海角大神

Greg Smith, the former Goldman Sachs employee who carried out one of the most public resignations in history when he quit Goldman the same day The New York Times published his high-profile 鈥淲hy I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs,鈥� is back with another salvo, this time in the form of a tell-all memoir.

鈥淲hy I Left Goldman Sachs鈥� describes Smith鈥檚 ascent from summer intern in 2000 to equity derivatives salesman in Goldman鈥檚 London office, the position he quit in March 2012. Along the way, the 277-page memoir paints a critical picture of Goldman, accusing it of 鈥渞outinely deceiving clients and relentlessly pursuing profit at the expense of morality,鈥� according to the .

But while Smith鈥檚 March op-ed struck a nerve and went viral, leaving Smith a hero in some readers鈥� eyes for taking a stand and revealing the corruption at Goldman, his follow-up book, at first glance, doesn鈥檛 appear to contain any groundbreaking news 鈥� or to be generating the same praise.

鈥淧reliminary reviews of Greg Smith鈥檚 鈥榃hy I Left Goldman Sachs,鈥欌��have been lackluster,鈥� writes . 鈥淐ritics say the book contains few revelations, given that it had been hyped as a 鈥榯ell all鈥� look at the investment bank.鈥�

Echoes the , 鈥淲hile the 277-page book, 鈥榃hy I Left Goldman Sachs,鈥� paints an unflattering picture of Goldman in the years before and after the financial crisis, it does not contain any blockbuster discoveries that could lead to trouble for the bank鈥檚 top executives.鈥�

In a review, Matt Levine, a former vice president in Goldman鈥檚 investment banking division, says the memoir lacks specifics and though it presents itself as an expose, 鈥渋t is really a typical Wall Street memoir, in which the author wistfully recounts his youthful exploits and trading-floor antics before haranguing others not to follow in his footsteps.鈥�

By all , Smith was a 鈥渢rue believer鈥� who posted Goldman鈥檚 14 鈥淏usiness Principles鈥� to his wall and 鈥渂led GS blue.鈥� He championed the firm鈥檚 spirit of teamwork, industriousness, humility, and putting the client first.

But as time went on, Smith became troubled by what he calls a change in the Goldman culture. Salespeople referred to clients as 鈥渕uppets,鈥� slang for 鈥渋diot,鈥� and were concerned not with clients鈥� actual needs, but with making money for the firm, sometimes to the detriment of the clients. The culture, he says, became 鈥渢oxic and destructive鈥� and the bank began 鈥渞ipping their clients off.鈥�

鈥淭he wheel had turned,鈥� Smith writes in his book about Goldman鈥檚 evolution following the financial crisis. 鈥淭he banking world had become a trading world, and that was Lloyd Blankfein鈥檚 world. Goldman Sachs was becoming a hedge fund, and as part of the evolution, the bank was getting into new conflicts of interest. This new direction was a significant departure from what Goldman Sachs had become known for.鈥�

For the record, Goldman has denied Smith鈥檚 allegations and said its investigations turned up no evidence of Smith鈥檚 allegations, including the use of 鈥榤uppet鈥� in emails.

鈥淭he Goldman Sachs Mr. Smith describes is not one our employees would recognize,鈥� a spokesman for the firm told Sunday. 鈥淢r. Smith has asked for answers, yet he did not respond to our repeated attempts to contact him after his abrupt departure earlier this year.鈥�

Smith, who was making $500,000 a year when he left Goldman and reportedly received $1.5 million for the book deal, has responded by saying he鈥檚 not trying to expose Goldman per se, but shine a spotlight on a deepening culture of greed on Wall Street and fuel a public conversation on how to fix it.

鈥淚 am in a rush to spread a message and get mainstream people to realize there is a big problem and to be outraged that no one fixed it,鈥� Smith told . 鈥淭here is a real absence of people within the financial industry trying to advocate for positive reform. I would like to try to be part of that conversation.鈥�

Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.