Director leaves Goldman Sachs out of moral objections

Greg Smith leaves Goldman Sachs after almost 12 years, because of moral objections. He used to be the executive director and head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

His resignation letter can be read in the New York Times, where he hopes it to be a "wake-up call to the board of directors":

"The interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money. [...] I can no longer in good conscience say that I identify with what it stands for."

"It makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off. [...] managing directors refer to their own clients as 'muppets'." 

(if this would appear to be a hoax, I am expecting a notice from the Yes Men :-))

Update March 15: Goldman Sachs responded in a memo to current and former employees, saying that Smith’s assertions don’t reflect the firm’s values, culture or “how the vast majority of people at Goldman Sachs think about the firm and the work it does on behalf of our clients.” (Bloomberg)

The firm's shares dropped 3.4 percent in New York trading yesterday, meaning a loss of $2.15 billion of its market value.

Links:

• Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs (New York Times)
• Greg Smith: Blowing smoke? (Forbes, Mad Men)
• Goldman Exec Quits In A Scathing NYT Op-Ed About How The Firm buses Its Clients (Business Insider)
• Explosive letter (The Guardian)
• "Bank is toxischer dan ooit" (DeWereldMorgen)

More:

• Sacred Economics
• Goldman Sachs is everywhere
• A lesson in defection from Goldman Sachs
• The Great American Bubble Machine
• The Credit Crisis visualized (by Jonathan Jarvis)
• European Central Bank explaining
• Protest on Wall Street
• Revolutionary times