Goldman Sachs Hudson CDO Said to Be Target of Second SEC Probe ， 高盛面臨美證監第二項調查

June 10 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s $2 billion Hudson Mezzanine collateralized debt obligation, sold in 2006, is the target of a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The inquiry into the CDO may not lead to any additional actions against the New York-based securities firm, said the person, who declined to be identified because the investigation isn’t public. Michael DuVally, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs, declined to comment, as did SEC spokesman John Nester. The Financial Times reported the probe yesterday.

The U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Levin, released e-mails in April related to Goldman Sachs’s mortgage-linked deals, including the Hudson Mezzanine transaction. In one October 2006 e-mail, a Goldman Sachs employee describes how the Hudson deal might be viewed by investors as “junk.”

Hudson Mezzanine

The Hudson Mezzanine 2006-1 CDO contained credit default swaps that referenced $2 billion in subprime, BBB-rated residential mortgage-backed securities, according to the documents released by Levin’s committee. While Goldman Sachs selected the assets in the deal, the firm was also the only investor buying credit protection on the entire transaction , the documents show.

Goldman Sachs created and sold the Hudson CDO in late 2006, near the time documents released by Levin show senior executives wanted to reduce the firm’s exposure to subprime mortgages.

“The CDO imploded within two years. Your clients lost; Goldman profited,” Levin said in an April 27 hearing during which he questioned Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein about the Hudson deal and other CDOs. “To go out and sell these securities to people and then bet against those same securities, it seems to me, is a fundamental conflict of interest and is -- raises a real ethical issue.”

(From Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSNYXMe69Kh8&pos=3)

信報 2010年6月11日: 高盛面臨美證監第二項調查

面臨多項調查的高盛據報正面對美國證監第二項調查，調查目標是該行二○○六年出售的二十億美元「赫德森夾層」債務抵押債券（Hudson Mezzanine CDO）。

涉「赫德森夾層」ＣＤＯ

彭博社昨天引述知情人士報道，美國證券及交易委員會（ＳＥＣ）進行相關調查工作後，未必會向高盛採取進一步行動。

《金融時報》引述知情人士報道，ＳＥＣ最近數周正收集「赫德森夾層」ＣＤＯ交易的資料。

報道引述內部文件指出，高盛出售這些金融產品之際，亦同時沽空「赫德森夾層」ＣＤＯ，以保障這批ＣＤＯ的全部價值。

法律專家預期，「赫德森夾層」ＣＤＯ交易的調查將集中查明，高盛是否向投資者透露足夠的資料。高盛在推廣文件中表明，其利益與投資者利益相同，因為高盛購入這些ＣＤＯ。

這項調查是ＳＥＣ針對華爾街有關ＣＤＯ活動的更廣泛調查的一部分。《華爾街日報》昨天報道，ＳＥＣ同時調查摩根士丹利等主要大行的多宗按揭相關交易。

根據參議員萊文（Carl Levin）領導的參議院常設調查小組委員會的文件，高盛這批二○○六年一級「赫德森夾層」ＣＤＯ包含一批信貸違約掉期（ＣＤＳ），這些ＣＤＳ涉及合共二十億美元的BBB級次按抵押證券。

ＳＥＣ四月十六日提出起訴高盛在二○○七年出售名為Abacus的ＣＤＯ時涉嫌欺詐後，高盛股價已下跌百分之二十六。

遭澳洲對沖基金索償

在該訴訟中，ＳＥＣ表示，高盛及其一名職員沒有向投資者透露，對沖基金Paulson & Co.在設計該ＣＤＯ及對賭那些ＣＤＯ的角色。

另外，澳洲對沖基金Basis Capital周三入稟紐約曼哈頓聯邦法院，向高盛索償十億美元，指該公司購入高盛的次按證券後，被迫清盤。

Basis Capital的代表律師表示，高盛以明知錯誤的賣點推銷，強迫投資者把有毒證券的風險從賬目中撇除，是欺詐行為■