Goldman Sachs Boosts Lobbying Costs 40%

Banks want to shape finance reform
By Emily Rauhala,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 22, 2010 2:00 AM CDT
Goldman Sachs Boosts Lobbying Costs 40%
Goldman Sachs chairman and chief executive officer Lloyd Blankfein testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on the financial crisis on Capitol Hill in Washington earlier this year.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Goldman Sachs is spending more and more in Washington—The bank upped its lobbying spending by nearly 40% in the second quarter and has already spent almost as much in the first half of this year as it did in all of 2009, notes the Huffington Post. The company is concerned about derivatives regulation, bank tax, and a host of other issues at stake in the overhaul of America's financial sector.

The vampire squid isn't the only bank working the Beltway. Six of the country's biggest banks (by assets) upped their spending between January and June, finds Bloomberg. The American Bankers Association, meanwhile, spent $4.2 million, up from $3.9 million the year before. "It’s important to stay in tune with the conversations and decisions that occur in Washington," a bank rep says. (More Goldman Sachs stories.)

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