Goldman Sachs exotic housing bet; was it illegal ?
by ilene - November 2nd, 2009 2:53 am
Goldman Sachs exotic housing bet; was it illegal ?
Courtesy of Cheeky Bastard at Zero Hedge
Much speculation was done over the past year about the nature of the hedges Goldman Sachs has done in the housing securities. While there was no certain proof of Goldman Sachs misleading its investors many believed, among them ZeroHedge, that the nature of Goldman Sachs hedges was basically illegal and fraudulent; given the two tier treatment of the housing securities by Goldman Sachs.
In the recent report, published by McClatchy some new and interesting details, concerning those hedges, are being brought into the spotlight. We hope that the regulatory bodies will perform their task and launch an investigation about the nature of those hedges.
Also, if Goldman Sachs was hedged via the CDS contracts underwritten by AIGFP, the possible default of the insurance giant would, almost certainly, issue a lethal blow to Goldman Sachs itself. While those hedges are in no way illegal by itself, the way and the time when Goldman was hedging his housing exposure is, to say the least, suspicious.
A detailed view is presented in McClatchy article published today, and we hope that the article will bring the much needed attention and finally result in an investigation into those hedging practices done by Goldman Sachs
You can read the whole article here:
WASHINGTON — In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting.
Goldman’s sales and its clandestine wagers, completed at the brink of the housing market meltdown, enabled the nation’s premier investment bank to pass most of its potential losses to others before a flood of mortgage defaults staggered the U.S. and global economies.
Only later did investors discover that what Goldman had promoted as triple-A rated investments were closer to junk.
Now, pension funds, insurance companies, labor unions and foreign financial institutions that bought those dicey mortgage securities are facing large losses, and a five-month McClatchy investigation has found that Goldman’s failure to disclose that it made secret, exotic bets on an imminent housing crash may have violated securities laws.
"The Securities and Exchange Commission should