - 75% less", according to Better Markets' Dennis Kelleher.