Goldman CEO denies wrongdoing in crisis

Washington, DC — The CEO of Goldman Sachs is testily defending his company's ethics and business practices during the nation's financial crisis, saying that customers buying securities from the investment house came looking for risk and that's what they got.

Lloyd Blankfein told skeptical senators on an investigatory panel that clients wanted a security that would give them exposure to the housing market. Blankfein said that "unfortunately, the housing market went south very quickly ... so people lost money in it."

He was the final witness in a daylong hearing on Goldman Sachs' behavior leading up to a government civil fraud accuse earlier this month.

Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Goldman Sachs & Co. of civil fraud

Washington - The government is accusing Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs & Co. of defrauding investors in its disclosures regarding securities it sold tied to subprime mortgage securities as the housing market was faltering.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Friday civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs & Co. and one of its vice presidents.

The agency alleges that the company marketed complex subprime mortgage securities also failed to unveil to investors that a major hedge fund had bet against the securities.

Goldman Sachs shares fell 7.4 %.