On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department said that the American multinational investment banking firm, Goldman Sachs would pay $5.1 billion in settlement over mortgage wrongdoing. However, the hefty amount is not allegedly big as it seems because the bank could pay less through tax credits and government incentives.
According to New York Times (NYT), not every detail in the settlement is written on the paper. In fact, Goldman Sachs could save a substantial amount in penalties. The publishing alleged that they could save hundreds of millions or even $1 billion in tax benefits. NYT reported that the settlement asks Goldman Sachs to invest $240 million on affordable housing. This in return would give them at least 30% less pay because of the huge credit they get for every dollar they invest on affordable housing.
"They appear to have grossly inflated the settlement amount for P.R. purposes to mislead the public, while in the fine print, enabling Goldman Sachs to pay 50 to 75 percent less," said Dennis Kelleher, the founder of the advocacy organization Better Markets, referring to the government announcement. He continued by saying that the settlements carefully hide how much really the penalty is. Kelleher added that this fact was concealed from the American public.
ABC News Go added that Goldman Sachs was asked to pay $2.385 billion in a civil monetary penalty, but the payment for the Attorney General offices in California, Illinois, New York and several federal entities and for the consumer relief could be tax-deductible. The tax deduction was reportedly based on Goldman Sachs' discretion.
The Department of Justice alleged that Goldman Sachs sold residential mortgage-backed securities from 2005 to 2007 even they knew that time that their investments would fail. The settlement stems from the bank's alleged wrongdoing including, packaging, securitization, and marketing of the residential mortagages. The investors lost billions of dollars from the securities they got during the time, Yahoo claims.
"We are pleased to put these legacy matters behind us," a Goldman spokesman said in a statement. "Since the financial crisis, we have taken significant steps to strengthen our culture, reinforce our commitment to our clients, and ensure our governance processes are robust," he said.
A Goldman Sachs' representative didn't give any details on the settlement. However, the firm wrote that they were not admitting any wrongdoing in the settlement.
