Goldman agrees to pay $22 million to settle charges

WASHINGTON - The Associated Press

Traders work in a Goldman Sachs cubicle on the floor of the NYSE March 15. AP photo

Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $22 million to settle regulatory charges that its analysts shared confidential research with favored clients. The regulators alleged that Goldman analysts had weekly “huddles” from 2006 to 2011 where they discussed confidential research on stocks with the firm’s traders. The analysts then passed on the ideas to a select group of top clients, the regulators said. They said that created the risk of research being passed to special clients before it was published.

The settlement was announced April 12. Under the accord, $11 million of the penalty that Goldman is paying will go to the SEC and the other $11 million to FINRA. In addition, the SEC censured Goldman. Censure brings the possibility that a firm or individual could face a stiffer sanction if the alleged violation is repeated. Goldman neither admitted nor denied the allegations.