員工涉嫌詐騙，高盛股價岌岌可危

高盛集團的聲名遭遇十年來最大危機，股價也一樣。

本月初，檢察官指控高盛的三位銀行家涉嫌一樁馬來西亞詐騙案，涉及數十億美元，之后每天幾乎都有高盛與該丑聞相關的消息曝出。本周一高盛受到最嚴厲的攻擊，馬來西亞財政部長要求“退還全部費用”，導致高盛股價遭遇2011年以來的最大跌幅。

華爾街的分析師對股價大跌表示震驚，指出高盛并未被指控有不當行為，即便有罰款很可能也不是什么大事。不過有些人表示，股價大跌顯示出人們的雙重擔心，一是金融監管會持續保持嚴厲態勢，另外則是看不清下一步發展。當日美國股市整體表現也不佳。

“涉案金額并沒多大，”加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的杰拉德·卡西迪表示，“關鍵在于我們并不清楚相關事實，要點都沒披露。市場最擔心的就是未知?！?/p>

11月1日，美國司法部公開宣布，至少三位高盛資深銀行家涉嫌一樁多年罪案，其中包括向馬來西亞和其他地區官員行賄，以及洗錢數億美元。高盛表示正在配合調查，并可能面臨“巨額”罰款。

因高盛在全球信貸危機中的行為，2010年屢受國會攻擊，之后花了多年時間修復形象。當年美國監管機構指責，高盛故意向投資者隱瞞，其購買產品當中涉及一家對沖基金公司押注與抵押貸款相關的衍生品。后來高盛承認在營銷材料方面犯了“錯誤”并已解決。

在馬來西亞方面，調查重點為丑聞纏身的政府投資基金—馬發展（1Malaysia Development Bhd.），以及2012年和2013年募集的65億美元。高盛曾負責處理相關交易，從中收取近6億美元費用。

高盛的前東南亞主席蒂姆·萊斯納在承認時辯解稱，賄賂官員是為了爭取債券交易，而且他和其他人將募資安排為發債以收取更高費用。他還承認一馬發展債券超過2億美元的收益轉入他和一位親屬控制的賬戶。檢察官表示，涉案高管規避了銀行內部的合規流程，避免被發現。

本周一，馬來西亞財政部長林冠英表示，正在努力爭取退還所有費用。馬來西亞領導人安瓦爾·易卜拉欣周二在議會表示，該事件破壞了該國形象，高盛也應該為此提供賠償?？偫眈R哈蒂爾·穆罕默德接受CNBC采訪時表示，馬來西亞受到高盛“欺騙”。有人問起今后會不會禁止華爾街公司在馬來西亞開展業務時，馬哈迪回答稱：“我們還在觀察?！?/p>

高盛方面的代表拒絕發表評論。

高盛股價下挫7.5%，也是2011年11月單日最大跌幅。買進賣出股票數量超過平時交易量三倍。當日道瓊斯工業平均指數僅有四家公司股價上升，其余均下跌，其中高盛股價下跌尤其嚴重。

本周一，彭博信息分析師艾略特·Z·斯坦恩和珍妮弗·里耶在報告中寫道，高盛在美國面臨的法律風險包括起訴和調查，成本可能超過20億美元，其中有超過10億美元與一馬發展相關。

高盛表示，承銷債券的收益主要用于開發項目，而萊森納向公司隱瞞了信息。萊斯納表示，高盛有推崇保密的公司文化，所以才能向公司合規人員隱瞞不法行為。

上個月接任高盛首席執行官的大衛·所羅門表示，對前雇員的指控“很令人痛心?！?本月早些時候，有人問起所羅門的前任，也是高盛現任董事長勞埃德·布蘭克費恩，丑聞對高盛聲譽的影響。他面無表情地說：“嗯，不是好事?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s reputation is facing one of its biggest crises of the decade—and now its shares are, too.

Since prosecutors implicated a trio of Goldman Sachs bankers in a multibillion-dollar Malaysian fraud early this month, investors have endured an almost daily drip of news on the firm’s ties to the scandal. The barrage culminated Monday as the country’s finance minister demanded a “full refund,” tipping Goldman’s shares into their biggest drop since 2011.

Across Wall Street, analysts expressed surprise over the dive, noting the bank—which hasn’t been charged with wrongdoing—can probably stomach any payment that might be extracted in the case. Instead, some said, the decline appeared to be a combination of concern over the persistently harsh spotlight and uncertainty about what’s to come. It was also a generally bad day in U.S. markets.

“It’s not so much the dollar amount,” said Gerard Cassidy at RBC Capital Markets. “It’s more that we don’t know all of the facts yet, we don’t know all of the important points to the story at this time. It’s the fear of the unknown.”

On Nov. 1, at least three senior Goldman Sachs bankers were publicly implicated by the U.S. Department of Justice in a multiyear criminal enterprise that included bribing officials in Malaysia and elsewhere and laundering hundreds of millions of dollars. The firm has said it’s cooperating with the investigations and may face “significant” fines.

The bank spent years repairing its image after it became a favorite congressional punching bag in 2010 for its behavior around the global credit crisis. That year, U.S. regulators accused the bank of cheating investors by failing to disclose that a hedge-fund firm betting against a mortgage-linked derivative had played a role in creating what they bought. The bank admitted it made a “mistake” in marketing materials and settled.

The Malaysia probe focuses on the country’s scandal-plagued state investment company, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., and the $6.5 billion it raised in 2012 and 2013. Goldman Sachs handled the deals, reaping almost $600 million in fees.

Tim Leissner, the bank’s former chairman of Southeast Asia, admitted in a plea that he bribed officials to get the bond deals, and that he and others arranged the fundraising as debt offerings to generate higher fees. He also admitted that more than $200 million in proceeds from 1MDB bonds flowed into accounts controlled by him and a relative. Prosecutors have said executives involved circumvented the bank’s internal compliance operations to avoid detection.

Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on Monday said the country is seeking a refund of all the fees it paid. The Southeast Asian nation should also seek compensation from the bank for ruining Malaysia’s image, leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim said in parliament Tuesday. Malaysia has been “cheated” by Goldman, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in a CNBC interview. Asked whether the Wall Street firm might be barred from doing business in Malaysia, Mahathir replied: “We are watching.”

Goldman representatives declined to comment.

The firm’s shares tumbled 7.5%, their biggest one-day drop since November 2011. The volume of stock bought and sold was more than triple the average amount. The bank was the worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on a day in which all but four companies in the index declined.

Goldman’s litigation risks in the U.S. include lawsuits and probes with estimated costs that could top $2 billion, including more than $1 billion from 1MDB matters, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Elliott Z. Stein and Jennifer Rie wrote in a report Monday.

Goldman Sachs has said it believed proceeds of the debt it underwrote were for development projects and that Leissner withheld information from the firm. Leissner has said Goldman’s culture of secrecy led him to conceal wrongdoing from the company’s compliance staff.

Chief Executive Officer David Solomon, who took over last month, said he’s found the allegations against the former employees “very distressing.” His predecessor Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s current chairman, was asked earlier this month what the scandal meant for the bank’s reputation. He deadpanned: “Well, it’s not good.”