Goldman Sachs 2015 Annual Report Download - page 191

THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
The firm may also be liable to some clients or other parties
for losses arising from its custodial role or caused by acts or
omissions of third-party service providers, including sub-
custodians and third-party brokers. In certain cases, the
firm has the right to seek indemnification from these third-
party service providers for certain relevant losses incurred
by the firm. In addition, the firm is a member of payment,
clearing and settlement networks as well as securities
exchanges around the world that may require the firm to
meet the obligations of such networks and exchanges in the
event of member defaults and other loss scenarios.
In connection with its prime brokerage and clearing
businesses, the firm agrees to clear and settle on behalf of its
clients the transactions entered into by them with other
brokerage firms. The firm’s obligations in respect of such
transactions are secured by the assets in the client’s account
as well as any proceeds received from the transactions
cleared and settled by the firm on behalf of the client. In
connection with joint venture investments, the firm may
issue loan guarantees under which it may be liable in the
event of fraud, misappropriation, environmental liabilities
and certain other matters involving the borrower.
The firm is unable to develop an estimate of the maximum
payout under these guarantees and indemnifications.
However, management believes that it is unlikely the firm
will have to make any material payments under these
arrangements, and no material liabilities related to these
guarantees and indemnifications have been recognized in
the consolidated statements of financial condition as of
December 2015 and December 2014.
Other Representations, Warranties and
Indemnifications. The firm provides representations and
warranties to counterparties in connection with a variety of
commercial transactions and occasionally indemnifies them
against potential losses caused by the breach of those
representations and warranties. The firm may also provide
indemnifications protecting against changes in or adverse
application of certain U.S. tax laws in connection with
ordinary-course transactions such as securities issuances,
borrowings or derivatives.
In addition, the firm may provide indemnifications to some
counterparties to protect them in the event additional taxes
are owed or payments are withheld, due either to a change
in or an adverse application of certain non-U.S. tax laws.
These indemnifications generally are standard contractual
terms and are entered into in the ordinary course of
business. Generally, there are no stated or notional
amounts included in these indemnifications, and the
contingencies triggering the obligation to indemnify are not
expected to occur. The firm is unable to develop an estimate
of the maximum payout under these guarantees and
indemnifications. However, management believes that it is
unlikely the firm will have to make any material payments
under these arrangements, and no material liabilities related
to these arrangements have been recognized in the
consolidated statements of financial condition as of
December 2015 and December 2014.
Guarantees of Subsidiaries. Group Inc. fully and
unconditionally guarantees the securities issued by GS
Finance Corp., a wholly-owned finance subsidiary of the
firm.
Group Inc. has guaranteed the payment obligations of
Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS&Co.), GS Bank USA and
Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing, L.P. (GSEC),
subject to certain exceptions.
In November 2008, the firm contributed subsidiaries into
GS Bank USA, and Group Inc. agreed to guarantee the
reimbursement of certain losses, including credit-related
losses, relating to assets held by the contributed entities.
In addition, Group Inc. guarantees many of the obligations
of its other consolidated subsidiaries on a transaction-by-
transaction basis, as negotiated with counterparties. Group
Inc. is unable to develop an estimate of the maximum
payout under its subsidiary guarantees; however, because
these guaranteed obligations are also obligations of
consolidated subsidiaries, Group Inc.’s liabilities as
guarantor are not separately disclosed.
Goldman Sachs 2015 Form 10-K 179