Goldman Roiled by Op-Ed Loses $2.2 Billion (Bloomberg)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. saw a market loss of $2.15 billion the day after Greg Smith, a London-based executive for the firm, called to question the treatment of its clients in a New York Times op-ed piece. The 3.4% drop of $4.17 to $120.37 left the shares still up 33 percent for the year, as of March 15. Smith also wrote that he was leaving the company after 12 years because of the “decline in the firm’s moral fiber.” Goldman paid $550 million to settle a lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010, and was accused by the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of misleading clients, according to Smith. Data compiled by Bloomberg says in 2011, Goldman won more business than any other in advising companies on takeovers and equity offerings.