Goldman Sachs Employees Told To Avoid "Flashy" Purchases

The New York Post reported earlier today that Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, advised his employees to "avoid making big-ticket, high-profile purchases".

Goldman Sachs set aside billions upon billions of dollars for first half compensation (bonuses, salaries, etc), and many people have cried foul.

The company, just a few short months removed from receiving TARP funds from the federal government, is now in a position to lavish its employees with billions of dollars in bonuses. Goldman Sachs recently paid back their TARP funds, which allows them to freely dish out extravagant bonuses to their employees without fear of reprisal from the government.

Blankfein, realizing that his firm has received an ample dosage of negative press over the past few months, has advised his employees to tone it down, in order to avoid "being seen as living high on the hog".

When I heard this news earlier today, I immediately thought of that scene from Goodfellas when Jimmy "The Gent" Conway (Robert De Niro) flips his lid following the Lufthansa heist.

Conway advises his crew to keep their extravagant purchases to a minimum in order to avoid arousing any suspicion.

When I heard about Blankfein lecturing people at his company about keeping their "flashy" expenses to a minimum, I couldn't help but be reminded of this scene.

The similarities between this scene and the current situation with Goldman Sachs are just too numerous to get into.

Source: New York Post - Goldman Princes Told: Spend Like Paupers

Filed under: General Market News