But Who Won? Sizing Up Goldman’s Deal with the SEC

[WSJ Law Blog]

We caught up with a variety of lawyers and legal academics on the Goldman/SEC. The consensus seems to be that neither Goldman nor the SEC came away with a total and complete win. But both can go home relatively happy.



“They both get out with their heads up,” said Peter Henning, a former SEC enforcement lawyer and current law professor at Wayne State University. “They’ve both saved face. The SEC’s case was never all that strong, but they can say they took on Goldman Sachs and stared them down. Goldman gets out without too much damage.”

First, the total payout by Goldman — $550 million — is certainly one the bank can afford, and looks like a relative bargain when compared to the $1 billion that some had figured Goldman might have to pay.

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