Having so many alumni in high ranks in the Trump administration is a disadvantage for Goldman Sachs, the megabank’s CEO claimed in comments published Thursday.
“The charge is that Goldman Sachs is able to extract certain advantages that others cannot,” Lloyd Blankfein wrote in a letter to the bank’s shareholders published Thursday. “In fact, the opposite is true. Those in government bend over backward to avoid any perception of favoritism.”
Blankfein was writing in acknowledgment of the criticism that has followed President Trump’s selection of a number of former Goldman Sachs bankers to top government posts.
This week, Trump announced that Goldman Sachs alumnus James Donovan would be nominated for the number two spot at the Treasury Department. He would be joining a number of others: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, economic adviser Gary Gohn, strategic adviser Steve Bannon, and adviser Dina Habib Powell. Jay Clayton, Trump’s nominee to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission, has represented the bank as a corporate lawyer.
Critics have alleged that the “revolving door” between finance and government allows bankers to shape government policy in their favor.
Blankfein argued that Goldman Sachs employees go into government because the company promotes government service, and that he hopes more do in the future.
