Eight Wall Street bankers were force fed large slices of humble pie on Capitol Hill as congressmen lined up to vent populist outrage over high living, lavish bonuses and gross incompetence on Wall Street.
The heads of Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon and State Street all wisely took the train or drove to Washington rather than boarding private jets.
But that did not quell the demands for them to show the contrition expressed publicly by their British counterparts.
Barney Frank, chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, addressed them and said: "I urge you strongly to cooperate," and respond to questions "not with mumbo jumbo but with reality".
The eight men behind the witness table did their best to placate him.
"It is abundantly clear that we are here amidst broad public anger at our industry," said Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs. "In my 26 years at Goldman Sachs, I have never seen a wider gulf between the financial services industry and the public." >>> By Toby Harnden in Washington | Wednesday, February 11, 2009
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