Goldman chief Blankfein hits back on SEC charge

Goldman chief Lloyd Blankfein attacked the SEC's fraud charges in telephone calls to clients yesterday as the banking giant continues to try and stem the damage to its reputation.

One person who received a call from the Blankfein said he was told the regulator's case against the bank was politically motivated and would ultimately "hurt America", the Financial Times reports. Blankfein mounted the campaign to bolster the confidence of its business partners following the SEC charge over selling a sub-prime security designed to fail. In the conversations with private equity executives and others, Blankfein left clients with the impression he was eager to fight the charges in court. The SEC has requested a jury trial. "He was very aggressive," said one person cal...