The marked increase in 2015 expenses stems in part from Goldman's 5.1-billion-dollar settlement with the Department of Justice (DoJ) and various federal and state regulators announced on January 14 relating to the firm's securitisation, underwriting and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities from 2005 to 2007. On January 15, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a 700,000-dollar award to a whistle-blower, the first-ever such award to a company outsider for analysis that led to a successful enforcement action.
The SEC's whistle-blower payout to an outsider may incentivise further 'bounty-hunting' against corporations by external experts.
Business-friendly judicial decisions that have limited class action recoveries will not necessarily restrict whistle-blower claims.
The salience of the Sanders campaign among primary voters skews post-election political headwinds against deregulation-friendly Democrats.
