blankfein

Blankfein, Goldman's chairman and chief executive, said the bank was 'taking all appropriate steps to defend the firm and its reputation.

Mr Blankfein may be the son of a postal clerk, but it would be stretching it to say he has the common touch.

Blankfein, in his testimony, said the day of the SEC suit was "one of the worst days in my professional life. "

Mr Blankfein replied that his staff were Wall Street's most productive and the company's ethos was to help its clients do business.

Mr Blankfein at Goldman acknowledges that some of the young traders at the firm have no memory of a business cycle.

Blankfein, who left one of his trademark voicemail messages for the firm's employees late Tuesday night, did not appear to be backing down.

"If I had to focus on a key failure in this crisis, it was the failure of risk management" at other institutions, Mr Blankfein said.

After a scan lasting a minute, Mr Blankfein said he found the reference on page five, which seemed to surprise Mr Dowd.

Imagine how much better Mr Blankfein's public image would be if he had retired at the end of 2008.

Mr Blankfein has a strong record as a risk-manager and has ensured that the bank has a massive cash horde to help it trade through a crisis.

Mr Blankfein is buttressed by Gary Cohn, the bank's number two executive and a fellow trader.

The bank's top seven executives, including chief executive Lloyd Blankfein, will not receive any bonuses this year.

"Looking ahead, we continue to see encouraging indications for economic activity globally, " Blankfein said in the statement.

Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman's CEO, says the bank escaped the subprime mortgage storm with less damage than its competitors.

Some shareholders said the tide could turn against Mr. Blankfein if Goldman shares fall below their current book value of about $122.

The company wasn't forced to sacrifice any top executives, including Chief Executive Lloyd C. Blankfein, as some executives had feared.

Strength: If he accomplishes nothing else, Angelides will be remembered for comparing Goldman chief Lloyd Blankfein to a used-car salesman.

Murren asked Blankfein how the nation's economic misery would be reflected in his pay.

Inside, it may feel "humbled" , as Mr Blankfein said, but it looks like the same old bank.

On the latter, it remains silent, with the word "leverage" notable by its absence in Mr Blankfein's lament.

Unlike Mr Blankfein and Mr Mack, he could not win Fed approval to convert Lehman into a bank holding company.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein's description of how he spends his time as a banker, in an interview with the London Times.

Lloyd Blankfein and his accusers have at least one thing in common.

But Blankfein's firm, generously bailed out by taxpayers, has already returned to its ways of greed.

Hank Paulson, Blankfein's immediate predecessor, came from a banking background; but his predecessor, Jon Corzine, was a trader.

Like many who make it to the top on Wall Street, Mr Blankfein came from a humble background.

Last week Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, accepted that much of the anger over pay was "understandable and appropriate" .

Leaving aside the whole irony of Blankfein's own position, the substance of his comments is actually pretty sensible.

Blankfein said in a statement the bank is "seeing signs of growth and more economic activity" in 2011.

Perhaps Blankfein can laugh at the irony, but I'm not sure too many of his shareholders would.

Mr Moore's film includes a stunt in which he attempts a citizen's arrest of Mr Blankfein over this "crime" .

"That was an endorsement, " Mr Blankfein said, with some understatement.

Never thought I'd say this, but why can't we jail Lloyd Blankfein! Let's send him to China at the very least!

Asked whether the disclosure of boardroom talks would violate Goldman's confidentiality policies, Mr Blankfein said "yes" .

Indeed, some compensation experts noted that much of what Mr. Blankfein advocated is already in practice at Goldman. Mr.

Chief Executive Lloyd C. Blankfein aroused the committee's ire in a sometimes-halting defense of the firm's trading methods.

Mr Blankfein has defended Goldman against the Securities and Exchange Commission charges, saying the agency's stance could "hurt America" .

Mr Blankfein's evidence that Mr Gupta was breaching his duty of confidence to Goldman was a corrective to this.

If he lets Mr Blankfein dash straight back to business as usual, Goldman will have won again.

Mr Blankfein, who became chief executive in 2006, rose to the top touting careful conflict management as a competitive advantage.

Its boss, Lloyd Blankfein, launched a vigorous defence of the firm's practices in his recently published letter to shareholders.

Blankfein was not inclined to revisit this subject. He acknowledged that the firm "contributed to elements of froth in the market. "

Mr Blankfein is still popular with shareholders, 95% of whom voted to re-elect him as chairman in May.

It is a thought-provoking saga for Lloyd Blankfein and all the other financiers and politicians currently wrestling with the bonus dilemma.

He tried again to get Blankfein to acknowledge that "excessive risk was being taken. "

It is a concern shared by Mr Blankfein and many others at the top of Goldman Sachs, which has a culture of public service and philanthropy.

"I think those were very typical behaviors in the context that we were in, " Blankfein replied.

Still, Mr. Blankfein and other top Goldman executives can expect to be grilled by analysts and lawmakers this week and next.

Goldman Sachs, Blankfein said, should embrace the challenge of those conflicts.

But there is no reason to doubt that the sharp, good-humoured Mr Blankfein remains popular with colleagues.

The Galleon case resulted in more than two dozen arrests and convictions and included the testimony of Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

Goldman insiders are adamant that the positions of Mr Blankfein and his inner circle are safe.

Mr Blankfein, whose bank has become a lightning rod for public anger at Wall Street, bore the brunt of the panel's questions.

Mr Blankfein, who has $500m of Goldman stock, has been known to disparage bankers who are happy just to be "another rich guy in New York" .

Mr Blankfein recently topped Vanity Fair's power players in the information age, for Goldman's ability to weather the economic crisis.

Goldman declined to comment but one person familiar with the situation objected to the characterisation of Mr Blankfein's call.

Other Goldman executives, including CEO Lloyd Blankfein, also are expected to testify.

Goldman has been singled out by critics who question why Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein attended meetings that discussed a bailout of AIG.

More likely, Blankfein just formalized certain elements that already existed in practice.

Lloyd C. Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, instituted thenew executive compensation system, which emphasizes pay in stock.

If Mr. Blankfein steps down as chairman, top Goldman executives and alumni are discussing who might quickly fill the gap.

Goldman's board has embraced the firm's overhaul under Mr. Blankfein and his predecessors.

One defense Blankfein may emphasize this week could surprise people: Goldman says it got sheared on the Abacus deal.

One banker said Mr Blankfein's message was geared to his audience.

And to Lloyd Blankfein, you're holding your own as the man in the chair.

Goldman Sachs publicly pooh-poohs the idea but thoughts are turning to who will succeed Lloyd Blankfein as its chief executive.

Lloyd Blankfein, the boss of Goldman Sachs, is the son of a clerk.

Lloyd Blankfein says he meant the comment that Goldman was doing 'God's work' as a joke.

Many people will find the idea of Blankfein calling for pay guidelines to be offensive or funny (or both).

"He was very aggressive, " said one person who got a call from Mr Blankfein yesterday.

Goldman executives, including Mr. Blankfein, have said they did nothing wrong.

Blankfein informed her that "we haven't announced our compensation yet. "

At the same time, Lloyd 'God's work' Blankfein, the Goldman chief executive, will only have to pay 15% on his millions in stock gains.

It was reported today that Goldman Sachs's CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, is getting a $100 million bonus.

If you work at Goldman Sachs, study every deal they've done (and know Lloyd Blankfein's favorite hobbies).

Absent fiend : Everybody wanted to give a good kicking to Lloyd Blankfein, the boss of GoldmanSachs, but he sent his deputy instead.

'We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret, ' Lloyd Blankfein said. 'We apologise. '

Goldman insiders believe Mr Blankfein's near-term future will hinge on the share price, which lost more than 12 per cent on Friday.

Even before the crisis, when Goldman was earning huge profits, Blankfein seemed more anxious than arrogant.

"We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret, " Blankfein said. "We apologise. "

'I wouldn't think this is any evidence of a disjuncture between Blankfein and Goldman, ' said Prof. Richman, who isn't involved in the case.

So maybe Blankfein thinks with some justification: Why should I change the business model? Why shouldn't I pay my people?

Mr Blankfein was questioned about Warren Buffett's investment of $5bn into Goldman in 2008, in the midst of the financial crisis.

On the other hand, it's not like the traders never ran the company before Blankfein.

Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, had a rough 2010.

Mr Blankfein's neurotic impulses are well founded, however.

But this runaway success poses challenges for Mr Blankfein.

Mr Blankfein rejects the idea that lower leverage will reduce profits, arguing that other factors, such as market share, are more important.

'I don't think our clients care or they should care, ' said Mr. Blankfein.

Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, agrees banks need to regain public trust.

The trading ethos had won out long before Blankfein became CEO.

Mr Blankfein said that in addition to helping Goldman's business prospects, the effort would help him retain staff.

I don't know whether Lloyd Blankfein is a fan of English football.

Mr. Blankfein didn't directly address the controversial topic of bonuses.

Mr. Blankfein didn't concede that Goldman has done anything wrong in how it pays employees.

[E]xecutives under Mr. Blankfein changed the way investment bankers were measured.

"Every day, Lloyd Blankfein must get down on his knees and thank God for the BP oil spill, " says one noted PR expert privately.

Goldman Sachs Chairman Lloyd Blankfein still doesn't get it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, " Blankfein corrected her. "There is huge challenge in our organization. "

Mr Blankfein will remain chief executive and chairman, jobs he has held since 2006.

Mr. Blankfein took less even though Goldman had higher earnings in 2009 than 2007.

With a salary of $600, 000, Mr. Blankfein's 2010 compensation comes to $13. 2 million.

In 2007, the year before the financial crisis Mr. Blankfein made $68. 5 million.

That is why Mr Blankfein wants to repay the Tarp money.

Mr. Blankfein, who declined a bonus last year, received a $53. 4million bonus in 2007, a Wall Street record.

(Chief executive Lloyd Blankfein's joke that Goldman was "doing God's work" slipped below his critics' irony radar. )

The following is a transcript of Mr. Blankfein's voicemail that was reviewed by Dow Jones Newswires: