Yesterday, news broke that Goldman Sachs had fired one of its top foreign exchange salesmen in London. Immediately, people began wondering what had happened.
Word was that Kevin Connors, who was co-head of global forex sales for G10 currencies, had abruptly departed last week. Goldman was officially declining to comment.
But it was clearly the source of comments explaining that Connors had not acted illegally or harmed clients.
So what happened?
The only explanation offered yesterday was that Connors, who first joined Goldman in 1990 and was elevated to partner in 2008, had violated firm rules. That was rather vague and unsatisfying.
It also gave rise to lots of false rumors and unsubstantiated speculation. Was Connors dating a subordinate at the firm? Had he gone "rogue" and exceeded his trading limits? Other questions that people were asking yesterday were even more tawdry.
A person familiar with the matter has told NetNet that Connors was let go for holding outside investments that he hadn't disclosed to the firm. Holding the investments was a violation of firm policy, the person said.
Of course, that explanation gives rise to even more questions. What were the investments? Why would someone in Connors' elevated position risk everything on outside investments?
Connors was likely one of the top earners at Goldman Sachs. It is hard to imagine what outside investment could be so valuable as to be worth the risk of losing his position.
NetNet has not been able to confirm this explanation with additional sources. Connors could not be reached for comment. Goldman Sachs was not immediately available for comment.
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