More on Goldman vs the SEC

The Financial Times offers a version of what’s going on behind the scenes in SEC case against Goldman Sachs that contradicts somewhat the one depicted by John Carney on CNBC and discussed on this blog here. The FT version is based, like Carney’s, on anonymous sources. The FT version emphasizes the efforts Goldman is making to reach a settlement on a lesser charge–omission of a material fact, rather than fraud. The prospect of a settlement being premised on Goldman neither admitting nor denying wrongdoing is treated neutrally as a plausible outcome. The piece cites Brad Hintz of Bernstein Research, who estimates that Goldman might pay a fine of $250 million and compensate investors by buying out their exposure to the notorious Abacus deal at a cost of $370 million.

-posted by brian