For Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, the past is prologue.
Fallout from the financial crisis that rocked Wall Street three years ago is still dogging his gold-plated financial institution.
Nearly a year after shelling out a record $550 million fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Blankfein found himself yesterday jousting with shareholders over the investment bank’s ethical practices, executive pay and his own near-term employment status.
A number of angry Goldman shareholders, during a generally low-key annual meeting at its massive office tower at 30 Hudson St. in Jersey City, NJ, blasted Blankfein for being tone deaf as Goldman has doled out rich bonuses to its top brass amid a lingering recession and lackluster stock performance.
Blankfein received $19 million in compensation in 2010, including a trebling of his base salary and a $5.4 million cash award.
“In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, lavish pay packages, like those received by our company’s named executive officers, have fueled public anger and resulted in increased regulatory scrutiny and a significant amount of negative press coverage,” said one shareholder, Lance Lindblom, CEO of The Nathan Cummings Foundation.
Standing at a lectern for the nearly two-hour long event, Blankfein alternated between stony calm and joking even as some called for his head.
One shareholder gadfly, Evelyn Davis, asked Blankfein outright to resign.
“I have nothing against you personally. We have differences of opinion and I really don’t dislike you . . . You’re not a bad-looking guy,” Davis told the balding Blankfein.
“It is a tough job, it’s very tough for anyone and it’s proven too much for you,” she added.
Goldman’s shareholder meeting comes amid fresh worries that the firm may be the subject of further regulatory scrutiny. That includes a probe by the Justice Department, which is said to be looking into Goldman’s role in the mortgage crisis at the request of Sen. Carl Levin’s (D-Mich.) Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which just completed a two-year report that blasted the firm.
Goldman was once the most profitable firm in the world. But the continued assault on its reputation and the underwhelming performance of its shares, even after it completed a review of its own business standards, has led to chatter that Blankfein himself might be forced to step down.
Yesterday, Blankfein denied reports that he was going anywhere, quipping to reporters at the conclusion of the meeting, “Why would I want to leave this?”
The Post reported earlier this week that Blankfein has said that he plans on staying onboard for at least two more years.