The chief executive of Goldman Sachs, which has attracted widespread media attention over the size of its staff bonuses, says he believes banks serve a social purpose and are “doing God’s work.”
“We’re very important,” Lloyd C. Blankfein said in an interview with The Times of London. “We help companies to grow by helping them to raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. It’s a virtuous cycle.”
The dominant Wall Street bank posted third-quarter earnings of $3 billion and plans to hand out more than $16 billion in year-end bonuses.
“We have a social purpose,” he told the newspaper.
Mr. Blankfein also defended the firm’s compensation, saying that the practices correlated with long-term performance.
“Others made no money and still paid large bonuses. Some are not around anymore,” he said. “I wonder why?”
He said that he understood, however, that people were angry with bankers’ actions: “I know I could slit my wrists and people would cheer.”
But he is, he told The Times, just a banker “doing God’s work.”
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