Anger as Goldman demands a second poll
THE billionaire American banker who runs Goldman Sachs has demanded a second Brexit referendum amid fears the result could hurt his profits.
Lloyd Blankfein has repeatedly hit out at the decision by British voters to leave the European Union and is a key figure in the City’s ferocious lobbying operation to make sure banks are prioritised above everything else in negotiations.
The 63-year-old New Yorker said on Twitter yesterday: ‘Here in UK, lots of handwringing from chief executives over Brexit.
‘Better sense of the tough and risky road ahead. Reluctant to say, but many wish for a confirming vote on a decision so monumental and irreversible. So much at stake, why not make sure consensus still there?’
His comments triggered an instant backlash. Senior Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘I am unaware that Mr Blankfein is a British elector. It is unwise to lecture other countries about their democratic systems, especially when your motives are suspect.’
He also criticised Goldman Sachs over its role in ‘squeezing Greece into the euro’. The bank helped hide Greek debt levels so it could meet the criteria, a disastrous decision that helped cripple its economy and drive millions out of work.
John Longworth, a former head of the British Chambers of Commerce who now works for pro-Brexit group Leave Means Leave, also said of Mr Blankfein: ‘He will naturally put the interests of his organisation ahead of those of the British people.’
The Goldman boss is one of a group of American bankers who backed Remain before the vote and issued dire warnings they would shift thousands of jobs abroad. The Wall Street lenders have so far failed to follow through on their threats, and Goldman itself is building a vast new City office.
International finance firms have benefited from European Union rules that allow them to base their head offices in London but sell services across the Continent. This arrangement saves the banks billions of pounds.
Mr Blankfein says he sees Twitter as a way of lobbying without having to suffer the indignity of media scrutiny. He has used it to stir the pot on Brexit several times before, praising London’s rivals Frankfurt and Paris and warning that whether the new City office gets filled is ‘outside our control’.
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