Goldman Sachs consolidates ill-gotten gains
by David Atkins
Goldman Sachs is getting into the business of being the bank of, by and for the 1%:
Goldman Sachs is building an in-house private bank to serve wealthy customers around the world as part of a cautious strategy to reshape its business, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The banking push, which has not been previously disclosed, will give Goldman more deposits, a source of low-cost funding less vulnerable to the vagaries of financial markets.
The new unit will also lend more directly to corporations, some of which already make investments and do business with Goldman. Bank executives have set a goal of $100 billion in loans, up from $12 billion at the end of March, the Journal said.
Goldman has no plans to open retail branches, build a network of automated teller machines, pitch credit cards or “give away toasters,” Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein told the Wall Street Journal.
Nifty move by Goldman. Start by driving the casino market’s reckless gambling to a fever pitch of leverage, then take a big government loan at no interest and clean up all the chips when everyone else loses their shirt. Dramatically increase the divide between the ultra-wealthy and everyone else, living high on the hog and believing that you’re doing God’s work.
Then once the gains of the 1% are most consolidated and the blackjack tables get a little too hot for comfort, offer nice, stable banking and investment services for the new plutonomic aristocracy.
It’s all perfectly legal, in the same sense that payday loan scammers, self-help cult leaders, bookies and porn kings do legal business. What’s more remarkable is that Goldman employees receive a greater level of respect, when in reality they do more damage to society than all of those professions combined.
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