Goldman Sachs 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. According to regulators, the analysts then passed on the ideas to a select group of top clients, creating the risk of research being passed to special clients before it was published.
The settlement was announced Thursday by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The SEC also 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.