From the 2010 News Archive

PBS NewsHour: Greenberger on SEC's Goldman Sachs suit

Professor Michael Greenberger, JD, sat down for a live "PBS NewsHour" segment on the moral, ethical, and legal issues surrounding the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) allegations against Wall Street megabank Goldman Sachs. The segment aired nationally on April 19, 2010.

The SEC says that Goldman Sachs marketed a product to investors without revealing that the product was designed by a hedge fund that bet heavily against it. The bonds in the product, many linked to subprime mortgages, ultimately soured, leaving long investors with catastrophic losses and short investors – in this case, the prescient hedge fund – with windfall gains.

Greenberger said that, if the allegations are true, this case is a “poster child” for the casino-like activity that netted monster profits for large financial institutions during the housing boom.

Professor Greenberger is a former director of the Division of Trading and Markets at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He has testified before Congressional committees numerous times on dysfunctions in financial markets and issues related to financial regulation. More information about his testimony and other media appearances can be found at www.michaelgreenberger.com.

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