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David Weidner's Writing on the Wall
Nov. 3, 2009, 12:01 a.m. EST · Recommend (6) · Post:
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Who's telling on the secret stock market?
First Take "º
Buffett the Empire Builder
By David Weidner, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Just asking: Is there any other corporate gang we despise or mistrust more on Wall Street than the bankers over at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.?
We suspect they cheat -- that they're too cozy with the government. We worry they rig the system, manipulate our leaders, have too much influence. They seem to own the stock exchange through wheeling and dealing and Capitol Hill through connections and campaign contributions.
We're mad as hell, but we don't know what to do about it.
Reuters Henry Paulson
True, Goldman /quotes/comstock/13*!gs/quotes/nls/gs (GS 171.23, +0.55, +0.32%) has brought much of this hate upon itself. The investment bank packaged $128 billion in mortgage-backed securities in the three years leading up to the credit crisis, according to Dealogic, and then began betting against those markets in the months before the fallout. Goldman was made whole by the by the government bailout of American International Group Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!aig/quotes/nls/aig (AIG 36.88, +2.57, +7.49%) .
The firm's former chief executive, Henry Paulson, appears to have spent much of 2008 concerned about his former employer's welfare -- including attending a board meeting and taking phone calls from its management -- as he spent hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to bailout the financial system as Treasury Secretary.
If favoritism has been shown, it's unacceptable. But part of our frustration stems from the fact there isn't any obvious crime. There are no smoking guns. Unless we can prove some kind of wrongdoing other than taking advantage of opportunities in the system, don't we have to tip our caps? Isn't there something uniquely American about competing hard, as long as we stay within the boundaries?
Take, for instance, the latest Goldman scandal. Fannie Mae /quotes/comstock/13*!fnm/quotes/nls/fnm (FNM 1.01, -0.02, -1.94%) is reportedly negotiating to sell tax credits to Goldman as a way to raise cash. For Goldman, the tax credits would offset its overall tax bill from Uncle Sam, according to The Wall Street Journal. See full story
The plan is on the ropes mostly because the Obama administration and Goldman are becoming increasingly sensitive to criticism about favoritism. Remember, it's Fannie Mae that's seeking to sell the credits to raise money. If Goldman buys the tax credits at a discount, the government loses the difference when the tax bill comes due.
This isn't Goldman's idea. Any profitable company can apply. The problem is that many U.S. companies aren't making the kind of profits that require massive tax benefits. Those that qualify are probably are hesitant to touch something for sale by Fannie Mae.
Google Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!goog/quotes/nls/goog (GOOG 535.66, +1.67, +0.31%) has made more than $4 billion this year, would anyone cry foul if they bought tax credits from the government? How about J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!jpm/quotes/nls/jpm (JPM 42.53, -0.05, -0.12%) ? What if General Motors Co. rolled off a few profitable quarters? Could they get a tax break?
Goldman, as it should be, is exploring every way it can legally cut its tax bill and increase profits. If more banks had Goldman's chutzpah, maybe so many wouldn't have been brought to their knees during the last 18 months.
In an era of bailouts, isn't it ironic that many in the public, on Wall Street and in the media take shots at the industry's success stories. By comparison, Citigroup Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!c/quotes/nls/c (C 3.94, -0.05, -1.25%) and Bank of America Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!bac/quotes/nls/bac (BAC 14.58, -0.05, -0.34%) get a free ride even though those firms took a combined $95 billion from taxpayers and haven't repaid a dime, save for the $4.142 billion in interest they've paid.
If it isn't Goldman, it's BlackRock Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!blk/quotes/nls/blk (BLK 220.69, -0.02, -0.01%) at the center of conspiracy talk. The institutional money manager was tapped by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve to run the Public Private Investment Program to assess risk in the Bear Stearns and AIG portfolios.
Firms such as BlackRock and Goldman may be participating in a conspiracy, but it's a conspiracy in the open. That's why the outrage over Goldman's buyout of tax credits is so amazing. The government is trying to encourage the winners in private sector to take some of the burden away from taxpayers, but Goldman gets blamed for stepping up.
There are plenty of reasons to disparage Goldman, BlackRock or whatever the scoundrel du jour is. A government stocked with former company executives is going be partial to the industry from where they came. Since we're appointing czars the way we used to hand out mortgages, maybe we can get one to review conflicts.
But don't hate Goldman for making shrewd business decisions. That's a commodity that's been in short supply on Wall Street.
David Weidner covers Wall Street for MarketWatch.
- Doug0 | 1:30 a.m. Today1:30 a.m. Nov. 3, 2009
Warren Buffett's bet on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe is the kind of big, bold move any 19th-century American capitalist would have loved -- and understood.
1:54 p.m. Today1:54 p.m. Nov. 3, 2009 | Comments: 9
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