Goldman Sachs grilled by Enquiry

The chairman of an inquiry into the causes of America\'s financial meltdown has attacked the role of US bank, Goldman Sachs.



Senator Carl Levin, who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, spoke of the reckless greed that infected Wall Street\'s financial community.



In his opening address to the hearing in Washington, Mr Levin said Goldman executives had caused widespread harm to their fellow citizens.



Several Goldman executives are giving evidence at the hearing, and all have denied that they acted improperly.



The committee has alleged that the firm packaged complex mortgage-backed securities and then sold them to investors, not only knowing that the housing market was about to collapse but also profiting from it.



Goldman is also facing specific allegations from the Securities and Exchange Commission that it defrauded investors by not telling them that one of its financial products was designed by a firm that was betting it would fail.