Tech & Biz

Daniel Sparks, Former Employee of Goldman Sachs Testifies

by Amy Judd | April 27, 2010 at 11:23 am

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Daniel Sparks, the Former Head of the Mortgage Department at Goldman Sachs Testifies to the Senate Tuesday April 27

Daniel Sparks, as the former head of the Mortage Department at Goldman Sachs was the one that Fabrice Tourre, Josh Birnbaum and Michael Swenson all reported to and he gave his testimony to the Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations on Tuesday.

Full Text of Daniel Sparks Testimony

Daniel Sparks joined Goldman Sachs in 1989 and was an employee for nineteen years. He said that everyone he worked with had high ethical standards and that integrity was a major part of life at Goldman Sachs.

Mr. Sparks said that near the end of 2006, he began to have concerns about Goldman's exposure to residential mortgages. He shared those concerns and as the markets showed signs of stress at that time his department was experiencing many losses. He was asked in mid-December to reduce risk to the company in the short term and due to the changing market, his approaches had to change almost daily as well. He said some days they were successful to reduce risk and others they were not.

Daniel Sparks said that the main focus always was to reduce risk, even when other's views within the department did not necessarily agree.

Throughout 2007, the Mortgage Department reacted to market events, worked with our clients, and managed our risk. I left Goldman Sachs in mid-2008 to spend more time with my family and in my community, and to pursue other interests. When I left, I was proud of what the people in the Mortgage Department had accomplished during a difficult period, and I remain so today.