Goldman Sachs Had Bomb-Sniffing Dogs, Police Barricades At Its Headquarters Before Earnings Announcement

As Goldman Sachs prepared to announce its fourth quarter earnings and employee compensation levels yesterday, the bank had bomb-sniffing dogs and police barricades on hand at its New York City headquarters, the New York Post reports.

The decision to boost security as its offices was apparently driven by growing fervor over the bank's huge profits and bonuses. Yesterday, the bank announced that it earned $13.4 billion for the year, and set aside $16 billion for employee compensation. Goldman was widely expected to set aside approximately $20 billion for employee pay, but CFO David Viniar suggested yesterday in a call with reporters that the bank wasn't blind to the "pain and suffering in the world" and "wasn't deaf to the calls for restraint."

Viniar's remarks indicate an abrupt change in tone among Goldman Sachs execs. In November, CEO Lloyd Blankfein -- who had previously bragged that the bank was doing "God's work" -- said the following at an industry conference:

I often hear references to higher compensation at Goldman. What people fail to mention is that net income generated per head is a multiple of our peer average. The people of Goldman Sachs are among the most productive in the world."

Despite what seems to be a new concern among the firm's leaders about the PR implications of Goldman's banner year, the bank's announcement of the pay packages that individual executives receive will be closely scrutinized. Dealbook spoke to one Goldman insider, who suggested Blankfein's bonus will be a measuring stick for employees who may see their pay cut. (Blankfein earned $68 million in 2007, but didn't receive a bonus last year.) Here's Dealbook:

"It all depends on what Lloyd gets," said one midlevel Goldman employee, referring to Lloyd C. Blankfein, Goldman's chairman and chief executive. He said Mr. Blankfein's bonus had become a popular water-cooler topic. "If Lloyd takes home a big bonus, even if it's all stock, and everyone else receives less, there will be some concern," he said.

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Comments

[ramblingjohnny]

10:48 AM on 01/25/2010

They use to say the easier way to rob a bank is to own one they were wrong the easiest is to run one!

[Kache]

02:35 AM on 01/25/2010

Yesterday?

Why not tomorrow - and the next day, and the next.....

[reader1]

01:40 PM on 01/24/2010

They are well to have extra security, some folks that are not wrapped too tight, just might do something stupid at Goldman Sachs. I found out that my second mortgage is owned by them and they don't want to do anything to work out a deal. I guess they can't work out a deal with me since they have rookies doing the math for them. It is a shame, we bailed them out and they don't give a damn how we are living. I wonder if the american people are paying attention to what is happening to our country. Enough is Enough.

[whitemale08]

11:15 AM on 01/24/2010

"the most productive in the world"? huh?

Give me a freakin' break!

Basicly their 'productive work' is to organize the American taxpayers and savers to gigantic financial paper pyramids in honor of Warren Buffet.

It's the same as how the Egyptians used serf labor and slaves to build gigantic stone pyramids in honor of their Pharoahs

I guess we're supposed to worship Warren Buffet @Goldman Sachs as Pharoah and God-king.

Give me a break!

[donnajr]

10:37 AM on 01/24/2010

sounds like the looters have obtained a guilt complex

[jefferson0467]

01:45 AM on 01/24/2010

So they are setting aside 2.6 billion dollars more than they earned for compensation, creating a loss for shareholders and this is considered restraint because they didn't create an even larger loss? What world do they live in? How on earth does their board of directors justify paying out in bonuses more than they earned, especially considering their stock price has never fully recovered from its previous high a few years ago? Their entire board of directors should be sacked by the shareholders for starters.

Goldman is a textbook example of what is wrong in America today. Forget the terrorists, we're destroying ourselves from within with naked greed and frankly big business in America is so messed up right now, I don't see any way back from the abyss. We had a pretty nice run for about 60 years but it's over now. Sad.

[TheLastWallStreeter]

08:11 AM on 01/25/2010

$13bn in earnings is after the compensation expense - i.e. that is the bottom line profit.

Goldman pays about 50% of revenue to employees usually - this year it was 38%.

[BobsNotWorking]

10:11 PM on 01/23/2010

"The people of Goldman Sachs are among the most productive in the world."

And WHAT, pray tell, do they produce? Oh. I see. Income divided by head count equal productivity. They don't produce anything. The sell fraudulent insurance policies. Credit default swaps. Policies for which they don't have enough capital to pay claims on. The last time they couldn't pay up they crashed the market costing average Americans an estimated $13 Trillion in lost real estate equity. This does not even count the lost retirement income due to the low interest rates necessary to prevent the entire system from collapsing and the losses in 401k plans, lost jobs, lost homes and etc.

How is it that a company can pay out more in salaries and bonuses then they take in in revenue and yet still think they are the "most productive in the world".

Get real. All I want to know is when are these people going to prison? $30 Trillion in restitution or 30-years in prison. That sounds about right to me.

[Twayn]

03:08 PM on 01/23/2010

According to this article, they earned $13.4 billion, and are giving $16 billion in employee compensation, guaranteeing a $2.6 billion loss? I'm not great at math, but shouldn't their stockholders be pissed off about that?

[steppenwolfsayshi]

06:28 PM on 01/23/2010

YES!!!!! Everyone should be pissed off about it. Goldman has the backing of the US government that if the bank fails, they will be bailed-out, so the executives are paying themselves more than the company makes because they don't care what happens to the bank! Goldman's PR team seems to think Main Street is pissed because people on Wall Street are rich. We are pissed because they are destroying the economy for the middle class (and not for Wall Street)!

[TheLastWallStreeter]

08:10 AM on 01/25/2010

NO!!!!

Earnings are not revenue. That $13.4bn is bottom line, after the $16bn in compensation has been deducted.

They typically pay about 50% of revenue as compensation. This year it was lower at 38%.

[liberalOrgonian]

01:19 PM on 01/23/2010

Goldman Sachs should be afraid, very afraid. Wait till the tea baggers realize the REAL enemy of the people is not Washington it is firm like & including Goldman Sachs.
Time for Wall St to cover the losses of the people. Sponsor small businesses, help pay the unemployment they created, donate the outrageous bonuses to some humanitarian project.
Now the Supreme court has voted to let businesses run candidates, there will be such a backlash we have never seen. We are all aware Businesses have no moral standing, or moral obligation, they only want to make money at every ones expense. Are willing to let the country fail so they can be rich beyond belief.

[Johnny Dangereaux]

07:20 AM on 01/23/2010

We need another "Shot Heard 'Round the World".....

Council on Foreign Relations=Enemy from Within

DON'T READ THIS
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=LEN20090601&articleId=13808

[xilduq]

09:53 PM on 01/22/2010

I'm sure they had an excellent reason, but for the life of me, I can't imagine what that might be.

People don't get upset over being cheated out of their money...

[Gaylord P Farqua]

05:17 PM on 01/22/2010

Guilt is a powerful emotion. Even the little masters of the universe get periodic surges of conscience and begin looking for mobs of investors with torches fashioned from 401K statements and foreclosure notices. Fortunately for them no one in a position of power to correct their excesses gives damn. Bush and Company managed to shred the last remaing regulatory restraints on Wall Street in a crusade for market freedom. The results of this go for broke gamble was the destruction of millions of American lives. Families in foreclosure, retirees stripped of their nest eggs, massive unemployment and ultimately the final insult of borrowing from the Chinses to keep our economy from completely tanking. Now that the very people they screwed have bailed them out the Boys have forgottten the bad old days and are back on the hunt for the buck. It might be fun to do a little torch light procession and see if they call in the bomb squad.

[deminmo]

04:45 PM on 01/22/2010

Wonder if GS has "bought" any favorable votes yet? I
read the head people were now carrying guns, what is
with that? Really, do they think the people will storm the
Bastille or something?

[BlueSkyPilot]

04:43 PM on 01/22/2010

In November, CEO Lloyd Blankfein -- who had previously bragged that the bank was doing "God's work" -- said the following at an industry conference:
“I often hear references to higher compensation at Goldman. What people fail to mention is that net income generated per head is a multiple of our peer average. The people of Goldman Sachs are among the most productive in the world."

During our last Quarterly meeting of the 100 Million Dollar Club we actually had a salad that was made from vegetables grown in the derivatives of our foreclosed sub prime mortgage properties in Michigan, California, Nevada and Florida. If that is not being productive please tell me what is!

[steppenwolfsayshi]

06:33 PM on 01/23/2010

I remember reading somewhere that plumbers and people that work on infrastructure are actually the most productive workers in society, as in people that add wealth to the economy. Financial executives extract wealth from society.

[laaambchop]

04:29 PM on 01/22/2010

No one threatened them. They are paranoid.