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Goldman Sachs to the aid of small businesses?
Not too long ago, we suggested that Goldman Sachs ought to buy CIT and jump headlong into the business of small business lending. I really don't see Goldman Sachs yearning to get into inventory finance and the like, but it would really help its PR aims.
Well, the gilded firm has been thinking along similar lines. Bloomberg reports that the bank is planning a charitable effort, to be announced soon, to spur growth at small businesses. The initiative aims to provide assistance, from counseling to financing, to 10,000 U.S. businesses. Warren Buffett will be a partner in the effort.
Many will cynically see this as a mere PR move. But at least it puts some substance to the notion that Goldman Sachs is doing God's Work toward rebuilding the economy. The bragging has rung a bit hollow, to be fair. The real issue is whether Goldman Sachs is serious about this. It can prove its intentions by running a solidly managed program that lasts beyond the bank's need for good PR. It's all about the follow up.
For more:
- here's the article
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Comments
By Frank Fitton | Posted 11:55am | November 18, 2009
The $500 million though is really a drop in the bucket compared to the kinds of numbers this company throws around. Its almost insulting in a way, but at this point we are the dog underneath the table and are willing to take whatever scrapes these people want to toss our way.
So are we supposed to get excited about this? I wouldn’t exactly say that, but I wouldn’t completely scoff at it either. They didn’t have any reason or were mandated to do this in anyway. Of course its a blatant PR move, but its not a bad one. Its really in their best interest too for as the economy soars so do their profits. Its really just a win win situation for everyone involved. Some more money possibly in line with the kind of money they’ve been paying out in bonuses would have been nice, but who are we really to complain.
I don’t really blame Goldman Sachs for the financial crisis, they were simply going about their businesses. Looking back at it, things could have been done differently of course, but hindsight is always 20-20. Its refreshing to see someone step up to the plate and admit that they didn’t handle things as well as they could have. Is it sincere? Probably not, but at this point its all we’re going to get and its better than nothing.
Check out my blog on the Goldman Sach's penance offering at.... http://www.thedebtgazette.com/2009/11/goldman-500-million-penance/
By Anonymous | Posted 2:42pm | November 18, 2009
Wait...did small businesses in America implode, screw up the economy, and then need a bail-out? Oh yeah, that was the financial sector. Your idea at Fierce Finance that Goldman buy CIT was a much better idea. Small business needs financing, not advice, from New York investment bankers.
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