Rating Agencies Lost Way More for People Than Bernie Madoff
Not sure if I were running PR for Goldman, I'd be sleeping too easily. OK so the edge of financial precipice off which hordes of little lemmings drop to their deaths has been moved back six feet at least for the time being. Do you really need to brag to the world how much f%$king money you made trafficking in tragedy with in monthsof a bailout while the rest of the world is still reeling? Two narratives emerge equally damaging:
Narrative One: Goldman Sachs is the Smartest Bunch of Guys who ever lived, making fortunes out of a mess they helped create. Remember envy is a powerful insecticide on Wall Street and making people and Presidents in Washington look like idiots is not a good long term communications startegy. And just what system risks are embedded in the GS Value at Risk management model?
Narrative Two, the Dark Narrative, is for the conspiracy theorists. Paulson-Geitner- Bernanke-Freidman whipped this whole thing up including putting two of Goldman's biggest competitors out of business- Bear and Lehman-- got all their money back from collateral calls on AIG starting a financial tsunami even thought their were no underlying defaults on anyof the investments. All in a days work. Dark narrative hard to debunk for the guy on the street.
JULY 15, 2009, 1:31 A.M. ET