Goldman Sachs' Epstein confidante gets $25M

Published March 27, 2026 3:30 PM

Updated March 27, 2026 3:30 PM

1 Min Read

In this week's banking news roundup:

Goldman Sachs Chief Legal Officer Kathryn Ruemmler received an 11% pay hike last year, bringing her total compensation to $25 million when she leaves the firm.
Toby Clements has been promoted to chief operations officer at U.S. Bank.
Klarna will expand its forward-flow and whole-loan sale deal with Elliot Investment Management to $2 billion, and more.

Goldman’s top lawyer with Epstein ties gets $25M

Goldman Sachs Chief Legal Officer Kathryn Ruemmler received an 11% pay hike last year, bringing her total compensation to $25 million, the investment bank disclosed in a March proxy filing.

Ruemmler resigned in February but announced she will leave Goldman on June 30 after revelations of her close ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Emails released by the Department of Justice laid bare that Ruemmler accepted lavish gifts such as a $9,400 Hermès bag, Fendi coats and more — and gleefully referred in one email to being "tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey."

A one-page summary in the proxy detailing Ruemmler's responsibilities and performance highlights described her as "providing exceptional judgement and advice," serving as a key advisor to the firm's leadership.

Ruemmler received a $1.5 million base salary, an $8.5 million cash bonus, and $14.1 million in performance-based stock units, an 11% increase from 2024. Ruemmler was the fourth-highest paid executive at Goldman in 2025. Despite the uproar, Ruemmler maintained the support of CEO David Solomon. –Kate Berry

U.S. Bancorp appoints its next chief operations officer

U.S. Bancorp has promoted Toby Clements to chief operations officer, effective April 13, the Minneapolis-based company said in a press release.

Clements will join U.S. Bancorp's 16-person executive management committee and report to CEO Gunjan Kedia. He will succeed Souheil Badran, who announced his pending retirement from U.S. Bancorp, the holding company for U.S. Bank, in January.

In his new role, Clements will be in charge of U.S. Bancorp's client service centers and its global operations teams, leading more than 16,000 employees, the bank said.

Clements joined U.S. Bancorp in 2017 as the chief operating officer for its European operations. He has held several roles, and since last year has been the chief operations officer for the client services centers.

Prior to joining U.S. Bancorp, Clements worked at PTSB in Dublin, Ireland, and Tesco Bank in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has also worked at Navigant and Barclays in London. —Allissa Kline

Klarna doubles loan-sale deal with Elliot Investment Mgmt

Buy now/pay later fintech and aspiring neobank Klarna is expanding its forward-flow and whole-loan sale deal with Elliot Investment Management to $2 billion, double what it was under the previous agreement. Klarna first started selling its loans to the hedge fund last year.

Terms of the deal were also extended by one year to three total years, bringing total funding capacity to an expected $17 billion as the assets are topped off once older loans amortize.

"Klarna's U.S. Financing is growing fast because it gives Americans something the credit card industry never has: real choice, clear terms, and no surprises. This partnership sets the foundation for us to meet the accelerating demands of our American consumers," said Niclas Neglen, Klarna's chief financial officer. —Joey Pizzolato

Bank of Canada recruits new officials as Kozicki, Mendes to depart

The Bank of Canada is looking at internal candidates to fill spots on its rate-setting governing council after two deputy governors said they'll leave the organization in the coming months.

Sharon Kozicki will retire in July after two decades at the central bank, while Rhys Mendes is departing in April to move to Toronto, according to a statement Monday. Mendes was appointed deputy governor in 2023.

The bank said it will "undertake an internal recruitment process to fill these positions."

In the statement, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem thanked both for their contributions.

Kozicki, who was made deputy governor in 2021, was responsible for overseeing the analysis of domestic economic developments. She has held a variety of key positions at the bank, leading research and analysis on the economy, inflation and monetary policy.

At the end of 2024, the central bank expanded its rate-setting council to seven people, including two so-called external deputy governors. —Erik Hertzberg, Bloomberg News

Solomon Partners adds Sellinger to capital advisory group

Solomon Partners, the boutique investment bank backed by Natixis, has hiredMichael Sellinger as a partner in its capital advisory group.

Sellinger will be based in New York and will focus on advising companies and their stakeholders on restructuring across the firm's core sectors, according to a statement reviewed by Bloomberg News. He previously worked at GLC Advisors, where he helped build that firm's restructuring practice and advised clients through periods of financial stress.

"This is a pivotal moment for many companies as they confront technological disruption, regulatory changes, and economic uncertainty," Sellinger said.

Solomon Partners Chief Executive Officer Marc Cooper said in the statement that Sellinger's long-standing relationships will be instrumental in driving growth in the business.

Vinod Chandiramani, head of capital advisory, added that bringing in Sellinger marks a key step in building out the firm's practice.

"We are seeing increasing demand in situations with debt obligations below $1 billion, and we expect the need for our capital advisory services to continue expanding over the next few years," Chandiramani said. —Veena Ali-Khan, Bloomberg News

Shareholders at these two banks say yes to merger

The pending acquisition of Linkbancorp in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, by Burke & Herbert Financial Services in Alexandria, Virginia, has moved one step closer to being finalized now that shareholders of both banks have approved the transaction.

The $354.2 million deal, which was announced about three months ago, is expected to increase Burke & Herbert's assets to $11 billion, up from $7.9 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025. If approved, it will give Burke & Herbert its first exposure to the Pennsylvania banking market.

The transaction includes about two dozen branches in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. Post-acquisition, Burke & Herbert is poised to operate more than 100 branches in six states.

The banks did not provide an updated closing timeline. When the deal was announced, it was expected to close during the second quarter. —Allissa Kline

Trump’s signature to appear on US currency, breaking precedent

Donald Trump's signature will appear on future U.S. paper currency to mark the 250th anniversary of the country, a first for a sitting president, according to the Treasury Department.

"There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S. dollar bills bearing his name," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

U.S. currency has previously borne the signatures of the secretary and the treasurer.

The move comes as Trump has put his stamp on America's semiquincentennial this year, such as planning a UFC fight at the White House.

Trump's allies have pushed to attach his name to historic institutions while he's still serving — such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington as well as the airport in Palm Beach, Trump's adopted Florida hometown.

Printing Trump's signature on U.S. currency "is not only appropriate, but also well deserved," U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in the statement. —Daniel Flatley, Bloomberg News

BMO hires CIBC’s Kostandoff for equities leadership role

Bank of Montreal hired Joe Kostandoff from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to co-lead its equity capital markets division as longtime leader Peter Miller moves into a vice chair role.

Kostandoff, who has spent more than two decades at CIBC and was most recently co-head of equity solutions and equity capital markets, is set to join Bank of Montreal in June, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. The memo was sent by Carrie Cook, global head of investment and corporate banking.

Miller, who has been co-head of global ECM at Bank of Montreal for 17 years, according to the memo, will become vice chair of investment and corporate banking with a focus on senior client relationships and strategy.

Eric Benedict will continue in his role as co-head of global ECM. Both he and Kostandoff will report to Cook, she said in the memo, noting that the changes all take effect June 22. —Christine Dobby, Bloomberg News