Gasparino Says Goldman's (GS) Bill Related to Recent Investigations Could Be $1-$5B

FOX Business Network’s Charlie Gasparino reported Thursday that officials at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) have concluded (as he calls it, "the easy part") that they must settle the civil-fraud case filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The not-so-obvious issue for Goldman, however, is to figure out just how much the firm will be required to pay, which, according to Charlie's report, could range anywhere from $1 billion to $5 billion.

Analysts told Gasparino that while even the most severe penalty in that range will not cause Goldman to crumble by any means, it should be enough to cause worry among the firm's shareholders.

Last year the Wall Street mega-bank earned more than $12 billion and it is anticipated that it will repeat those figures this year.

Goldman is also facing criminal investigations from the Justice Department and wide-ranging investigations from UK regulators, while shareholder and class action lawsuits have been filed against the firm as well.

Gasparino has also reported that Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein knows that his position within the company is in jeopardy due to the wave of legal actions against the firm. As Goldman's top exec, Blankfein is at the forefront of the public criticism.

Removing the Goldman name -- heretofore innocuous in the public eye -- from front page headlines will be critical to the firm regaining the trust of Wall Street and its investors.

“You can’t have them in the news in such a negative light each and every day,” an analyst cited by the FOX Business report said.

Shares of Goldman Sachs continue to tumble, down $3.32 to $144.78 today.

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