A disappointing 2022 has led some Goldman Sachs partners to ask: Is it time for a change at the top?
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Dan DeFrancesco
Feb 9, 2023, 20:29 IST
The death of Julius Caesar in the Roman Senate - painting by Vincenzo Camuccini (1771-1844) Napoli, Museo Nazionale di CapodimonteLeemage /Corbis / Getty
We've talked at length over how people are looking to pin the blame on Solomon as things have soured at Goldman. Certain issues have been easier to overlook than others, but the bank recently broke a cardinal rule of Wall Street: Don't mess with bankers' compensation.
Some cuts to bonuses were deserved — *cough* investment banking *cough* — but a smaller bonus pool for those on the trading side of the business, which had a fantastic year, hit particularly hard.
And while it's not quite the Theatre of Pompey, the rumblings of dissent come as Goldman's top leadership descended upon Miami for the bank's annual partner meeting on Wednesday.
The meeting, which is a gathering of Goldman's entire partnership that numbers some 400 members, comes at a critical juncture. Later this month the bank will hold its second-ever investor day, a highly-anticipated event that will serve as an opportunity for Solomon to try and quell concerns about the direction of the bank among its biggest shareholders.
In many ways, Wednesday's meeting could end up being a critical point in Solomon's Goldman tenure. In time, it might be viewed as the moment when Solomon got his house in order, a jumping-off point for a big year for the bank. Otherwise, it could be the opportunity Goldman's top leaders needed to strategize on how to move on from him.
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After all, sometimes it's the closest ones that'll be quick to turn on you.
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