Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs CEO: I'm Not Stepping Down

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Lauren Tara LaCapra) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc Chairman and Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said he is not stepping down, despite media reports that he has plans to resign.

Blankfein spoke to reporters after Goldman's annual meeting in Jersey City, N.J., on Friday. The event included tough talk from activist shareholders on issues ranging from executive compensation to climate change to accusations from lawmakers and regulators that the company earns profits from betting against its clients.

One well known shareholder, Evelyn Y. Davis, suggested at the start of the meeting that Blankfein should step down once the session was over.

When asked by reporters why he wanted to stay, Blankfein quipped, "And give up all this?"

At the meeting, all of Goldman's directors were approved by more than 90 percent of shareholder votes, while proposals on more disclosure for executive compensation and political spending, among other issues, did not gain a majority of votes.

The meeting was held at Goldman's office tower in Jersey City rather than its new headquarters building across the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan. Employees moved into that more glamorous site, which cost Goldman $2.1 billion to build, last year.

Goldman shares rose 0.4 percent to $150.95 in late-morning trade. The stock is down 10.2 percent this year, compared with a 6.2 percent decline for competitor Morgan Stanley and a 7.6 percent gain for the S&P 500 index.

(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; editing by John Wallace)

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[flaconoire]

06:18 PM on 05/10/2011

About going to jail then?

[iam99]

07:48 AM on 05/10/2011

In other news, Australia has just experienced the greatest period of growth and surplus in their country's finances ever. They are experiencing a labor shortage. Story in this mornings WSJ.

I would estimate that they haven't engaged any of our investment bankers in their country. If they did they would be having a different experience.

[Tom Langley]

11:03 PM on 05/09/2011

Why on earth would he step down when the company he runs owns the US government?

[snowflakeschance]

10:11 PM on 05/09/2011

I mentioned elsewhere that I wonder, had Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived and camped with the poverty stricken on The Mall... Had Dr. King lived to a ripe old age, would we be in this situation in America. I am sure King would have reminded those with the yellow ribbons on their SUVs that they are killing their own sons and daughters for a corrupt government in which banks like Goldball Sacks can still run their crooked game. Where we working poor have to pump our retirement, by law, into their rigged game by gambling on the vulgar stock market. I quote Dr. King, who said: "True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."

[ALipschitz]

06:11 PM on 05/09/2011

If he keeps his job he will eventually go to jail.

[Marlo Stanfield]

02:43 PM on 05/09/2011

Why is it that not a single banker is in prison for the role they collectively played in bringing down economy?

They took too many risks on credit, securitized things that shouldn't have been securitized, underwrote too many mortgages that shouldn't have been so, and plenty of other things that resulted in hundreds of thousands of Americans losing their jobs and 401(k)s.

If that's not criminal, I don't know what is....

[snowflakeschance]

10:16 PM on 05/09/2011

You are so right, Mr. Stanfield but, Goldball Sacks are paying for the politicians and until money is removed from politics, or the majority of us who are not being served, stand up together and demand a difference, things are not going to change.

[coryj]

01:38 PM on 05/09/2011

At least Greece has the intestinal fortitude to file a criminal lawsuit against Goldmund Sachs and specifically narmes Lord Blankfein and scores of others affiliated with the TBTF institutions for their role in collapsing the Greek economy With a little luck perhaps he'll see the inside of a prison cell over there along with Jamie Daimon.

[molare88]

06:26 PM on 05/10/2011

lol spending had nothing to do with it. it was alll goldman sachs

[coryj]

12:06 PM on 05/11/2011

I suggest you do a little research regarding the weapons of financial destruction unleashed against the world economy. Max Keiser would be a good place to start. I don't think you'll be laughing out loud afterwards

[Scent]

11:25 AM on 05/09/2011

The only thing this parasite should be stepping on is the soap in a jail shower room.

[american-dolt]

09:13 AM on 05/09/2011

Maybe we can catch him smoking pot 4 times and put him away for Life.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/08/cornell-hood-marijuana-prison-life-sentence_n_859168.htm

[blogisti]

08:05 AM on 05/09/2011

Looks like the Banksters got more love from their shareholders. Oh sure, a minority gave them a little flake, but hey, its all about the vote of approval at the end. The one that implies, good work boys, keep on doing what your doing.
In fact that is what Americans generally are saying. How do I know? Well, we all know they committed serious fraud. We all know they should be prosecuted. We all know that instead of prosecution they got free money from taxpayers. We all know they not only kept their jobs but continue to get bonuses. We all know that the cost of litigation is a tax write off.
So tax payers pay for bailouts. They pay for expenses incurred while committing fraud. They paid for the cost of the fraud when it blew up on the fraudsters. They are paying for the cost of litigation. They will continue to pay for the fraud and the ensuing bailout that is "baked into the cake" because these guys have been not only given the green light to continue, but given bonuses to ensure they continue their fraud.

[mgrant33301]

07:36 AM on 05/09/2011

the worlds second biggest terrorist.

blankfein.

[jo smith456]

07:32 AM on 05/10/2011

probably, even first in many, many aspects....

[jo smith456]

07:33 AM on 05/10/2011

bury him at sea...

[NessEliot1932]

02:46 AM on 05/09/2011

Super-Criminal among the Syndicate!

[NessEliot1932]

02:42 AM on 05/09/2011

LEGALIZED BRIBERY OF POLITICIANS INSURED IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION!

30+ Year LOSING STREAK for MIDDLE CLASS EVENTUALLY WILL END!

11,000 to 0 is the SCORE!

1,100 to 0 is the SCORE!

THIS TO WILL END BADLY!
__________________________

11,000 Executive Level investigations in 1980's Mini-Housing Scam

0 ____ Executive Level investigations in 2008 to 2011 Continuing M0NSTER Scams

1,100 to 0 is the score!

1,100 Executives put in PR1S0N in 1980's Mini-Housing Scam

0 ___ Executives put in PR1S0N in 2008 to 2011 Continuing M0NSTER Scams

+BUT OBAMA SAYS "WE MUST LOOK FORWARD!"+
 
+++++++++ "NOT BACKWARD!" ++++++++++++

[nypapajoe]

09:59 PM on 05/08/2011

Indict him! Now!

[jo smith456]

07:33 AM on 05/10/2011

bury him at sea

[BillKen]

08:56 PM on 05/08/2011

These guys are really lousy crooks, they can't even steal without getting caught.
Semper Fi