[joseacta]

I think it might be a way from them to put some pressure to the SEC.

1. GS is taxpayer subsidize (To Big To Fail) company. As they're a bank holding company, they can tap funds from the Feds at a very low rate. Because of this, they can make deals with an enormous amount of risk, and not care. If it fails, and cash is needed, just tap the funds.

2. The contract between GS and investors, explicitly says that GS can sell their stake on Facebook without informing investor. A clear sign of the risk associated with the deal. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-06/goldman-sachs-discl...

3. The SEC can't do nothing about this. There's no law that prohibits GS to do this. Instead, SEC is looking for an alternative to block the deal, as the 500 investor limit: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/facebook-and-the-500-...

4. GS takes advantage of the media attention to the case says it will limit investments to foreign clients. It's like saying: hey, the SEC is trying to block the deal at all costs, so instead, we won't support american investors and give priority to foreigners as the international community is more open to investment and risk taking.