Goldman charged with not policing the 'huddles'

The US Securities and Exchange Commission wants investment banks to take action to prevent sensitive information from flowing where it shouldn't be. To make the point it has attacked Goldman Sachs – the firm most resembling American football's legendary Green Bay Packers – and its use of a pre-game huddle to share ideas around the trading floor. "Goldman, Sachs & Co. lacked adequate policies and procedures to address the risk that during weekly 'huddles,' the firm's analysts could share material, nonpublic information about upcoming research changes," it said. "Huddles were a practice where Goldman's stock research analysts met to provide their best trading ideas to firm traders and later passed them on to a select group of top clients." The investment bank agreed to pay a fine of $22 million and alter its practices. It also reached a settlement with FINRA, the industry regulatory body, for other issues with the way it conducts the huddles.

Goldman and its senior managers have been on something of a losing streak recently, not unlike the Green Bay Packers. But it's too early to count them out of the contest.

Source document: The SEC news release gives further details.