Friday, February 15, 2013

Goldman Executives Warn UK off EU exit

Mother: .....And remember, the Lord loves a working man.
Navin: ........
Lord loves a working man.
Father: ......
And son, don't never, ever trust whitey.
-The Jerk (1979)  
From DJ's eFinancial News:
 Two senior Goldman Sachs executives have waded into the debate over the UK’s status in the European Union, arguing that an exit from the bloc would make the country “a much less attractive place” for business.
Writing in an opinion piece in The Times newspaper, Michael Sherwood and Richard Gnodde, co-chief executives of Goldman Sachs International, argue that threats to Britain’s involvement in the EU equate to threats to British business, and could lead to a gradual investment drain from the country. 

As senior figures in the US bank’s European business headquartered in London, the intervention of Sherwood and Gnodde could prove influential. Goldman Sachs International employs 2,095 FSA approved persons, according to data-provider Imas-Insight.

Sherwood and Gnodde argue that threats would manifest over time, beginning with a “decline in investment and hiring as London suffers relative to cities such as Frankfurt and Paris.”

The executives argue that the performance of the British economy is “inextricably linked” to the EU, and that the positive aspects of EU membership are “in danger of being underestimated or ignored”. They argue that London could lose the opportunity of profiting from companies seeking to raise money in the capital markets as bank lending shrinks....MORE 

 Richard Gnodde and Michael Sherwood
Richard Gnodde and Michael Sherwood