Survey Shows Name Should Be "Goldman Sucks"

This had to be, perhaps, the most "Duh!" happening of the week;

Goldman Sachs’ reputation tarnished

Goldman Sachs’ reputation among both the general public and financially sophisticated Americans has been damaged by the events of the past year, according to research conducted for the Financial Times.

In a survey of 17,000 Americans, Brand Asset Consulting found that Goldman’s stature – as measured by several gauges of brand strength – had suffered in 2008 and 2009.

“Goldman Sachs still has that Gordon Gekko look to it among the general public,” said Anne Rivers, who oversaw the survey, referring to the villain of the 1987 film Wall Street.

[snip]

In Rolling Stone last month, Goldman was described as a “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity”. The headline on the cover of New York magazine last week asked: “Is Goldman Sachs evil? Or just too good?” The subsequent article argued in favour of the former, with a tip of the cap to the latter

[snip]

However, some marketing professionals say the storm will pass. “All of this giant squid language they can pretty much brush off,” said William Barker of Brand Finance. “My guess is that their customers are probably very happy with them.”

In July, Goldman reported record quarterly profits of $3.44bn on revenues of $13.8bn.

Yeah, thanks to all the bailout, and other government, money.

Then again, Goldman Sucks isn't playing to (or with) the peanut gallery.

From Joe Weisenthal;

But then, who cares what the general public thinks? Do the Goldman traders care? Nope. Do college graduates, knowing that Goldman is the home of TARP-free high pay care? Nope. Goldman isn't selling 401(k)s or $7 stock trades to the retail investor. What matters is how Goldman is perceived by the professional classes, and to some extent they've always been hated by those on the outside. Big deal.

Meanwhile, Goldman shares look set to open around $165 today, over 300% off their lows from the crisis. If this reputational hit mattered, nobody bothered to tell paid-up Goldman Sachs shareholders.

I suppose, it is conceivably, that in the not-so-distant future, along with all the tax, unemployment, 401K deductions listed on your pay stub, there'll be one for "Goldman Sucks" on it.


Bonus Goldman Sucks Riffs

John Cook: Congrats Goldman Sachs! You're the New Symbol of Banker Greed

Paul Krugman: The Joy of Sachs

dday: Goldman's Record Taxpayer-Subsidized Profits

Nick Baumann: Even the Wall Street Journal Hates Goldman Now

Matt Taibbi: The real price of Goldman’s giganto-profits