Blankfein Rejects Calls for Breakups

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein said his company is easier to manage than bigger rivals, defending it against regulators and lawmakers who want to break up the top U.S. lenders.

"Our business is very complex, and I won't deny that, but it's far, far simpler than most of the competitors," Blankfein said Tuesday at a conference in New York sponsored by Bank of America Corp.

Blankfein said that the firm's change last year to a bank holding company under the supervision of the Federal Reserve means that "there are dozens of people who work for the New York Fed who come to work in our offices every day" to provide a check on the company's businesses. He said regulatory changes have not altered any of those activities, such as principal investing or commodity trading.

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