This is not the first time Goldman Sachs has faced a crisis. Recall that in 1994, a bond market meltdown forced the partners to dig deep into their own bank accounts to finance a bailout. Breakingviews brings up the issue in the context of the current crisis, raising the notion of Goldman Sachs going private. Well, it would end the stock market route, but might do less to quell the CDS uncertainty. I agree with the article in that the world is different. What Goldman Sachs needs is access to capital that can support its current business model. That would suggest some kind of merger. It could survive alone, I believe. But it would have to scale back some operations, especially in the area of proprietary trading. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing. As the lone independent, however, it may be a too-lonely road.

For more:
- here's the Breakingviews article

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