Goldman repeats claims of innocence

NEW YORK, April 20 (UPI) -- Goldman Sachs executives said Tuesday the bank lost $100 million on the securities deals that provoked a lawsuit filed Friday by U.S. regulators.

In a conference call with reporters, Goldman co-general counsel Greg Palm said, "We would never intentionally mislead anyone," CNN reported.

U.S. regulators have been negotiating for months with Goldman Sachs concerning a fraud settlement, sources told The Washington Post. When negotiations failed, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit alleging the bank sold mortgage-backed securities secretly designed to fail, as they were selected by hedge fund manager John Paulson, who had bet heavily against the housing market.

Palm and Chief Financial Officer David Viniar said Tuesday Paulson was not involved in choosing the securities that went into the so-called Abacus securities deals.

Goldman said in a statement Monday: "We believe that the firm's actions were entirely appropriate, and will take all steps necessary to defend the firm and its reputation by making the true facts known."

Foreign regulators -- the Financial Services Authority in Britain and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in Germany -- have said they are also investigating the case in cooperation with the SEC. The Post said the Royal Bank of Scotland lost $850 million while Deutsche-Industriebank lost more than $100 million in investments related to the alleged fraud.