Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein is reportedly staying put as head of the Wall Street titan, saying he wants to repair the tarnished firm’s reputation before leaving. (Ron Sachs)
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Ceo Lloyd Blankfein, approaching his fifth anniversary running the storied investment bank amid some Wall Street speculation that recent regulatory tussles have left him burned out and looking to step down, is likely to stay put at the helm of Goldman Sachs for at least two years, sources tell The Post.
Call it a desire to do more of “God’s work,” as Blankfein once famously described it two years ago.
Or call it Bronx-born Blankfein’s unwillingness to the leave the gold-plated Manhattan franchise with a reputation more tarnished than when he found it on June 29, 2006, the day he ascended to the top spot following Hank Paulson’s confirmation as Treasury Secretary.
Either way, the Goldman CEO has told investors and board members that he isn’t expected to relinquish power in the near term, one source notes.
A Goldman spokesman declined to comment.
While he may feel he still has work to do, Blankfein’s next few years may be his toughest task yet as he tries to restore the image of the once-vaunted investment bank.
“I don’t think he’s going anywhere, and the board [of directors] has been really supportive of what he’s been through and how he navigated the crisis,” one insider told The Post.
Blankfein, a former commodities trader, has widely received some of his harshest criticism for straying from Goldman’s traditional client-focused investment banking business to putmore focus on trading the firm’s own dough.
The 56-year-old’s trading prowess and Goldman’s ability to navigate risk are what many believe allowed the the firm to survive a financial crisis that upended rivals.
“He’s had a single-minded focus on building profits for Goldman,” said Dick Bove, financial analyst at Rochdale Securities. “Goldman spent nearly $1 billion in improving its trading operations during his tenure,” Bove estimates. “He’s got to be complimented for that.”
Blankfein’s report card is a mixed bag:
* From a pure stock performance standpoint, under Blankfein’s tenure, the firm’s record has been lackluster. It closed at $151.30 yesterday, compared to $152.20, when he took over. That compares to JPMorgan Chase’s 6 percent gain over the same period. Morgan Stanley’s shares are down nearly around 60 percent during that timeframe.
* Goldman’s return on equity — another measure of share performance — is about 19 percent during his tenure, according to estimates. That compares to roughly 9 percent and 10 percent for JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, respectively.
* However, Blankfein and Goldman have been a p.r. trainwreck. The gold-plated firm faced a backlash from Main Street and Wall Street after it was skewered on Capitol Hill for betting against clients and charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with a $550 million fraud — charges that were settled.
* Goldman Sachs fell from No. 1 to No. 5 in the global mergers and acquisitions business in the first quarter, according to Thomson Reuters. mark.decambre@nypost.com