Why Corporate America Is Worried About Affirmative Action

Washington cautions American companies about a Chinese counterespionage law. The National Counterintelligence and Security Center is warning that a newly revised law, which takes effect on Saturday, could give Beijing more access to and control over companies’ data, according to The Wall Street Journal. The notice comes as China has raided offices of Western-linked consulting firms, citing security concerns.

Warren questions Goldman over its SVB roles

Months after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, Goldman Sachs’s role in its final days — as both an adviser to the lender and a buyer of its debt, potentially setting Goldman up for a big profit — has drawn scrutiny, including from federal authorities. Now, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts and a specialist in financial regulation, is demanding answers from Goldman, DealBook is first to report.

“This dual role — in which Goldman profited as the economy suffered — is reminiscent of the company’s behavior during the 2008 financial crisis, when it profited both from selling mortgage-backed securities and from placing bets against them,” Warren wrote on Thursday in a letter to David Solomon, the Wall Street firm’s C.E.O.

The letter reflects growing scrutiny of Goldman’s role. The firm sought to help Silicon Valley Bank shore up its finances ahead of a potential credit rating downgrade by Moody’s in two ways: by buying $21.4 billion worth of SVB’s debt, and by advising it on a planned $2.25 billion stock sale. (The equity raise failed when the debt sale forced SVB to take a $1.8 billion write-down, spooking investors.)

On the debt side, Goldman bought SVB’s loan book at a steep discount, seeking to profit by reselling it later. Though that’s a fairly typical move, it has drawn significant scrutiny here, given the fallout from SVB’s collapse. Goldman had offered its client the opportunity to hire another adviser for the debt deal, though SVB declined, DealBook previously reported.

“Goldman Sachs appears to have profited at nearly every stage of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse,” Warren wrote. She asked Goldman to disclose any underwriter fees it received for advising on the failed capital raise, what the firm paid for the SVB loans and what happened to the value of that debt in the weeks after the bank’s collapse.