Goldman pays out $22m for ‘huddles’

BANKING giant Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $22 million (£13.7m) to settle civil charges that it lacked adequate safeguards to prevent its analysts from sharing market sensitive information with traders and clients.

By The Newsroom

Published 13th Apr 2012, 01:00 BST

Goldman settled with both the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority over so-called “huddles”, where stock research analysts regularly met traders to discuss trading ideas which were then passed on to selected clients.

Robert Khuzami, the SEC’s enforcement director, said Goldman failed to implement policies and procedures that “adequately controlled the risk that research analysts could preview upcoming ratings changes with select traders and clients”.

Michael DuVally, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs, said the bank was “pleased” to have resolved the matter.