Goldman Sachs bans top executives' donations to Trump campaign

NEW YORK, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Investment bank Goldman Sachs banned its high-ranking executives from contributing to the Trump-Pence election campaign, among other races.

The directive, sent September 1 to about 450 of the firm's partners from its government compliance department, forbids donations to "any federal candidate who is a sitting state or local official." It specifically mentions that the rule applies to any "governor running for president or vice president, such as the Trump/Pence ticket." Mike Pence, Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate on the Republican ticket, is the governor of Indiana. Donations to Trump and Pence's PACs and Super PACs supporting them are also banned.

The rule does not apply to the Democratic ticket: Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton currently holds no elected office, and her running mate, Tim Kaine, is a U.S. senator, and not a state official.

The policy is "meant to minimize potential reputational damage caused by any false perception that the firm is attempting to circumvent pay-to-play rules, particularly given partners' seniority and visibility. All failures to pre-clear political activities as outlined below are taken seriously and violations may result in disciplinary action," the announcement to Goldman Sachs partners said.

Only about 1 percent of the firm's 37,000 employees are affected by the directive.