Goldman Sachs' (NYSE: GS) image is apparently still taking some big hits in the institutional investment universe. That's the conclusion of a poll of 1,000 Bloomberg terminal subscribers, which found that 52 percent of respondents think Goldman's reputation within the industry is "a lot worse" than it was six months ago, and only 31 percent who said "a little worse."

Perhaps even more troubling, 61 percent said they believe the firm is being "legitimately scrutinized" by the SEC (SEC news), while about 30 percent think it is being unfairly vilified. The respondents were mainly institutional investors. The bank clearly would like better relations with this group generally. I'm sure its efforts to reach out to specific clients have borne fruit. But the poll suggests it has more work to do.

JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) fared much better. It ranked first among banks whose reputations were deemed "a lot better" in the wake of Goldman's crisis. For what it's worth, 70 percent think Goldman will settle its suit with the SEC. 

For more:
- here's a MarketWatch article

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