Goldman Sachs

Fabulous Fab's Self-Awareness

A telling performance review.

Some overlooked but revealing documents in the 901 pages of evidence against Goldman Sachs in the suit filed by the SEC are “self-reviews” by four of the firm’s bankers, Lucy Kellaway argues in the Financial Times. They show unbelievable arrogance and boastfulness from the Goldman bankers hoping to score mega-bonuses. For self-criticism, the bankers offer “unfulfilled accomplishments,” like, “I command considerable respect from younger members of the department based on my experience and market impact. I need to spend more time converting their respect into a comfort and trust.” Three authors are American; the fourth is the Frenchman Fabrice Tourre, who stands at the center of the SEC suit. “Fabulous Fab,” as he called himself, is even scarier than his coworkers, Kellaway argues, thanks to his self-awareness. “A man who understands that he needs to get better is even more dangerous than those who complacently think they are there already,” Kellaway writes. “Back in 2007, Fabulous Fab, it seems, was planning on becoming a lot more fabulous still.”