And, by the way, Mr Sharp worked for Goldman Sachs for 22 years. Should the public be worried? Should the fact that Goldman has direct access to influencing financial reform put a pall on the success of reform?
The information below is quoted from a pdf document (page 5) called Doing God's Work: How Goldman Sachs Rigs the Game (March 2011) by Spinwatch. The report traces the many connections that Goldman Sachs has within the UK and in the EU through revolving door politics and lobbying against reform of the financial system in Europe. Page 6 has a chart of the web of relationships of Goldman with various politicians in the UK:
Jumping through the revolving door
Ex-Goldman people have also walked into key public positions in the UK: former chief economist at Goldman, the late David Walton, was handed a seat on the Bank of England's interest-rate setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), and Paul Deighton, a former chief operating officer at Goldman, now runs the London Olympic Games organising committee. In March 2011, Ben Broadbent, an economist from Goldman Sachs joined the MPC.
Funding the party
Over the last decade, senior Goldman Sachs and ex-Goldman Sachs bankers have donated £8.8 million to Britain's political parties.
Conservative payouts
* Richard Sharp £404,000 donated to the Conservatives since 2002. Ex-Chairman of Goldman Sachs' Principal Investment Area in Europe spent 22 years at the firm (he left in December 2006). Sharp is also a supporter and funder of Tony Mayor, Boris Johson's Fund for London, both personally and through his Sharp Foundation. (from page 5 of report by Spinwatch)
Other Goldman guys mentioned in the above report include Simon Robertson, Christopher French, Paul Ruddock, Michael Hintze, Jon Aisbitt and Lakshmi Mittal.
Goldman Sachs banker hand-picked by Osborne for top job in new finance watchdog gave £400,000 to Tory party
By James Salmon - Mail Online
- Richard Sharp, 56, made donations in decade up to May 2010
- Appointed to Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee in March
- Sharp's role on the committee slammed as 'wholly inappropriate'
A former banker hand-picked by chancellor George Osborne to help police the financial system donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservative Party.
Richard Sharp, a 23 year veteran of Goldman Sachs, donated £402,420 in the decade before the Conservatives returned to power in May 2010, according to official records.
He was appointed in March to the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee, the new watchdog set up to protect the public from another financial meltdown.
Last night Sharp’s role on the committee was slammed as ‘wholly inappropriate’.
One insider said the donations are likely to be scrutinised by the influential Treasury Select Committee of MPs, which will grill new committee members over the next few weeks.
‘The parameters against which these appointments are judged are independence and competence. So it’s likely this issue will be raised.’
There are no rules banning members from making political donations.
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