{ "ticker": "GS", "company": "Goldman Sachs Group Inc.", "filing_type": "10-K", "year_current": "2024", "year_prior": "2023", "summary": { "added": 8, "removed": 6, "modified": 61, "unchanged": 54, "total_current": 123, "total_prior": 121 }, "source": "SEC EDGAR", "url": "https://riskdiff.com/gs/2024-vs-2023/", "markdown_url": "https://riskdiff.com/gs/2024-vs-2023/index.md", "json_url": "https://riskdiff.com/gs/2024-vs-2023/index.json", "generated": "2026-06-01", "ai_summary": null, "risks": [ { "status": "ADDED", "current_title": "Market Developments and General Business Environment", "prior_title": null, "current_body": "•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters. •Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments. •Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China. •We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties. •We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. Credit•Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.•Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.•Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.Operational•A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.•A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.•The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business.•A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.•We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.Legal and Regulatory•Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.•A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.•We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.•Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.•In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.•The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders. Credit •Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties. •Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. •Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses." }, { "status": "ADDED", "current_title": "Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.", "prior_title": null, "current_body": "We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, has in the past and could in the future lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us. We are also exposed to the risk of a special assessment, including under the FDIA or OLA in the event of the failure of a bank or non-bank financial institution, which have in the past, and may in the future, adversely affect our results of operations. Group Inc. is a holding company and its liquidity depends on payments and loans from its subsidiaries, many of which are subject to legal, regulatory and other restrictions on providing funds or assets to Group Inc.Group Inc. is a holding company and, therefore, depends on dividends, distributions, loans and other payments from its subsidiaries to fund share repurchases and dividend payments and to fund payments on its obligations, including debt obligations. Many of our subsidiaries, including our broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries, are subject to laws that restrict dividend payments or authorize regulatory bodies to block or reduce the flow of funds from those subsidiaries to Group Inc. In addition, our broker-dealer and bank entities and their subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on their ability to lend or transact with affiliates and to minimum regulatory capital and other requirements, as well as restrictions on their ability to use funds deposited with them in brokerage or bank accounts to fund their businesses. Additional restrictions on related-party transactions, increased capital and liquidity requirements and additional limitations on the use of funds on deposit in bank or brokerage accounts, as well as lower earnings, can reduce the amount of funds available to meet the obligations of Group Inc., including under the FRB’s source of strength requirement, and even require Group Inc. to provide additional funding to such subsidiaries. Restrictions or regulatory action of that kind could impede access to funds that Group Inc. needs to make payments on its obligations, including debt obligations, or dividend payments. In addition, Group Inc.’s right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors.There has been a trend towards increased regulation and supervision of our subsidiaries by the governments and regulators in the countries in which those subsidiaries are located or do business. Concerns about protecting clients and creditors of financial institutions that are controlled by persons or entities located outside of the country in which such entities are located or do business have caused or may cause a number of governments and regulators to take additional steps to “ring fence” or require internal total loss-absorbing capacity (which may also be subject to “bail-in” powers, as described below) at those entities in order to protect clients and creditors of those entities in the event of financial difficulties involving those entities. The result has been and may continue to be additional limitations on our ability to efficiently move capital and liquidity among our affiliated entities, or to Group Inc., including in times of stress, thereby increasing the overall level of capital and liquidity required by us on a consolidated basis." }, { "status": "ADDED", "current_title": "The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business.", "prior_title": null, "current_body": "We or our third-party vendors, clients or counterparties may develop or incorporate AI technology in certain business processes, services or products. The development and use of AI present a number of risks and challenges to our business. The legal and regulatory environment relating to AI is uncertain and rapidly evolving, both in the U.S. and internationally, and includes regulation targeted specifically at AI as well as provisions in intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, employment and other laws applicable to the use of AI. These evolving laws and regulations could require changes in our implementation of AI technology and increase our compliance costs and the risk of non-compliance. AI models, particularly generative AI models, may produce output or take action that is incorrect, that result in the release of private, confidential or proprietary information, that reflect biases included in the data on which they are trained, infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, or that is otherwise harmful. In addition, the complexity of many AI models makes it challenging to understand why they are generating particular outputs. This limited transparency increases the challenges associated with assessing the proper operation of AI models, understanding and monitoring the capabilities of the AI models, reducing erroneous output, eliminating bias and complying with regulations that require documentation or explanation of the basis on which decisions are made. Further, we may rely on AI models developed by third parties, and, to that extent, would be dependent in part on the manner in which those third parties develop and train their models, including risks arising from the inclusion of any unauthorized material in the training data for their models, and the effectiveness of the steps these third parties have taken to limit the risks associated with the output of their models, matters over which we may have limited visibility. Any of these risks could expose us to liability or adverse legal or regulatory consequences and harm our reputation and the public perception of our business or the effectiveness of our security measures. In addition to our use of AI technologies, we are exposed to risks arising from the use of AI technologies by bad actors to commit fraud and misappropriate funds and to facilitate cyberattacks. Generative AI, if used to perpetrate fraud or launch cyberattacks, could result in losses, liquidity outflows or other adverse effects at a particular financial institution or exchange. A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.Our operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in our computer systems and networks and those of our vendors. There have been a number of highly publicized cases involving financial services companies, consumer-based companies, software and information technology service providers, governmental agencies and other organizations reporting the unauthorized access or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber attacks involving the dissemination, theft and destruction of corporate information or other assets, as a result of inadequate procedures or the failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by foreign governments. There have also been a number of highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information or for restoring access to information or systems.We are regularly the target of attempted cyber attacks, including denial-of-service attacks, and must continuously monitor and develop our systems to protect the integrity and functionality of our technology infrastructure and access to and the security of our data. We have faced a high volume of cyber attacks as we expand our mobile- and other internet-based products and services, as well as our usage of mobile and cloud technologies, and as we provide these services to individual consumers. Further, the use of AI by cybercriminals may increase the frequency and severity of cybersecurity attacks against us or our third-party vendors and clients. The migration of our communication from devices we provide to employee-owned devices presents additional risks of cyber attacks, as do hybrid work arrangements. In addition, due to our interconnectivity with third-party vendors (and their respective service providers), central agents, exchanges, clearinghouses and other financial institutions, we could be adversely impacted if any of them is subject to a successful cyber attack or other information security event. These impacts could include the loss of access to information or services from the third party subject to the cyber attack or other information security event or could result in unauthorized access to or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information, which could, in turn, interrupt certain of our businesses or adversely affect our results of operations and reputation." }, { "status": "ADDED", "current_title": "A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "prior_title": null, "current_body": "Our operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in our computer systems and networks and those of our vendors. There have been a number of highly publicized cases involving financial services companies, consumer-based companies, software and information technology service providers, governmental agencies and other organizations reporting the unauthorized access or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber attacks involving the dissemination, theft and destruction of corporate information or other assets, as a result of inadequate procedures or the failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by foreign governments. There have also been a number of highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information or for restoring access to information or systems. We are regularly the target of attempted cyber attacks, including denial-of-service attacks, and must continuously monitor and develop our systems to protect the integrity and functionality of our technology infrastructure and access to and the security of our data. We have faced a high volume of cyber attacks as we expand our mobile- and other internet-based products and services, as well as our usage of mobile and cloud technologies, and as we provide these services to individual consumers. Further, the use of AI by cybercriminals may increase the frequency and severity of cybersecurity attacks against us or our third-party vendors and clients. The migration of our communication from devices we provide to employee-owned devices presents additional risks of cyber attacks, as do hybrid work arrangements. In addition, due to our interconnectivity with third-party vendors (and their respective service providers), central agents, exchanges, clearinghouses and other financial institutions, we could be adversely impacted if any of them is subject to a successful cyber attack or other information security event. These impacts could include the loss of access to information or services from the third party subject to the cyber attack or other information security event or could result in unauthorized access to or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information, which could, in turn, interrupt certain of our businesses or adversely affect our results of operations and reputation. The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business.We or our third-party vendors, clients or counterparties may develop or incorporate AI technology in certain business processes, services or products. The development and use of AI present a number of risks and challenges to our business. The legal and regulatory environment relating to AI is uncertain and rapidly evolving, both in the U.S. and internationally, and includes regulation targeted specifically at AI as well as provisions in intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, employment and other laws applicable to the use of AI. These evolving laws and regulations could require changes in our implementation of AI technology and increase our compliance costs and the risk of non-compliance. AI models, particularly generative AI models, may produce output or take action that is incorrect, that result in the release of private, confidential or proprietary information, that reflect biases included in the data on which they are trained, infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, or that is otherwise harmful. In addition, the complexity of many AI models makes it challenging to understand why they are generating particular outputs. This limited transparency increases the challenges associated with assessing the proper operation of AI models, understanding and monitoring the capabilities of the AI models, reducing erroneous output, eliminating bias and complying with regulations that require documentation or explanation of the basis on which decisions are made. Further, we may rely on AI models developed by third parties, and, to that extent, would be dependent in part on the manner in which those third parties develop and train their models, including risks arising from the inclusion of any unauthorized material in the training data for their models, and the effectiveness of the steps these third parties have taken to limit the risks associated with the output of their models, matters over which we may have limited visibility. Any of these risks could expose us to liability or adverse legal or regulatory consequences and harm our reputation and the public perception of our business or the effectiveness of our security measures.In addition to our use of AI technologies, we are exposed to risks arising from the use of AI technologies by bad actors to commit fraud and misappropriate funds and to facilitate cyberattacks. Generative AI, if used to perpetrate fraud or launch cyberattacks, could result in losses, liquidity outflows or other adverse effects at a particular financial institution or exchange." }, { "status": "ADDED", "current_title": "The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business.", "prior_title": null, "current_body": "We or our third-party vendors, clients or counterparties may develop or incorporate AI technology in certain business processes, services or products. The development and use of AI present a number of risks and challenges to our business. The legal and regulatory environment relating to AI is uncertain and rapidly evolving, both in the U.S. and internationally, and includes regulation targeted specifically at AI as well as provisions in intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, employment and other laws applicable to the use of AI. These evolving laws and regulations could require changes in our implementation of AI technology and increase our compliance costs and the risk of non-compliance. AI models, particularly generative AI models, may produce output or take action that is incorrect, that result in the release of private, confidential or proprietary information, that reflect biases included in the data on which they are trained, infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, or that is otherwise harmful. In addition, the complexity of many AI models makes it challenging to understand why they are generating particular outputs. This limited transparency increases the challenges associated with assessing the proper operation of AI models, understanding and monitoring the capabilities of the AI models, reducing erroneous output, eliminating bias and complying with regulations that require documentation or explanation of the basis on which decisions are made. Further, we may rely on AI models developed by third parties, and, to that extent, would be dependent in part on the manner in which those third parties develop and train their models, including risks arising from the inclusion of any unauthorized material in the training data for their models, and the effectiveness of the steps these third parties have taken to limit the risks associated with the output of their models, matters over which we may have limited visibility. Any of these risks could expose us to liability or adverse legal or regulatory consequences and harm our reputation and the public perception of our business or the effectiveness of our security measures. In addition to our use of AI technologies, we are exposed to risks arising from the use of AI technologies by bad actors to commit fraud and misappropriate funds and to facilitate cyberattacks. Generative AI, if used to perpetrate fraud or launch cyberattacks, could result in losses, liquidity outflows or other adverse effects at a particular financial institution or exchange. A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.Our operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in our computer systems and networks and those of our vendors. There have been a number of highly publicized cases involving financial services companies, consumer-based companies, software and information technology service providers, governmental agencies and other organizations reporting the unauthorized access or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber attacks involving the dissemination, theft and destruction of corporate information or other assets, as a result of inadequate procedures or the failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by foreign governments. There have also been a number of highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information or for restoring access to information or systems.We are regularly the target of attempted cyber attacks, including denial-of-service attacks, and must continuously monitor and develop our systems to protect the integrity and functionality of our technology infrastructure and access to and the security of our data. We have faced a high volume of cyber attacks as we expand our mobile- and other internet-based products and services, as well as our usage of mobile and cloud technologies, and as we provide these services to individual consumers. Further, the use of AI by cybercriminals may increase the frequency and severity of cybersecurity attacks against us or our third-party vendors and clients. The migration of our communication from devices we provide to employee-owned devices presents additional risks of cyber attacks, as do hybrid work arrangements. In addition, due to our interconnectivity with third-party vendors (and their respective service providers), central agents, exchanges, clearinghouses and other financial institutions, we could be adversely impacted if any of them is subject to a successful cyber attack or other information security event. These impacts could include the loss of access to information or services from the third party subject to the cyber attack or other information security event or could result in unauthorized access to or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information, which could, in turn, interrupt certain of our businesses or adversely affect our results of operations and reputation." }, { "status": "ADDED", "current_title": "The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business.", "prior_title": null, "current_body": "We or our third-party vendors, clients or counterparties may develop or incorporate AI technology in certain business processes, services or products. The development and use of AI present a number of risks and challenges to our business. The legal and regulatory environment relating to AI is uncertain and rapidly evolving, both in the U.S. and internationally, and includes regulation targeted specifically at AI as well as provisions in intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, employment and other laws applicable to the use of AI. These evolving laws and regulations could require changes in our implementation of AI technology and increase our compliance costs and the risk of non-compliance. AI models, particularly generative AI models, may produce output or take action that is incorrect, that result in the release of private, confidential or proprietary information, that reflect biases included in the data on which they are trained, infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, or that is otherwise harmful. In addition, the complexity of many AI models makes it challenging to understand why they are generating particular outputs. This limited transparency increases the challenges associated with assessing the proper operation of AI models, understanding and monitoring the capabilities of the AI models, reducing erroneous output, eliminating bias and complying with regulations that require documentation or explanation of the basis on which decisions are made. Further, we may rely on AI models developed by third parties, and, to that extent, would be dependent in part on the manner in which those third parties develop and train their models, including risks arising from the inclusion of any unauthorized material in the training data for their models, and the effectiveness of the steps these third parties have taken to limit the risks associated with the output of their models, matters over which we may have limited visibility. Any of these risks could expose us to liability or adverse legal or regulatory consequences and harm our reputation and the public perception of our business or the effectiveness of our security measures. In addition to our use of AI technologies, we are exposed to risks arising from the use of AI technologies by bad actors to commit fraud and misappropriate funds and to facilitate cyberattacks. Generative AI, if used to perpetrate fraud or launch cyberattacks, could result in losses, liquidity outflows or other adverse effects at a particular financial institution or exchange. A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.Our operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in our computer systems and networks and those of our vendors. There have been a number of highly publicized cases involving financial services companies, consumer-based companies, software and information technology service providers, governmental agencies and other organizations reporting the unauthorized access or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber attacks involving the dissemination, theft and destruction of corporate information or other assets, as a result of inadequate procedures or the failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by foreign governments. There have also been a number of highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information or for restoring access to information or systems.We are regularly the target of attempted cyber attacks, including denial-of-service attacks, and must continuously monitor and develop our systems to protect the integrity and functionality of our technology infrastructure and access to and the security of our data. We have faced a high volume of cyber attacks as we expand our mobile- and other internet-based products and services, as well as our usage of mobile and cloud technologies, and as we provide these services to individual consumers. Further, the use of AI by cybercriminals may increase the frequency and severity of cybersecurity attacks against us or our third-party vendors and clients. The migration of our communication from devices we provide to employee-owned devices presents additional risks of cyber attacks, as do hybrid work arrangements. In addition, due to our interconnectivity with third-party vendors (and their respective service providers), central agents, exchanges, clearinghouses and other financial institutions, we could be adversely impacted if any of them is subject to a successful cyber attack or other information security event. These impacts could include the loss of access to information or services from the third party subject to the cyber attack or other information security event or could result in unauthorized access to or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information, which could, in turn, interrupt certain of our businesses or adversely affect our results of operations and reputation." }, { "status": "ADDED", "current_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.", "prior_title": null, "current_body": "The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and on Russian businesses and persons. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russian owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the conflict on the global economy. The conflicts in the Middle East could also affect and harm our business and increase market uncertainty. The impact of these conflicts on our business and operations is uncertain and therefore cannot be predicted. The escalation or continuation of these conflicts or other hostilities could result in, among other things, an increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets. The extent and duration of the conflicts, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. If international political instability and geopolitical tensions continue or increase in any region in which we do business, our business and results of operations could be harmed. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine. Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects." }, { "status": "ADDED", "current_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.", "prior_title": null, "current_body": "The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and on Russian businesses and persons. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russian owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the conflict on the global economy. The conflicts in the Middle East could also affect and harm our business and increase market uncertainty. The impact of these conflicts on our business and operations is uncertain and therefore cannot be predicted. The escalation or continuation of these conflicts or other hostilities could result in, among other things, an increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets. The extent and duration of the conflicts, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. If international political instability and geopolitical tensions continue or increase in any region in which we do business, our business and results of operations could be harmed. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine. Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects." }, { "status": "REMOVED", "current_title": null, "prior_title": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.", "prior_body": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions may make it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which may result in losses for us from time to time. Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, could negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans. In the ordinary course of business, we may be subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties. CreditOur businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, could lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us.We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime brokerage activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Although we have limits and regularly review credit exposures to specific clients and counterparties and to specific industries, countries and regions that we believe may present credit concerns, default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee. Credit" }, { "status": "REMOVED", "current_title": null, "prior_title": "Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.", "prior_body": "As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices. We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above. The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds.We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented." }, { "status": "REMOVED", "current_title": null, "prior_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments.", "prior_body": "The war between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and parties in Russia. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russia owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the war on the global economy. The escalation or continuation of the war between Russia and Ukraine or other hostilities could result in, among other things, further increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets. The extent and duration of the war, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer.New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. The FRB has announced that we are among the six U.S. financial institutions participating in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise in 2023, and we also are subject to new or heightened regulatory requirements relating to climate change, such as requirements relating to operational resiliency or stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Any such new or heightened requirements could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, and we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer. New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. The FRB has announced that we are among the six U.S. financial institutions participating in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise in 2023, and we also are subject to new or heightened regulatory requirements relating to climate change, such as requirements relating to operational resiliency or stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Any such new or heightened requirements could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, and we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer. New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. The FRB has announced that we are among the six U.S. financial institutions participating in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise in 2023, and we also are subject to new or heightened regulatory requirements relating to climate change, such as requirements relating to operational resiliency or stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Any such new or heightened requirements could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, and we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments.The war between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and parties in Russia. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russia owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the war on the global economy. The escalation or continuation of the war between Russia and Ukraine or other hostilities could result in, among other things, further increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets.The extent and duration of the war, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine." }, { "status": "REMOVED", "current_title": null, "prior_title": "Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR.", "prior_body": "On January 1, 2022, the publication of all EUR, CHF, JPY and GBP LIBOR (non-USD LIBOR) settings along with certain USD LIBOR settings ceased. The publication of the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings as representative rates will cease after June 2023. The FCA proposed that certain of those USD LIBOR settings continue to be published on a synthetic basis through September 2024. The FCA has allowed the publication and use of synthetic rates for certain GBP LIBOR settings in legacy GBP LIBOR-based derivative contracts through March 2024. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol (IBOR Protocol) has provided derivatives market participants with amended fallbacks for legacy and new derivative contracts to mitigate legal or economic uncertainty. Both counterparties have to adhere to the IBOR Protocol or engage in bilateral amendments for the terms to be effective for derivative contracts. ISDA has confirmed that the FCA’s formal announcement to cease both non-USD and USD LIBOR settings fixed the spread adjustment for all LIBOR rates and as a result fallbacks applied automatically for non-USD LIBOR settings following December 31, 2021 and will apply automatically for USD LIBOR settings following June 30, 2023. The Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (LIBOR Act), that was enacted in March 2022, provides a statutory framework to replace USD LIBOR with a benchmark rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for contracts governed by U.S. law that have no fallbacks or fallbacks that would require the use of a poll or LIBOR-based rate. In December 2022, the FRB adopted a final rule that implements the LIBOR Act, which will become effective on February 27, 2023. The final rule identifies different SOFR-based replacement rates for derivative contracts, for cash instruments such as floating-rate notes and preferred stock, for consumer contracts, for certain government-sponsored enterprise contracts and for certain student loan securitizations that lack a fallback to an alternative rate when USD LIBOR ceases to be published on June 30, 2023. As the transition from LIBOR is ongoing, there continues to be uncertainty as to the ultimate effect of the transition on the financial markets for LIBOR-linked financial instruments. Similar developments have occurred with respect to other IBORs. The language in our contracts and financial instruments that define IBORs, in particular LIBOR, have developed over time and have various events that trigger when a successor rate to the designated rate would be selected. Once a trigger is satisfied, contracts and financial instruments often give the calculation agent (which may be us) discretion over the successor rate or benchmark to be selected. Although the LIBOR Act includes safe harbors if the FRB-identified SOFR-based replacement rate is selected, these safe harbors are untested. As a result, and despite the enactment of the LIBOR Act, for the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings, the selection of a successor rate could result in client disputes and litigation surrounding the proper interpretation of our IBOR-based contracts and financial instruments. Discretionary actions taken in connection with the implementation of fallback provisions could also result in client disputes and litigation particularly for derivatives and other synthetic instruments. Changes in, the discontinuation of, or changes in market acceptance of any IBOR, particularly USD LIBOR, as a reference rate may adversely affect certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products.Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects. The language in our contracts and financial instruments that define IBORs, in particular LIBOR, have developed over time and have various events that trigger when a successor rate to the designated rate would be selected. Once a trigger is satisfied, contracts and financial instruments often give the calculation agent (which may be us) discretion over the successor rate or benchmark to be selected. Although the LIBOR Act includes safe harbors if the FRB-identified SOFR-based replacement rate is selected, these safe harbors are untested. As a result, and despite the enactment of the LIBOR Act, for the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings, the selection of a successor rate could result in client disputes and litigation surrounding the proper interpretation of our IBOR-based contracts and financial instruments. Discretionary actions taken in connection with the implementation of fallback provisions could also result in client disputes and litigation particularly for derivatives and other synthetic instruments. Changes in, the discontinuation of, or changes in market acceptance of any IBOR, particularly USD LIBOR, as a reference rate may adversely affect certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products." }, { "status": "REMOVED", "current_title": null, "prior_title": "Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR.", "prior_body": "On January 1, 2022, the publication of all EUR, CHF, JPY and GBP LIBOR (non-USD LIBOR) settings along with certain USD LIBOR settings ceased. The publication of the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings as representative rates will cease after June 2023. The FCA proposed that certain of those USD LIBOR settings continue to be published on a synthetic basis through September 2024. The FCA has allowed the publication and use of synthetic rates for certain GBP LIBOR settings in legacy GBP LIBOR-based derivative contracts through March 2024. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol (IBOR Protocol) has provided derivatives market participants with amended fallbacks for legacy and new derivative contracts to mitigate legal or economic uncertainty. Both counterparties have to adhere to the IBOR Protocol or engage in bilateral amendments for the terms to be effective for derivative contracts. ISDA has confirmed that the FCA’s formal announcement to cease both non-USD and USD LIBOR settings fixed the spread adjustment for all LIBOR rates and as a result fallbacks applied automatically for non-USD LIBOR settings following December 31, 2021 and will apply automatically for USD LIBOR settings following June 30, 2023. The Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (LIBOR Act), that was enacted in March 2022, provides a statutory framework to replace USD LIBOR with a benchmark rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for contracts governed by U.S. law that have no fallbacks or fallbacks that would require the use of a poll or LIBOR-based rate. In December 2022, the FRB adopted a final rule that implements the LIBOR Act, which will become effective on February 27, 2023. The final rule identifies different SOFR-based replacement rates for derivative contracts, for cash instruments such as floating-rate notes and preferred stock, for consumer contracts, for certain government-sponsored enterprise contracts and for certain student loan securitizations that lack a fallback to an alternative rate when USD LIBOR ceases to be published on June 30, 2023. As the transition from LIBOR is ongoing, there continues to be uncertainty as to the ultimate effect of the transition on the financial markets for LIBOR-linked financial instruments. Similar developments have occurred with respect to other IBORs. The language in our contracts and financial instruments that define IBORs, in particular LIBOR, have developed over time and have various events that trigger when a successor rate to the designated rate would be selected. Once a trigger is satisfied, contracts and financial instruments often give the calculation agent (which may be us) discretion over the successor rate or benchmark to be selected. Although the LIBOR Act includes safe harbors if the FRB-identified SOFR-based replacement rate is selected, these safe harbors are untested. As a result, and despite the enactment of the LIBOR Act, for the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings, the selection of a successor rate could result in client disputes and litigation surrounding the proper interpretation of our IBOR-based contracts and financial instruments. Discretionary actions taken in connection with the implementation of fallback provisions could also result in client disputes and litigation particularly for derivatives and other synthetic instruments. Changes in, the discontinuation of, or changes in market acceptance of any IBOR, particularly USD LIBOR, as a reference rate may adversely affect certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products.Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects. The language in our contracts and financial instruments that define IBORs, in particular LIBOR, have developed over time and have various events that trigger when a successor rate to the designated rate would be selected. Once a trigger is satisfied, contracts and financial instruments often give the calculation agent (which may be us) discretion over the successor rate or benchmark to be selected. Although the LIBOR Act includes safe harbors if the FRB-identified SOFR-based replacement rate is selected, these safe harbors are untested. As a result, and despite the enactment of the LIBOR Act, for the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings, the selection of a successor rate could result in client disputes and litigation surrounding the proper interpretation of our IBOR-based contracts and financial instruments. Discretionary actions taken in connection with the implementation of fallback provisions could also result in client disputes and litigation particularly for derivatives and other synthetic instruments. Changes in, the discontinuation of, or changes in market acceptance of any IBOR, particularly USD LIBOR, as a reference rate may adversely affect certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products." }, { "status": "REMOVED", "current_title": null, "prior_title": "Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR.", "prior_body": "On January 1, 2022, the publication of all EUR, CHF, JPY and GBP LIBOR (non-USD LIBOR) settings along with certain USD LIBOR settings ceased. The publication of the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings as representative rates will cease after June 2023. The FCA proposed that certain of those USD LIBOR settings continue to be published on a synthetic basis through September 2024. The FCA has allowed the publication and use of synthetic rates for certain GBP LIBOR settings in legacy GBP LIBOR-based derivative contracts through March 2024. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol (IBOR Protocol) has provided derivatives market participants with amended fallbacks for legacy and new derivative contracts to mitigate legal or economic uncertainty. Both counterparties have to adhere to the IBOR Protocol or engage in bilateral amendments for the terms to be effective for derivative contracts. ISDA has confirmed that the FCA’s formal announcement to cease both non-USD and USD LIBOR settings fixed the spread adjustment for all LIBOR rates and as a result fallbacks applied automatically for non-USD LIBOR settings following December 31, 2021 and will apply automatically for USD LIBOR settings following June 30, 2023. The Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (LIBOR Act), that was enacted in March 2022, provides a statutory framework to replace USD LIBOR with a benchmark rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for contracts governed by U.S. law that have no fallbacks or fallbacks that would require the use of a poll or LIBOR-based rate. In December 2022, the FRB adopted a final rule that implements the LIBOR Act, which will become effective on February 27, 2023. The final rule identifies different SOFR-based replacement rates for derivative contracts, for cash instruments such as floating-rate notes and preferred stock, for consumer contracts, for certain government-sponsored enterprise contracts and for certain student loan securitizations that lack a fallback to an alternative rate when USD LIBOR ceases to be published on June 30, 2023. As the transition from LIBOR is ongoing, there continues to be uncertainty as to the ultimate effect of the transition on the financial markets for LIBOR-linked financial instruments. Similar developments have occurred with respect to other IBORs. The language in our contracts and financial instruments that define IBORs, in particular LIBOR, have developed over time and have various events that trigger when a successor rate to the designated rate would be selected. Once a trigger is satisfied, contracts and financial instruments often give the calculation agent (which may be us) discretion over the successor rate or benchmark to be selected. Although the LIBOR Act includes safe harbors if the FRB-identified SOFR-based replacement rate is selected, these safe harbors are untested. As a result, and despite the enactment of the LIBOR Act, for the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings, the selection of a successor rate could result in client disputes and litigation surrounding the proper interpretation of our IBOR-based contracts and financial instruments. Discretionary actions taken in connection with the implementation of fallback provisions could also result in client disputes and litigation particularly for derivatives and other synthetic instruments. Changes in, the discontinuation of, or changes in market acceptance of any IBOR, particularly USD LIBOR, as a reference rate may adversely affect certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products.Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects. The language in our contracts and financial instruments that define IBORs, in particular LIBOR, have developed over time and have various events that trigger when a successor rate to the designated rate would be selected. Once a trigger is satisfied, contracts and financial instruments often give the calculation agent (which may be us) discretion over the successor rate or benchmark to be selected. Although the LIBOR Act includes safe harbors if the FRB-identified SOFR-based replacement rate is selected, these safe harbors are untested. As a result, and despite the enactment of the LIBOR Act, for the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings, the selection of a successor rate could result in client disputes and litigation surrounding the proper interpretation of our IBOR-based contracts and financial instruments. Discretionary actions taken in connection with the implementation of fallback provisions could also result in client disputes and litigation particularly for derivatives and other synthetic instruments. Changes in, the discontinuation of, or changes in market acceptance of any IBOR, particularly USD LIBOR, as a reference rate may adversely affect certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.", "prior_title": "The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.", "similarity_score": 0.916, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets has caused and could continue to cause a reduction in commissions and spreads.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers or AI technologies, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in client preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us.\"" ], "current_body": "Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets has caused and could continue to cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades. In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, and AI, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers or AI technologies, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in client preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us. Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees.Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions.As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects.", "prior_body": "Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets could cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades.In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in consumer preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us.Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades. In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in consumer preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.", "prior_title": "Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.", "similarity_score": 0.914, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"AND SUBSIDIARIES CompetitionOur results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses.Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution.\"" ], "current_body": "As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices. We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation, regulatory scrutiny and disclosure obligations that have increased and could further increase the operating costs and could adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments and activities. There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations requires significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we do not have insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses.The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm.We have made changes to and may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we do not have insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses. The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm. We have made changes to and may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. As a result of our recovery and resolution planning processes, including incorporating feedback from our regulators, we may incur increased operational, funding or other costs and face limitations on our ability to structure our internal organization or engage in internal or external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices.We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above.These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation, regulatory scrutiny and disclosure obligations that have increased and could further increase the operating costs and could adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments and activities.There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations requires significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. As a result of our recovery and resolution planning processes, including incorporating feedback from our regulators, we may incur increased operational, funding or other costs and face limitations on our ability to structure our internal organization or engage in internal or external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient.", "prior_body": "As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices. We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above. The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds.We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.", "prior_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.", "similarity_score": 0.914, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks or worsening of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a public health emergency, sovereign debt risk and its impact on the relevant sovereign banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity.General uncertainty about economic, political and market activities, and the scope, timing and impact of regulatory reform, as well as weak consumer, investor and CEO confidence resulting in large part from such uncertainty, has in the past negatively impacted client activity, which has in the past adversely affected and could in the future adversely affect many of our businesses.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Such developments have in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses.Financial institution returns may be negatively impacted by increased funding costs due in part to the lack of perceived government support of such institutions in the event of future financial crises relative to financial institutions in countries in which governmental support is maintained.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Such developments have in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults.\"" ], "current_body": "Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks or worsening of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors. The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a public health emergency, sovereign debt risk and its impact on the relevant sovereign banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity.General uncertainty about economic, political and market activities, and the scope, timing and impact of regulatory reform, as well as weak consumer, investor and CEO confidence resulting in large part from such uncertainty, has in the past negatively impacted client activity, which has in the past adversely affected and could in the future adversely affect many of our businesses. Periods of low volatility and periods of high volatility combined with a lack of liquidity have at times had an unfavorable impact on our market-making businesses.Changes, or proposed changes, to U.S. international trade and investment policies, particularly with important trading partners, have in recent years negatively impacted financial markets. Continued or escalating tensions may result in further actions taken by the U.S. or other countries that could disrupt international trade and investment and adversely affect financial markets. Those actions could include, among others, the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or other restrictions on cross-border trade, investment, or transfer of information or technology. Such developments have in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses.Financial institution returns may be negatively impacted by increased funding costs due in part to the lack of perceived government support of such institutions in the event of future financial crises relative to financial institutions in countries in which governmental support is maintained. In addition, liquidity in the financial markets has in the past been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted as market participants and market practices and structures adjust to evolving regulatory frameworks. The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a public health emergency, sovereign debt risk and its impact on the relevant sovereign banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity. General uncertainty about economic, political and market activities, and the scope, timing and impact of regulatory reform, as well as weak consumer, investor and CEO confidence resulting in large part from such uncertainty, has in the past negatively impacted client activity, which has in the past adversely affected and could in the future adversely affect many of our businesses. Periods of low volatility and periods of high volatility combined with a lack of liquidity have at times had an unfavorable impact on our market-making businesses. Changes, or proposed changes, to U.S. international trade and investment policies, particularly with important trading partners, have in recent years negatively impacted financial markets. Continued or escalating tensions may result in further actions taken by the U.S. or other countries that could disrupt international trade and investment and adversely affect financial markets. Those actions could include, among others, the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or other restrictions on cross-border trade, investment, or transfer of information or technology. Such developments have in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses. Financial institution returns may be negatively impacted by increased funding costs due in part to the lack of perceived government support of such institutions in the event of future financial crises relative to financial institutions in countries in which governmental support is maintained. In addition, liquidity in the financial markets has in the past been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted as market participants and market practices and structures adjust to evolving regulatory frameworks. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above:MarketOur businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks or worsening of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above: Market", "prior_body": "Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors. The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, European sovereign debt risk and its impact on the European banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity. •Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.Competition•Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.•The financial services industry is highly competitive.•The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.•Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Market Developments and General Business Environment•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.•Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments.•Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR.•Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.•Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.•We face enhanced risks as new business initiatives and acquisitions lead us to engage in new activities, operate in new locations, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties and expose us to new asset classes and markets.•We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. •Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.", "prior_title": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.", "similarity_score": 0.909, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"These disruptions have in the past made, and may in the future make, it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which have in the past resulted, and may in the future result, in losses for us.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, has in the past negatively affected and may in the future negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans.In the ordinary course of business, we are at times subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"As the volume, speed, frequency and complexity of transactions, especially electronic transactions (as well as the requirements to report such transactions on a real-time basis to clients, regulators and exchanges) increase, developing and maintaining our operational systems and infrastructure has become more challenging, and the risk of systems or human error in connection with such transactions has increased, as have the potential consequences of such errors due to the speed and volume of transactions involved and the potential difficulty associated with discovering errors quickly enough to limit the resulting consequences.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Allegations or publicity, whether or not accurate, that our underwriting decisions do not treat consumers or clients fairly, or comply with the applicable law or regulation, have in the past resulted and may in the future result in negative publicity, reputational damage and governmental and regulatory scrutiny, investigations and enforcement actions.\"" ], "current_body": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions have in the past made, and may in the future make, it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which have in the past resulted, and may in the future result, in losses for us. Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, has in the past negatively affected and may in the future negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans.In the ordinary course of business, we are at times subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties. Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, has in the past negatively affected and may in the future negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans. In the ordinary course of business, we are at times subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties. We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime financing activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee.Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions have in the past made, and may in the future make, it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which have in the past resulted, and may in the future result, in losses for us. We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime financing activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee.", "prior_body": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions may make it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which may result in losses for us from time to time. Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, could negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans. In the ordinary course of business, we may be subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties. CreditOur businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, could lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us.We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime brokerage activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Although we have limits and regularly review credit exposures to specific clients and counterparties and to specific industries, countries and regions that we believe may present credit concerns, default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee. Credit" }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.", "prior_title": "Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.", "similarity_score": 0.909, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K49 Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K49 Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K49 49 Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K49 Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K49 49 Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K49 49 49 THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future.We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation.Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities.\"" ], "current_body": "We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements. We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures. The failure to complete these remediation activities in a timely manner could lead to higher operating expenses, reputational damage and other negative consequences.", "prior_body": "We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements. Significant settlements by several large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have been publicly announced. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future. We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation. We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities, which require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures.The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "prior_title": "The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "similarity_score": 0.909, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"entered resolution proceedings and support from Group Inc.\"", "Removed sentence: \"OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S.\"", "Removed sentence: \"government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors.In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred.\"", "Removed sentence: \"If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged.\"", "Removed sentence: \"While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible.In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K.\"" ], "current_body": "As described in “Business — Regulation — Banking Supervision and Regulation — Insolvency of an IDI or a BHC,” if the FDIC is appointed as receiver under OLA, the rights of Group Inc.’s creditors would be determined under OLA, and substantial differences exist in the rights of creditors between OLA and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the right of the FDIC under OLA to disregard the strict priority of creditor claims in some circumstances, which could have a material adverse effect on our debtholders. The FDIC has announced that a single point of entry strategy may be a desirable strategy under OLA to resolve a large financial institution in a manner that would, among other things, impose losses on shareholders, debtholders and other creditors of the top-tier BHC (in our case, Group Inc.), while the BHC’s subsidiaries may continue to operate. It is possible that the application of the single point of entry strategy under OLA, in which Group Inc. would be the only entity to enter resolution proceedings (and its material broker-dealer, bank and other operating entities would not enter resolution proceedings), would result in greater losses to Group Inc.’s security holders (including holders of our fixed rate, floating rate and indexed debt securities), than the losses that would result from the application of a bankruptcy proceeding or a different resolution strategy, such as a multiple point of entry resolution strategy for Group Inc. and certain of its material subsidiaries. Assuming Group Inc. entered resolution proceedings and support from Group Inc. or other resources available to its subsidiaries was sufficient to enable the subsidiaries to remain solvent, losses at the subsidiary level would be transferred to Group Inc. and ultimately borne by Group Inc.’s security holders, third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, and Group Inc.’s security holders (including our shareholders, debtholders and other unsecured creditors) could face significant and possibly complete losses. In that case, Group Inc.’s security holders would face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would incur no losses because the subsidiaries would continue to operate and would not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities could face losses ahead of its other similarly situated creditors in a resolution under OLA if the FDIC exercised its right, described above, to disregard the priority of creditor claims.OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S. government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors.In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred. If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged. While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible. Assuming Group Inc. entered resolution proceedings and support from Group Inc. or other resources available to its subsidiaries was sufficient to enable the subsidiaries to remain solvent, losses at the subsidiary level would be transferred to Group Inc. and ultimately borne by Group Inc.’s security holders, third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, and Group Inc.’s security holders (including our shareholders, debtholders and other unsecured creditors) could face significant and possibly complete losses. In that case, Group Inc.’s security holders would face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would incur no losses because the subsidiaries would continue to operate and would not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities could face losses ahead of its other similarly situated creditors in a resolution under OLA if the FDIC exercised its right, described above, to disregard the priority of creditor claims. OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S. government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors. In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred. If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged. While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible. In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct. This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software. It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB.The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.As described in “Business — Regulation — Banking Supervision and Regulation — Insolvency of an IDI or a BHC,” if the FDIC is appointed as receiver under OLA, the rights of Group Inc.’s creditors would be determined under OLA, and substantial differences exist in the rights of creditors between OLA and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the right of the FDIC under OLA to disregard the strict priority of creditor claims in some circumstances, which could have a material adverse effect on our debtholders.The FDIC has announced that a single point of entry strategy may be a desirable strategy under OLA to resolve a large financial institution in a manner that would, among other things, impose losses on shareholders, debtholders and other creditors of the top-tier BHC (in our case, Group Inc.), while the BHC’s subsidiaries may continue to operate. It is possible that the application of the single point of entry strategy under OLA, in which Group Inc. would be the only entity to enter resolution proceedings (and its material broker-dealer, bank and other operating entities would not enter resolution proceedings), would result in greater losses to Group Inc.’s security holders (including holders of our fixed rate, floating rate and indexed debt securities), than the losses that would result from the application of a bankruptcy proceeding or a different resolution strategy, such as a multiple point of entry resolution strategy for Group Inc. and certain of its material subsidiaries. In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct. This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software. It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB.", "prior_body": "As described in “Business — Regulation — Banking Supervision and Regulation — Insolvency of an IDI or a BHC,” if the FDIC is appointed as receiver under OLA, the rights of Group Inc.’s creditors would be determined under OLA, and substantial differences exist in the rights of creditors between OLA and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the right of the FDIC under OLA to disregard the strict priority of creditor claims in some circumstances, which could have a material adverse effect on our debtholders. The FDIC has announced that a single point of entry strategy may be a desirable strategy under OLA to resolve a large financial institution in a manner that would, among other things, impose losses on shareholders, debtholders and other creditors of the top-tier BHC (in our case, Group Inc.), while the BHC’s subsidiaries may continue to operate. It is possible that the application of the single point of entry strategy under OLA, in which Group Inc. would be the only entity to enter resolution proceedings (and its material broker-dealer, bank and other operating entities would not enter resolution proceedings), would result in greater losses to Group Inc.’s security holders (including holders of our fixed rate, floating rate and indexed debt securities), than the losses that would result from the application of a bankruptcy proceeding or a different resolution strategy, such as a multiple point of entry resolution strategy for Group Inc. and certain of its material subsidiaries. Assuming Group Inc. entered resolution proceedings and that support from Group Inc. or other available resources to its subsidiaries was sufficient to enable the subsidiaries to remain solvent, losses at the subsidiary level would be transferred to Group Inc. and ultimately borne by Group Inc.’s security holders, third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, and Group Inc.’s security holders (including our shareholders, debtholders and other unsecured creditors) could face significant and possibly complete losses. In that case, Group Inc.’s security holders would face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would incur no losses because the subsidiaries would continue to operate and would not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities could face losses ahead of its other similarly situated creditors in a resolution under OLA if the FDIC exercised its right, described above, to disregard the priority of creditor claims. OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S. government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors.In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred. If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged. While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible.In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the E.U., have implemented resolution regimes to provide resolution authorities with the ability to recapitalize a failing entity by writing down its unsecured debt or converting its unsecured debt into equity. Such “bail-in” powers are intended to enable the recapitalization of a failing institution by allocating losses to its shareholders and unsecured debtholders. For example, the Bank of England requires a certain amount of intercompany funding that we provide to our material U.K. subsidiaries to contain a contractual trigger to expressly permit the Bank of England to exercise such “bail-in” powers in certain circumstances. If the intercompany funding we provide to our subsidiaries is “bailed in,” Group Inc.’s claims on its subsidiaries would be subordinated to the claims of the subsidiaries’ third-party creditors or written down. U.S. regulators are considering and non-U.S. authorities have adopted requirements that certain subsidiaries of large financial institutions maintain minimum amounts of total loss-absorbing capacity that would pass losses up from the subsidiaries to the top-tier BHC and, ultimately, to security holders of the top-tier BHC in the event of failure. OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S. government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors. In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred. If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged. While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible. In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the E.U., have implemented resolution regimes to provide resolution authorities with the ability to recapitalize a failing entity by writing down its unsecured debt or converting its unsecured debt into equity. Such “bail-in” powers are intended to enable the recapitalization of a failing institution by allocating losses to its shareholders and unsecured debtholders. For example, the Bank of England requires a certain amount of intercompany funding that we provide to our material U.K. subsidiaries to contain a contractual trigger to expressly permit the Bank of England to exercise such “bail-in” powers in certain circumstances. If the intercompany funding we provide to our subsidiaries is “bailed in,” Group Inc.’s claims on its subsidiaries would be subordinated to the claims of the subsidiaries’ third-party creditors or written down. U.S. regulators are considering and non-U.S. authorities have adopted requirements that certain subsidiaries of large financial institutions maintain minimum amounts of total loss-absorbing capacity that would pass losses up from the subsidiaries to the top-tier BHC and, ultimately, to security holders of the top-tier BHC in the event of failure. The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.As described in “Business — Regulation — Banking Supervision and Regulation — Insolvency of an IDI or a BHC,” if the FDIC is appointed as receiver under OLA, the rights of Group Inc.’s creditors would be determined under OLA, and substantial differences exist in the rights of creditors between OLA and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the right of the FDIC under OLA to disregard the strict priority of creditor claims in some circumstances, which could have a material adverse effect on our debtholders.The FDIC has announced that a single point of entry strategy may be a desirable strategy under OLA to resolve a large financial institution in a manner that would, among other things, impose losses on shareholders, debtholders and other creditors of the top-tier BHC (in our case, Group Inc.), while the BHC’s subsidiaries may continue to operate. It is possible that the application of the single point of entry strategy under OLA, in which Group Inc. would be the only entity to enter resolution proceedings (and its material broker-dealer, bank and other operating entities would not enter resolution proceedings), would result in greater losses to Group Inc.’s security holders (including holders of our fixed rate, floating rate and indexed debt securities), than the losses that would result from the application of a bankruptcy proceeding or a different resolution strategy, such as a multiple point of entry resolution strategy for Group Inc. and certain of its material subsidiaries.Assuming Group Inc. entered resolution proceedings and that support from Group Inc. or other available resources to its subsidiaries was sufficient to enable the subsidiaries to remain solvent, losses at the subsidiary level would be transferred to Group Inc. and ultimately borne by Group Inc.’s security holders, third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, and Group Inc.’s security holders (including our shareholders, debtholders and other unsecured creditors) could face significant and possibly complete losses. In that case, Group Inc.’s security holders would face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would incur no losses because the subsidiaries would continue to operate and would not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities could face losses ahead of its other similarly situated creditors in a resolution under OLA if the FDIC exercised its right, described above, to disregard the priority of creditor claims." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.", "prior_title": "We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.", "similarity_score": 0.908, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Removed sentence: \"In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs.To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions.\"", "Removed sentence: \"In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities.As we have expanded and intend to continue to expand the product and geographic scope of our offerings of credit and investment products to consumers, we are presented with different risks and must expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities.\"", "Removed sentence: \"A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us.For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K.\"", "Added sentence: \"Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities.Our consumer offerings present us with different risks, and we have needed and continue to need to expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities.\"" ], "current_body": "We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. Our risk management process seeks to balance our ability to profit from market-making, investing or lending positions, and underwriting activities, with our exposure to potential losses. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Thus, in the course of our activities, we have incurred and may in the future incur losses. Market conditions in recent years have involved unprecedented dislocations and highlight the limitations inherent in using historical data to manage risk. The models that we use to assess and control our risk exposures reflect assumptions about the degrees of correlation or lack thereof among prices of various asset classes or other market indicators. In times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances, previously uncorrelated indicators may become correlated, or conversely previously correlated indicators may move in different directions. These types of market movements have at times limited the effectiveness of our hedging strategies and have caused us to incur significant losses, and they may do so in the future. These changes in correlation have been and may in the future be exacerbated where other market participants are using risk or trading models with assumptions or algorithms that are similar to ours. In these and other cases, it may be difficult to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of other market participants or widespread market dislocations, including circumstances where asset values are declining significantly or no market exists for certain assets. In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs. To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments. Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities.Our consumer offerings present us with different risks, and we have needed and continue to need to expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities. A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us.For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments. Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities. Our consumer offerings present us with different risks, and we have needed and continue to need to expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities. A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us. For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. Our risk management process seeks to balance our ability to profit from market-making, investing or lending positions, and underwriting activities, with our exposure to potential losses. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Thus, in the course of our activities, we have incurred and may in the future incur losses. Market conditions in recent years have involved unprecedented dislocations and highlight the limitations inherent in using historical data to manage risk.The models that we use to assess and control our risk exposures reflect assumptions about the degrees of correlation or lack thereof among prices of various asset classes or other market indicators. In times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances, previously uncorrelated indicators may become correlated, or conversely previously correlated indicators may move in different directions. These types of market movements have at times limited the effectiveness of our hedging strategies and have caused us to incur significant losses, and they may do so in the future. These changes in correlation have been and may in the future be exacerbated where other market participants are using risk or trading models with assumptions or algorithms that are similar to ours. In these and other cases, it may be difficult to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of other market participants or widespread market dislocations, including circumstances where asset values are declining significantly or no market exists for certain assets. In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs.", "prior_body": "We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. Our risk management process seeks to balance our ability to profit from market-making, investing or lending positions, and underwriting activities, with our exposure to potential losses. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Thus, in the course of our activities, we have incurred and may in the future incur losses. Market conditions in recent years have involved unprecedented dislocations and highlight the limitations inherent in using historical data to manage risk. The models that we use to assess and control our risk exposures reflect assumptions about the degrees of correlation or lack thereof among prices of various asset classes or other market indicators. In times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances, previously uncorrelated indicators may become correlated, or conversely previously correlated indicators may move in different directions. These types of market movements have at times limited the effectiveness of our hedging strategies and have caused us to incur significant losses, and they may do so in the future. These changes in correlation have been and may in the future be exacerbated where other market participants are using risk or trading models with assumptions or algorithms that are similar to ours. In these and other cases, it may be difficult to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of other market participants or widespread market dislocations, including circumstances where asset values are declining significantly or no market exists for certain assets. In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs.To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments. Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities.As we have expanded and intend to continue to expand the product and geographic scope of our offerings of credit and investment products to consumers, we are presented with different risks and must expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities. A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us.For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs. To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments. Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities. As we have expanded and intend to continue to expand the product and geographic scope of our offerings of credit and investment products to consumers, we are presented with different risks and must expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities. A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us. For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. We routinely transmit and receive personal, confidential and proprietary information by email and other electronic means. We have discussed and worked with clients, vendors, service providers, counterparties and other third parties to develop secure transmission capabilities and protect against cyber attacks, but we do not have, and may be unable to put in place, secure capabilities with all of our clients, vendors, service providers, counterparties and other third parties and we may not be able to ensure that these third parties have appropriate controls in place to protect the confidentiality of the information. An interception, misuse or mishandling of personal, confidential or proprietary information being sent to or received from a client, vendor, service provider, counterparty or other third party could result in legal liability, regulatory action and reputational harm.We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. Our risk management process seeks to balance our ability to profit from market-making, investing or lending positions, and underwriting activities, with our exposure to potential losses. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Thus, in the course of our activities, we have incurred and may in the future incur losses. Market conditions in recent years have involved unprecedented dislocations and highlight the limitations inherent in using historical data to manage risk.The models that we use to assess and control our risk exposures reflect assumptions about the degrees of correlation or lack thereof among prices of various asset classes or other market indicators. In times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances, previously uncorrelated indicators may become correlated, or conversely previously correlated indicators may move in different directions. These types of market movements have at times limited the effectiveness of our hedging strategies and have caused us to incur significant losses, and they may do so in the future. These changes in correlation have been and may in the future be exacerbated where other market participants are using risk or trading models with assumptions or algorithms that are similar to ours. In these and other cases, it may be difficult to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of other market participants or widespread market dislocations, including circumstances where asset values are declining significantly or no market exists for certain assets. We routinely transmit and receive personal, confidential and proprietary information by email and other electronic means. We have discussed and worked with clients, vendors, service providers, counterparties and other third parties to develop secure transmission capabilities and protect against cyber attacks, but we do not have, and may be unable to put in place, secure capabilities with all of our clients, vendors, service providers, counterparties and other third parties and we may not be able to ensure that these third parties have appropriate controls in place to protect the confidentiality of the information. An interception, misuse or mishandling of personal, confidential or proprietary information being sent to or received from a client, vendor, service provider, counterparty or other third party could result in legal liability, regulatory action and reputational harm." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.", "prior_title": "We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.", "similarity_score": 0.899, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Added sentence: \"For example, in the fourth quarter of 2023, we entered into an agreement to sell GreenSky and sold PFM, both of which we had previously acquired, and in connection with the GreenSky disposition incurred a write-down of intangible assets and goodwill.\"", "Removed sentence: \"There is no assurance that the reorganization of our business segments will yield all of the expected benefits in the time frames that we expect, or at all.\"", "Removed sentence: \"In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues.\"", "Removed sentence: \"In order to develop and be able to offer consumer financial products that compete effectively, we have made and may continue to make significant investments in technology and human capital resources in connection with our consumer-oriented activities.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses.\"" ], "current_body": "We have engaged in selective acquisitions and may continue to do so in the future and these acquisitions may, individually or in the aggregate, be material to us. Any future acquisitions could involve the issuance of common stock and/or the payment of cash as consideration. The success of our acquisitions will depend, in part, on our ability to integrate the acquired businesses and realize anticipated synergies, cost savings and growth opportunities. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2023, we entered into an agreement to sell GreenSky and sold PFM, both of which we had previously acquired, and in connection with the GreenSky disposition incurred a write-down of intangible assets and goodwill. We may face numerous risks and uncertainties in combining and integrating the relevant businesses and systems, including the need to combine or separate accounting and data processing systems and management controls and to integrate relationships with clients, counterparties, regulators and others in connection with acquisitions. Integration of acquired businesses is time-consuming and could disrupt our ongoing businesses, produce unforeseen regulatory or operating difficulties, cause us to incur incremental expenses or require incremental financial, management and other resources. It is also possible that an acquisition, once announced, may not close due to the failure to satisfy applicable closing conditions, such as the receipt of necessary shareholder or regulatory approvals. There is no assurance that any of our acquisitions will be successfully integrated or yield all of the expected benefits and synergies in the time frames that we expect, or at all. If we are not able to integrate our acquisitions successfully, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions.We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and may continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions. We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and may continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions. We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and may continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses. We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.We have engaged in selective acquisitions and may continue to do so in the future and these acquisitions may, individually or in the aggregate, be material to us. Any future acquisitions could involve the issuance of common stock and/or the payment of cash as consideration. The success of our acquisitions will depend, in part, on our ability to integrate the acquired businesses and realize anticipated synergies, cost savings and growth opportunities. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2023, we entered into an agreement to sell GreenSky and sold PFM, both of which we had previously acquired, and in connection with the GreenSky disposition incurred a write-down of intangible assets and goodwill. We may face numerous risks and uncertainties in combining and integrating the relevant businesses and systems, including the need to combine or separate accounting and data processing systems and management controls and to integrate relationships with clients, counterparties, regulators and others in connection with acquisitions. Integration of acquired businesses is time-consuming and could disrupt our ongoing businesses, produce unforeseen regulatory or operating difficulties, cause us to incur incremental expenses or require incremental financial, management and other resources. It is also possible that an acquisition, once announced, may not close due to the failure to satisfy applicable closing conditions, such as the receipt of necessary shareholder or regulatory approvals.There is no assurance that any of our acquisitions will be successfully integrated or yield all of the expected benefits and synergies in the time frames that we expect, or at all. If we are not able to integrate our acquisitions successfully, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected.", "prior_body": "We have engaged in selective acquisitions and may continue to do so in the future and these acquisitions may, individually or in the aggregate, be material to us. Any future acquisitions could involve the issuance of common stock and/or the payment of cash as consideration. The success of our acquisitions will depend, in part, on our ability to integrate the acquired businesses and realize anticipated synergies, cost savings and growth opportunities. We may face numerous risks and uncertainties in combining and integrating the relevant businesses and systems, including the need to combine or separate accounting and data processing systems and management controls and to integrate relationships with clients, counterparties, regulators and others in connection with acquisitions. Integration of acquired businesses is time-consuming and could disrupt our ongoing businesses, produce unforeseen regulatory or operating difficulties, cause us to incur incremental expenses or require incremental financial, management and other resources. It is also possible that an acquisition, once announced, may not close due to the failure to satisfy applicable closing conditions, such as the receipt of necessary shareholder or regulatory approvals. There is no assurance that any of our acquisitions will be successfully integrated or yield all of the expected benefits and synergies in the time frames that we expect, or at all. If we are not able to integrate our acquisitions successfully, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected. There is no assurance that the reorganization of our business segments will yield all of the expected benefits in the time frames that we expect, or at all. We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities. As a result, we expect to face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S. or other governmental authorities.New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions.We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and expect to continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities. As a result, we expect to face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S. or other governmental authorities. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions. We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and expect to continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities. As a result, we expect to face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S. or other governmental authorities. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions. We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and expect to continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. In order to develop and be able to offer consumer financial products that compete effectively, we have made and may continue to make significant investments in technology and human capital resources in connection with our consumer-oriented activities. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses. We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.We have engaged in selective acquisitions and may continue to do so in the future and these acquisitions may, individually or in the aggregate, be material to us. Any future acquisitions could involve the issuance of common stock and/or the payment of cash as consideration. The success of our acquisitions will depend, in part, on our ability to integrate the acquired businesses and realize anticipated synergies, cost savings and growth opportunities. We may face numerous risks and uncertainties in combining and integrating the relevant businesses and systems, including the need to combine or separate accounting and data processing systems and management controls and to integrate relationships with clients, counterparties, regulators and others in connection with acquisitions. Integration of acquired businesses is time-consuming and could disrupt our ongoing businesses, produce unforeseen regulatory or operating difficulties, cause us to incur incremental expenses or require incremental financial, management and other resources. It is also possible that an acquisition, once announced, may not close due to the failure to satisfy applicable closing conditions, such as the receipt of necessary shareholder or regulatory approvals.There is no assurance that any of our acquisitions will be successfully integrated or yield all of the expected benefits and synergies in the time frames that we expect, or at all. If we are not able to integrate our acquisitions successfully, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected.There is no assurance that the reorganization of our business segments will yield all of the expected benefits in the time frames that we expect, or at all. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. In order to develop and be able to offer consumer financial products that compete effectively, we have made and may continue to make significant investments in technology and human capital resources in connection with our consumer-oriented activities. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.", "prior_title": "Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.", "similarity_score": 0.897, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"In addition to the impact on the scope and profitability of our business activities, day-to-day compliance with existing laws and regulations has involved and will continue to involve significant amounts of time, including that of our senior leaders and that of a large number of dedicated compliance and other reporting and operational personnel, in connection with which we expect to continue to add personnel, all of which may negatively impact our profitability.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where or how we provide these services.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where or how we provide these services.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where or how we provide these services.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"46Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 46Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 46Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 46 46Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 46Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 46 46Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 46 46 THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"" ], "current_body": "As a participant in the financial services industry and a systemically important financial institution, we are subject to extensive regulation in jurisdictions around the world. We face the risk of significant intervention by law enforcement, regulatory and taxing authorities, as well as private litigation, in all jurisdictions in which we conduct our businesses. In many cases, our activities have been and may continue to be subject to overlapping and divergent regulation in different jurisdictions. Among other things, as a result of law enforcement authorities, regulators or private parties challenging our compliance with existing laws and regulations, we or our employees have been, and could be, fined, criminally charged or sanctioned; prohibited from engaging in some of our business activities; subjected to limitations or conditions on our business activities, including higher capital requirements; or subjected to new or substantially higher taxes or other governmental charges in connection with the conduct of our businesses or with respect to our employees. These limitations or conditions may limit our business activities and negatively impact our profitability. In addition to the impact on the scope and profitability of our business activities, day-to-day compliance with existing laws and regulations has involved and will continue to involve significant amounts of time, including that of our senior leaders and that of a large number of dedicated compliance and other reporting and operational personnel, in connection with which we expect to continue to add personnel, all of which may negatively impact our profitability. Our revenues and profitability and those of our competitors have been and will continue to be impacted by requirements relating to capital, leverage, liquidity and long-term funding levels, requirements related to resolution and recovery planning, derivatives clearing and margin rules and levels of regulatory oversight, as well as limitations on which and, if permitted, how certain business activities may be carried out by financial institutions. The laws, regulations and accounting standards, that apply to our businesses are often complex and, in many cases, we must make interpretive decisions regarding the application of those laws, regulations and accounting standards to our business activities. Changes in interpretations, whether in response to regulatory guidance, industry conventions, our own reassessments or otherwise, could adversely affect our businesses, results of operations or ability to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, such as capital or liquidity requirements. If there are new laws or regulations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws or regulations applicable to our businesses or those of our clients, including capital, liquidity, leverage, long-term debt, total loss-absorbing capacity and margin requirements, restrictions on leveraged lending or other business practices, reporting requirements, requirements relating to recovery and resolution planning, tax burdens and compensation restrictions, that are imposed on a limited subset of financial institutions (whether based on size, method of funding, activities, geography or other criteria), compliance with these new laws or regulations, or changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations, could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively with other institutions that are not affected in the same way. In addition, regulation imposed on financial institutions or market participants generally, such as taxes on stock transfers, share repurchases and other financial transactions, could adversely impact levels of market activity more broadly, and thus impact our businesses. Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where or how we provide these services. These developments could impact our profitability in the affected jurisdictions, or even make it uneconomic for us to continue to conduct all or certain of our businesses in those jurisdictions, or could cause us to incur significant costs associated with changing our business practices, restructuring our businesses, moving all or certain of our businesses and our employees to other locations or complying with applicable capital requirements, including reducing dividends or share repurchases, liquidating assets or raising capital in a manner that adversely increases our funding costs or otherwise adversely affects our shareholders and creditors. If there are new laws or regulations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws or regulations applicable to our businesses or those of our clients, including capital, liquidity, leverage, long-term debt, total loss-absorbing capacity and margin requirements, restrictions on leveraged lending or other business practices, reporting requirements, requirements relating to recovery and resolution planning, tax burdens and compensation restrictions, that are imposed on a limited subset of financial institutions (whether based on size, method of funding, activities, geography or other criteria), compliance with these new laws or regulations, or changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations, could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively with other institutions that are not affected in the same way. In addition, regulation imposed on financial institutions or market participants generally, such as taxes on stock transfers, share repurchases and other financial transactions, could adversely impact levels of market activity more broadly, and thus impact our businesses. Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where or how we provide these services. These developments could impact our profitability in the affected jurisdictions, or even make it uneconomic for us to continue to conduct all or certain of our businesses in those jurisdictions, or could cause us to incur significant costs associated with changing our business practices, restructuring our businesses, moving all or certain of our businesses and our employees to other locations or complying with applicable capital requirements, including reducing dividends or share repurchases, liquidating assets or raising capital in a manner that adversely increases our funding costs or otherwise adversely affects our shareholders and creditors. Legal and RegulatoryOur businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.As a participant in the financial services industry and a systemically important financial institution, we are subject to extensive regulation in jurisdictions around the world. We face the risk of significant intervention by law enforcement, regulatory and taxing authorities, as well as private litigation, in all jurisdictions in which we conduct our businesses. In many cases, our activities have been and may continue to be subject to overlapping and divergent regulation in different jurisdictions. Among other things, as a result of law enforcement authorities, regulators or private parties challenging our compliance with existing laws and regulations, we or our employees have been, and could be, fined, criminally charged or sanctioned; prohibited from engaging in some of our business activities; subjected to limitations or conditions on our business activities, including higher capital requirements; or subjected to new or substantially higher taxes or other governmental charges in connection with the conduct of our businesses or with respect to our employees. These limitations or conditions may limit our business activities and negatively impact our profitability. In addition to the impact on the scope and profitability of our business activities, day-to-day compliance with existing laws and regulations has involved and will continue to involve significant amounts of time, including that of our senior leaders and that of a large number of dedicated compliance and other reporting and operational personnel, in connection with which we expect to continue to add personnel, all of which may negatively impact our profitability.Our revenues and profitability and those of our competitors have been and will continue to be impacted by requirements relating to capital, leverage, liquidity and long-term funding levels, requirements related to resolution and recovery planning, derivatives clearing and margin rules and levels of regulatory oversight, as well as limitations on which and, if permitted, how certain business activities may be carried out by financial institutions. The laws, regulations and accounting standards, that apply to our businesses are often complex and, in many cases, we must make interpretive decisions regarding the application of those laws, regulations and accounting standards to our business activities. Changes in interpretations, whether in response to regulatory guidance, industry conventions, our own reassessments or otherwise, could adversely affect our businesses, results of operations or ability to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, such as capital or liquidity requirements.", "prior_body": "As a participant in the financial services industry and a systemically important financial institution, we are subject to extensive regulation in jurisdictions around the world. We face the risk of significant intervention by law enforcement, regulatory and taxing authorities, as well as private litigation, in all jurisdictions in which we conduct our businesses. In many cases, our activities have been and may continue to be subject to overlapping and divergent regulation in different jurisdictions. Among other things, as a result of law enforcement authorities, regulators or private parties challenging our compliance with existing laws and regulations, we or our employees have been, and could be, fined, criminally charged or sanctioned; prohibited from engaging in some of our business activities; subjected to limitations or conditions on our business activities, including higher capital requirements; or subjected to new or substantially higher taxes or other governmental charges in connection with the conduct of our businesses or with respect to our employees. These limitations or conditions may limit our business activities and negatively impact our profitability. In addition to the impact on the scope and profitability of our business activities, day-to-day compliance with existing laws and regulations has involved and will continue to involve significant amounts of time, including that of our senior leaders and that of a large number of dedicated compliance and other reporting and operational personnel, all of which may negatively impact our profitability. Our revenues and profitability and those of our competitors have been and will continue to be impacted by requirements relating to capital, leverage, minimum liquidity and long-term funding levels, requirements related to resolution and recovery planning, derivatives clearing and margin rules and levels of regulatory oversight, as well as limitations on which and, if permitted, how certain business activities may be carried out by financial institutions. The laws and regulations that apply to our businesses are often complex and, in many cases, we must make interpretive decisions regarding the application of those laws and regulations to our business activities. Changes in interpretations, whether in response to regulatory guidance, industry conventions, our own reassessments or otherwise, could adversely affect our businesses, results of operations or ability to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, such as capital or liquidity requirements. If there are new laws or regulations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws or regulations applicable to our businesses or those of our clients, including capital, liquidity, leverage, long-term debt, total loss-absorbing capacity and margin requirements, restrictions on leveraged lending or other business practices, reporting requirements, requirements relating to recovery and resolution planning, tax burdens and compensation restrictions, that are imposed on a limited subset of financial institutions (whether based on size, method of funding, activities, geography or other criteria), compliance with these new laws or regulations, or changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations, could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively with other institutions that are not affected in the same way. In addition, regulation imposed on financial institutions or market participants generally, such as taxes on stock transfers, share repurchases and other financial transactions, could adversely impact levels of market activity more broadly, and thus impact our businesses. Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where these services are provided. These developments could impact our profitability in the affected jurisdictions, or even make it uneconomic for us to continue to conduct all or certain of our businesses in those jurisdictions, or could cause us to incur significant costs associated with changing our business practices, restructuring our businesses, moving all or certain of our businesses and our employees to other locations or complying with applicable capital requirements, including reducing dividends or share repurchases, liquidating assets or raising capital in a manner that adversely increases our funding costs or otherwise adversely affects our shareholders and creditors. If there are new laws or regulations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws or regulations applicable to our businesses or those of our clients, including capital, liquidity, leverage, long-term debt, total loss-absorbing capacity and margin requirements, restrictions on leveraged lending or other business practices, reporting requirements, requirements relating to recovery and resolution planning, tax burdens and compensation restrictions, that are imposed on a limited subset of financial institutions (whether based on size, method of funding, activities, geography or other criteria), compliance with these new laws or regulations, or changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations, could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively with other institutions that are not affected in the same way. In addition, regulation imposed on financial institutions or market participants generally, such as taxes on stock transfers, share repurchases and other financial transactions, could adversely impact levels of market activity more broadly, and thus impact our businesses. Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where these services are provided. These developments could impact our profitability in the affected jurisdictions, or even make it uneconomic for us to continue to conduct all or certain of our businesses in those jurisdictions, or could cause us to incur significant costs associated with changing our business practices, restructuring our businesses, moving all or certain of our businesses and our employees to other locations or complying with applicable capital requirements, including reducing dividends or share repurchases, liquidating assets or raising capital in a manner that adversely increases our funding costs or otherwise adversely affects our shareholders and creditors. Legal and RegulatoryOur businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.As a participant in the financial services industry and a systemically important financial institution, we are subject to extensive regulation in jurisdictions around the world. We face the risk of significant intervention by law enforcement, regulatory and taxing authorities, as well as private litigation, in all jurisdictions in which we conduct our businesses. In many cases, our activities have been and may continue to be subject to overlapping and divergent regulation in different jurisdictions. Among other things, as a result of law enforcement authorities, regulators or private parties challenging our compliance with existing laws and regulations, we or our employees have been, and could be, fined, criminally charged or sanctioned; prohibited from engaging in some of our business activities; subjected to limitations or conditions on our business activities, including higher capital requirements; or subjected to new or substantially higher taxes or other governmental charges in connection with the conduct of our businesses or with respect to our employees. These limitations or conditions may limit our business activities and negatively impact our profitability. In addition to the impact on the scope and profitability of our business activities, day-to-day compliance with existing laws and regulations has involved and will continue to involve significant amounts of time, including that of our senior leaders and that of a large number of dedicated compliance and other reporting and operational personnel, all of which may negatively impact our profitability.Our revenues and profitability and those of our competitors have been and will continue to be impacted by requirements relating to capital, leverage, minimum liquidity and long-term funding levels, requirements related to resolution and recovery planning, derivatives clearing and margin rules and levels of regulatory oversight, as well as limitations on which and, if permitted, how certain business activities may be carried out by financial institutions. The laws and regulations that apply to our businesses are often complex and, in many cases, we must make interpretive decisions regarding the application of those laws and regulations to our business activities. Changes in interpretations, whether in response to regulatory guidance, industry conventions, our own reassessments or otherwise, could adversely affect our businesses, results of operations or ability to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, such as capital or liquidity requirements." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.", "prior_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.", "similarity_score": 0.895, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S.In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers.We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities.\"" ], "current_body": "Continued or escalating tensions between the U.S. and China have resulted in and may result in additional changes to U.S. international trade and investment policies, which could disrupt international trade and investment, adversely affect financial markets, including market activity levels, and adversely impact our revenues. Continued or escalating tensions may also lead to the U.S., China or other countries taking other actions, which could include the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or restrictions on cross-border trade, investment or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially. A conflict, or concerns about a potential conflict, involving China and Taiwan, the U.S. or other countries could negatively impact financial markets and our or our clients’ businesses. Trade restrictions by the U.S. or other countries in response to a conflict or potential conflict involving China, including financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain organizations or individuals, or actions taken by China in response to trade restrictions, could negatively impact our or our clients’ ability to conduct business in certain countries or with certain counterparties and could negatively impact regional and global financial markets and economic conditions. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially. We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges. For example, we continue to transact business and invest in new regions, including a wide range of emerging and growth markets, and we expect this trend to continue. Various emerging and growth market countries have experienced severe economic and financial disruptions, including significant devaluations of their currencies, defaults or threatened defaults on sovereign debt, capital and currency exchange controls, and low or negative growth rates in their economies. The possible effects of any of these conditions include an adverse impact on our businesses and increased volatility in financial markets generally. Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S.In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information. We are also subject to additional legal requirements, including with respect to suitability and consumer protection (for example, Regulation Best Interest, fair lending laws and regulations and privacy laws and regulations). Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers.We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities. As a result, we face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S. or other governmental authorities. We are making significant enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures to manage these risks.", "prior_body": "Continued or escalating tensions between the U.S. and China have resulted in and may result in additional changes to U.S. international trade and investment policies, which could disrupt international trade and investment, adversely affect financial markets, including market activity levels, and adversely impact our revenues. Continued or escalating tensions may also lead to the U.S., China or other countries taking other actions, which could include the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or restrictions on cross-border trade, investment or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially. A conflict, or concerns about a potential conflict, involving China and Taiwan, the U.S. or other countries could negatively impact financial markets and our or our clients’ businesses. Trade restrictions by the U.S. or other countries in response to a conflict or potential conflict involving China, including financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain organizations or individuals, or actions taken by China in response to trade restrictions, could negatively impact our or our clients’ ability to conduct business in certain countries or with certain counterparties and could negatively impact regional and global financial markets and economic conditions. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially. We face enhanced risks as new business initiatives and acquisitions lead us to engage in new activities, operate in new locations, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties and expose us to new asset classes and new markets.A number of our recent and planned business initiatives and expansions of existing businesses, including through acquisitions and partnership arrangements, could continue to bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges. For example, we continue to transact business and invest in new regions, including a wide range of emerging and growth markets, and we expect this trend to continue. Various emerging and growth market countries have experienced severe economic and financial disruptions, including significant devaluations of their currencies, defaults or threatened defaults on sovereign debt, capital and currency exchange controls, and low or negative growth rates in their economies. The possible effects of any of these conditions include an adverse impact on our businesses and increased volatility in financial markets generally. Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S.We have increased our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and lending activities. For example, we now issue credit cards to consumers and through our acquisition of GreenSky, Inc. (GreenSky), we expanded our offering of point-of-sale financing. To the extent we engage in those and other consumer-oriented activities, we have faced, and would continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information. Acquisitions and new products can also expose us to new or different types of risks. For example, providing point-of-sale financing through GreenSky also subjects us to risks relating to retaining and attracting merchants and servicing loans for other banks, as well as potential liability for remediation costs if merchants fail to fulfill their obligations to consumers. We are also subject to additional legal requirements, including with respect to suitability and consumer protection (for example, Regulation Best Interest, fair lending laws and regulations and privacy laws and regulations). Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.", "prior_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.", "similarity_score": 0.895, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S.In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers.We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities.\"" ], "current_body": "Continued or escalating tensions between the U.S. and China have resulted in and may result in additional changes to U.S. international trade and investment policies, which could disrupt international trade and investment, adversely affect financial markets, including market activity levels, and adversely impact our revenues. Continued or escalating tensions may also lead to the U.S., China or other countries taking other actions, which could include the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or restrictions on cross-border trade, investment or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially. A conflict, or concerns about a potential conflict, involving China and Taiwan, the U.S. or other countries could negatively impact financial markets and our or our clients’ businesses. Trade restrictions by the U.S. or other countries in response to a conflict or potential conflict involving China, including financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain organizations or individuals, or actions taken by China in response to trade restrictions, could negatively impact our or our clients’ ability to conduct business in certain countries or with certain counterparties and could negatively impact regional and global financial markets and economic conditions. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially. We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges. For example, we continue to transact business and invest in new regions, including a wide range of emerging and growth markets, and we expect this trend to continue. Various emerging and growth market countries have experienced severe economic and financial disruptions, including significant devaluations of their currencies, defaults or threatened defaults on sovereign debt, capital and currency exchange controls, and low or negative growth rates in their economies. The possible effects of any of these conditions include an adverse impact on our businesses and increased volatility in financial markets generally. Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S.In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information. We are also subject to additional legal requirements, including with respect to suitability and consumer protection (for example, Regulation Best Interest, fair lending laws and regulations and privacy laws and regulations). Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers.We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities. As a result, we face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S. or other governmental authorities. We are making significant enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures to manage these risks.", "prior_body": "Continued or escalating tensions between the U.S. and China have resulted in and may result in additional changes to U.S. international trade and investment policies, which could disrupt international trade and investment, adversely affect financial markets, including market activity levels, and adversely impact our revenues. Continued or escalating tensions may also lead to the U.S., China or other countries taking other actions, which could include the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or restrictions on cross-border trade, investment or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially. A conflict, or concerns about a potential conflict, involving China and Taiwan, the U.S. or other countries could negatively impact financial markets and our or our clients’ businesses. Trade restrictions by the U.S. or other countries in response to a conflict or potential conflict involving China, including financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain organizations or individuals, or actions taken by China in response to trade restrictions, could negatively impact our or our clients’ ability to conduct business in certain countries or with certain counterparties and could negatively impact regional and global financial markets and economic conditions. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially. We face enhanced risks as new business initiatives and acquisitions lead us to engage in new activities, operate in new locations, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties and expose us to new asset classes and new markets.A number of our recent and planned business initiatives and expansions of existing businesses, including through acquisitions and partnership arrangements, could continue to bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges. For example, we continue to transact business and invest in new regions, including a wide range of emerging and growth markets, and we expect this trend to continue. Various emerging and growth market countries have experienced severe economic and financial disruptions, including significant devaluations of their currencies, defaults or threatened defaults on sovereign debt, capital and currency exchange controls, and low or negative growth rates in their economies. The possible effects of any of these conditions include an adverse impact on our businesses and increased volatility in financial markets generally. Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S.We have increased our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and lending activities. For example, we now issue credit cards to consumers and through our acquisition of GreenSky, Inc. (GreenSky), we expanded our offering of point-of-sale financing. To the extent we engage in those and other consumer-oriented activities, we have faced, and would continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information. Acquisitions and new products can also expose us to new or different types of risks. For example, providing point-of-sale financing through GreenSky also subjects us to risks relating to retaining and attracting merchants and servicing loans for other banks, as well as potential liability for remediation costs if merchants fail to fulfill their obligations to consumers. We are also subject to additional legal requirements, including with respect to suitability and consumer protection (for example, Regulation Best Interest, fair lending laws and regulations and privacy laws and regulations). Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "prior_title": "The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "similarity_score": 0.892, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Added sentence: \"might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented.If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings.\"", "Added sentence: \"As part of the strategy, Group Inc.\"", "Added sentence: \"could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations.\"", "Added sentence: \"It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries.\"", "Added sentence: \"If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented.\"" ], "current_body": "In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds. We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented.If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the strategy, Group Inc. could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations. It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented. In all cases, any payments to debtholders are dependent on our ability to make such payments and are therefore subject to our credit risk. We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the strategy, Group Inc. could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations. It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented. In all cases, any payments to debtholders are dependent on our ability to make such payments and are therefore subject to our credit risk. In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the E.U., have implemented resolution regimes to provide resolution authorities with the ability to recapitalize a failing entity by writing down its unsecured debt or converting its unsecured debt into equity. Such “bail-in” powers are intended to enable the recapitalization of a failing institution by allocating losses to its shareholders and unsecured debtholders. For example, the Bank of England requires a certain amount of intercompany funding that we provide to our material U.K. subsidiaries to contain a contractual trigger to expressly permit the Bank of England to exercise such “bail-in” powers in certain circumstances. If the intercompany funding we provide to our subsidiaries is “bailed in,” Group Inc.’s claims on its subsidiaries would be subordinated to the claims of the subsidiaries’ third-party creditors or written down. U.S. regulators are considering and non-U.S. authorities have adopted requirements that certain subsidiaries of large financial institutions maintain minimum amounts of total loss-absorbing capacity that would pass losses up from the subsidiaries to the top-tier BHC and, ultimately, to security holders of the top-tier BHC in the event of failure.The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds. In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the E.U., have implemented resolution regimes to provide resolution authorities with the ability to recapitalize a failing entity by writing down its unsecured debt or converting its unsecured debt into equity. Such “bail-in” powers are intended to enable the recapitalization of a failing institution by allocating losses to its shareholders and unsecured debtholders. For example, the Bank of England requires a certain amount of intercompany funding that we provide to our material U.K. subsidiaries to contain a contractual trigger to expressly permit the Bank of England to exercise such “bail-in” powers in certain circumstances. If the intercompany funding we provide to our subsidiaries is “bailed in,” Group Inc.’s claims on its subsidiaries would be subordinated to the claims of the subsidiaries’ third-party creditors or written down. U.S. regulators are considering and non-U.S. authorities have adopted requirements that certain subsidiaries of large financial institutions maintain minimum amounts of total loss-absorbing capacity that would pass losses up from the subsidiaries to the top-tier BHC and, ultimately, to security holders of the top-tier BHC in the event of failure.", "prior_body": "In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds. We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the strategy, Group Inc. could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations. It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented. In all cases, any payments to debtholders are dependent on our ability to make such payments and are therefore subject to our credit risk.As a result of our recovery and resolution planning processes, including incorporating feedback from our regulators, we may incur increased operational, funding or other costs and face limitations on our ability to structure our internal organization or engage in internal or external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices.We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the strategy, Group Inc. could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations. It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented. In all cases, any payments to debtholders are dependent on our ability to make such payments and are therefore subject to our credit risk. As a result of our recovery and resolution planning processes, including incorporating feedback from our regulators, we may incur increased operational, funding or other costs and face limitations on our ability to structure our internal organization or engage in internal or external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.", "prior_title": "A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.", "similarity_score": 0.892, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative, as well as the alignment of our businesses, aim to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate.\"" ], "current_body": "Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of that client or another client, as well as situations where one or more of our businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our other businesses and situations where we may be a creditor of an entity with which we also have an advisory or other relationship. In addition, our status as a BHC subjects us to heightened regulation and increased regulatory scrutiny by the FRB with respect to transactions between GS Bank USA and its subsidiaries and entities that are or could be viewed as affiliates of ours and, under the Volcker Rule, transactions between us and covered funds. We have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest, including those designed to prevent the improper sharing of information among our businesses. However, appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation, which is one of our most important assets, could be damaged and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions with us may be adversely affected if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and deal appropriately with conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative, as well as the alignment of our businesses, aim to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing. Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate. Not only are these regulations extensive, but they involve types of regulations and supervision, as well as regulatory compliance risks, that have not historically applied to us. The level of regulatory scrutiny and the scope of regulations affecting financial interactions with consumers is often much greater than that associated with doing business with institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Complying with these regulations is time-consuming, costly and presents new and increased risks.Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities resulted in a change to GS Bank USA’s CRA requirements in 2023, such that GS Bank USA is no longer assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, is assessed pursuant to a strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA’s CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities.Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime financing, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences.For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate. Not only are these regulations extensive, but they involve types of regulations and supervision, as well as regulatory compliance risks, that have not historically applied to us. The level of regulatory scrutiny and the scope of regulations affecting financial interactions with consumers is often much greater than that associated with doing business with institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Complying with these regulations is time-consuming, costly and presents new and increased risks. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities resulted in a change to GS Bank USA’s CRA requirements in 2023, such that GS Bank USA is no longer assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, is assessed pursuant to a strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA’s CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities. Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime financing, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences. For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate. Not only are these regulations extensive, but they involve types of regulations and supervision, as well as regulatory compliance risks, that have not historically applied to us. The level of regulatory scrutiny and the scope of regulations affecting financial interactions with consumers is often much greater than that associated with doing business with institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Complying with these regulations is time-consuming, costly and presents new and increased risks. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities resulted in a change to GS Bank USA’s CRA requirements in 2023, such that GS Bank USA is no longer assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, is assessed pursuant to a strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA’s CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities. Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime financing, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences. For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of that client or another client, as well as situations where one or more of our businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our other businesses and situations where we may be a creditor of an entity with which we also have an advisory or other relationship.In addition, our status as a BHC subjects us to heightened regulation and increased regulatory scrutiny by the FRB with respect to transactions between GS Bank USA and its subsidiaries and entities that are or could be viewed as affiliates of ours and, under the Volcker Rule, transactions between us and covered funds.We have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest, including those designed to prevent the improper sharing of information among our businesses. However, appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation, which is one of our most important assets, could be damaged and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions with us may be adversely affected if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and deal appropriately with conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative, as well as the alignment of our businesses, aim to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing.", "prior_body": "Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of that client or another client, as well as situations where one or more of our businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our other businesses and situations where we may be a creditor of an entity with which we also have an advisory or other relationship. In addition, our status as a BHC subjects us to heightened regulation and increased regulatory scrutiny by the FRB with respect to transactions between GS Bank USA and its subsidiaries and entities that are or could be viewed as affiliates of ours and, under the Volcker Rule, transactions between us and covered funds. We have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest, including those designed to prevent the improper sharing of information among our businesses. However, appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation, which is one of our most important assets, could be damaged and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions with us may be adversely affected if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and deal appropriately with conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative aims to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing. The realignment of our businesses, reflected in our new segments beginning with the fourth quarter of 2022, presents similar risks. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities will result in a change to GS Bank USA's CRA requirements later in 2023, such that GS Bank USA will no longer be assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, will be assessed pursuant to the framework applicable to large commercial banks or pursuant to an approved strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA's CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities.Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been assumed to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime brokerage, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences.For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities will result in a change to GS Bank USA's CRA requirements later in 2023, such that GS Bank USA will no longer be assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, will be assessed pursuant to the framework applicable to large commercial banks or pursuant to an approved strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA's CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities. Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been assumed to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime brokerage, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences. For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities will result in a change to GS Bank USA's CRA requirements later in 2023, such that GS Bank USA will no longer be assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, will be assessed pursuant to the framework applicable to large commercial banks or pursuant to an approved strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA's CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities. Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been assumed to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime brokerage, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences. For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of that client or another client, as well as situations where one or more of our businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our other businesses and situations where we may be a creditor of an entity with which we also have an advisory or other relationship.In addition, our status as a BHC subjects us to heightened regulation and increased regulatory scrutiny by the FRB with respect to transactions between GS Bank USA and its subsidiaries and entities that are or could be viewed as affiliates of ours and, under the Volcker Rule, transactions between us and covered funds.We have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest, including those designed to prevent the improper sharing of information among our businesses. However, appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation, which is one of our most important assets, could be damaged and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions with us may be adversely affected if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and deal appropriately with conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative aims to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing. The realignment of our businesses, reflected in our new segments beginning with the fourth quarter of 2022, presents similar risks." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.", "prior_title": "Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.", "similarity_score": 0.889, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, has in the past and could in the future lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"As part of our clearing and prime financing activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"These disruptions have in the past made, and may in the future make, it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which have in the past resulted, and may in the future result, in losses for us.\"" ], "current_body": "We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, has in the past and could in the future lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us. We are also exposed to the risk of a special assessment, including under the FDIA or OLA in the event of the failure of a bank or non-bank financial institution, which have in the past, and may in the future, adversely affect our results of operations. Group Inc. is a holding company and its liquidity depends on payments and loans from its subsidiaries, many of which are subject to legal, regulatory and other restrictions on providing funds or assets to Group Inc.Group Inc. is a holding company and, therefore, depends on dividends, distributions, loans and other payments from its subsidiaries to fund share repurchases and dividend payments and to fund payments on its obligations, including debt obligations. Many of our subsidiaries, including our broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries, are subject to laws that restrict dividend payments or authorize regulatory bodies to block or reduce the flow of funds from those subsidiaries to Group Inc. In addition, our broker-dealer and bank entities and their subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on their ability to lend or transact with affiliates and to minimum regulatory capital and other requirements, as well as restrictions on their ability to use funds deposited with them in brokerage or bank accounts to fund their businesses. Additional restrictions on related-party transactions, increased capital and liquidity requirements and additional limitations on the use of funds on deposit in bank or brokerage accounts, as well as lower earnings, can reduce the amount of funds available to meet the obligations of Group Inc., including under the FRB’s source of strength requirement, and even require Group Inc. to provide additional funding to such subsidiaries. Restrictions or regulatory action of that kind could impede access to funds that Group Inc. needs to make payments on its obligations, including debt obligations, or dividend payments. In addition, Group Inc.’s right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors.There has been a trend towards increased regulation and supervision of our subsidiaries by the governments and regulators in the countries in which those subsidiaries are located or do business. Concerns about protecting clients and creditors of financial institutions that are controlled by persons or entities located outside of the country in which such entities are located or do business have caused or may cause a number of governments and regulators to take additional steps to “ring fence” or require internal total loss-absorbing capacity (which may also be subject to “bail-in” powers, as described below) at those entities in order to protect clients and creditors of those entities in the event of financial difficulties involving those entities. The result has been and may continue to be additional limitations on our ability to efficiently move capital and liquidity among our affiliated entities, or to Group Inc., including in times of stress, thereby increasing the overall level of capital and liquidity required by us on a consolidated basis.", "prior_body": "We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, could lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us. We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime brokerage activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Although we have limits and regularly review credit exposures to specific clients and counterparties and to specific industries, countries and regions that we believe may present credit concerns, default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee. Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions may make it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which may result in losses for us from time to time.Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, could negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans.In the ordinary course of business, we may be subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.", "prior_title": "Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.", "similarity_score": 0.887, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K57 Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K57 Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K57 57 Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K57 Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K57 57 Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K57 57 57 THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S.In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers.We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities.\"" ], "current_body": "Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and on Russian businesses and persons. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russian owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the conflict on the global economy. The conflicts in the Middle East could also affect and harm our business and increase market uncertainty. The impact of these conflicts on our business and operations is uncertain and therefore cannot be predicted.The escalation or continuation of these conflicts or other hostilities could result in, among other things, an increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets. The extent and duration of the conflicts, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. If international political instability and geopolitical tensions continue or increase in any region in which we do business, our business and results of operations could be harmed. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine.", "prior_body": "Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects. Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR.On January 1, 2022, the publication of all EUR, CHF, JPY and GBP LIBOR (non-USD LIBOR) settings along with certain USD LIBOR settings ceased. The publication of the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings as representative rates will cease after June 2023. The FCA proposed that certain of those USD LIBOR settings continue to be published on a synthetic basis through September 2024. The FCA has allowed the publication and use of synthetic rates for certain GBP LIBOR settings in legacy GBP LIBOR-based derivative contracts through March 2024. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol (IBOR Protocol) has provided derivatives market participants with amended fallbacks for legacy and new derivative contracts to mitigate legal or economic uncertainty. Both counterparties have to adhere to the IBOR Protocol or engage in bilateral amendments for the terms to be effective for derivative contracts. ISDA has confirmed that the FCA’s formal announcement to cease both non-USD and USD LIBOR settings fixed the spread adjustment for all LIBOR rates and as a result fallbacks applied automatically for non-USD LIBOR settings following December 31, 2021 and will apply automatically for USD LIBOR settings following June 30, 2023. The Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (LIBOR Act), that was enacted in March 2022, provides a statutory framework to replace USD LIBOR with a benchmark rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for contracts governed by U.S. law that have no fallbacks or fallbacks that would require the use of a poll or LIBOR-based rate. In December 2022, the FRB adopted a final rule that implements the LIBOR Act, which will become effective on February 27, 2023. The final rule identifies different SOFR-based replacement rates for derivative contracts, for cash instruments such as floating-rate notes and preferred stock, for consumer contracts, for certain government-sponsored enterprise contracts and for certain student loan securitizations that lack a fallback to an alternative rate when USD LIBOR ceases to be published on June 30, 2023. As the transition from LIBOR is ongoing, there continues to be uncertainty as to the ultimate effect of the transition on the financial markets for LIBOR-linked financial instruments. Similar developments have occurred with respect to other IBORs." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.", "prior_title": "A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.", "similarity_score": 0.884, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative, as well as the alignment of our businesses, aim to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity.The rapid dissemination of negative information through social media, in part, is believed to have led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures.\"" ], "current_body": "Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of that client or another client, as well as situations where one or more of our businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our other businesses and situations where we may be a creditor of an entity with which we also have an advisory or other relationship. In addition, our status as a BHC subjects us to heightened regulation and increased regulatory scrutiny by the FRB with respect to transactions between GS Bank USA and its subsidiaries and entities that are or could be viewed as affiliates of ours and, under the Volcker Rule, transactions between us and covered funds. We have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest, including those designed to prevent the improper sharing of information among our businesses. However, appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation, which is one of our most important assets, could be damaged and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions with us may be adversely affected if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and deal appropriately with conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative, as well as the alignment of our businesses, aim to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing. Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate. Not only are these regulations extensive, but they involve types of regulations and supervision, as well as regulatory compliance risks, that have not historically applied to us. The level of regulatory scrutiny and the scope of regulations affecting financial interactions with consumers is often much greater than that associated with doing business with institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Complying with these regulations is time-consuming, costly and presents new and increased risks.Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities resulted in a change to GS Bank USA’s CRA requirements in 2023, such that GS Bank USA is no longer assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, is assessed pursuant to a strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA’s CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities.Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime financing, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences.For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate. Not only are these regulations extensive, but they involve types of regulations and supervision, as well as regulatory compliance risks, that have not historically applied to us. The level of regulatory scrutiny and the scope of regulations affecting financial interactions with consumers is often much greater than that associated with doing business with institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Complying with these regulations is time-consuming, costly and presents new and increased risks. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities resulted in a change to GS Bank USA’s CRA requirements in 2023, such that GS Bank USA is no longer assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, is assessed pursuant to a strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA’s CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities. Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime financing, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences. For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate. Not only are these regulations extensive, but they involve types of regulations and supervision, as well as regulatory compliance risks, that have not historically applied to us. The level of regulatory scrutiny and the scope of regulations affecting financial interactions with consumers is often much greater than that associated with doing business with institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Complying with these regulations is time-consuming, costly and presents new and increased risks. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities resulted in a change to GS Bank USA’s CRA requirements in 2023, such that GS Bank USA is no longer assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, is assessed pursuant to a strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA’s CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities. Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime financing, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences. For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of that client or another client, as well as situations where one or more of our businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our other businesses and situations where we may be a creditor of an entity with which we also have an advisory or other relationship.In addition, our status as a BHC subjects us to heightened regulation and increased regulatory scrutiny by the FRB with respect to transactions between GS Bank USA and its subsidiaries and entities that are or could be viewed as affiliates of ours and, under the Volcker Rule, transactions between us and covered funds.We have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest, including those designed to prevent the improper sharing of information among our businesses. However, appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation, which is one of our most important assets, could be damaged and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions with us may be adversely affected if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and deal appropriately with conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative, as well as the alignment of our businesses, aim to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing.", "prior_body": "Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of that client or another client, as well as situations where one or more of our businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our other businesses and situations where we may be a creditor of an entity with which we also have an advisory or other relationship. In addition, our status as a BHC subjects us to heightened regulation and increased regulatory scrutiny by the FRB with respect to transactions between GS Bank USA and its subsidiaries and entities that are or could be viewed as affiliates of ours and, under the Volcker Rule, transactions between us and covered funds. We have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest, including those designed to prevent the improper sharing of information among our businesses. However, appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation, which is one of our most important assets, could be damaged and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions with us may be adversely affected if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and deal appropriately with conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative aims to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing. The realignment of our businesses, reflected in our new segments beginning with the fourth quarter of 2022, presents similar risks. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities will result in a change to GS Bank USA's CRA requirements later in 2023, such that GS Bank USA will no longer be assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, will be assessed pursuant to the framework applicable to large commercial banks or pursuant to an approved strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA's CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities.Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been assumed to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime brokerage, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences.For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities will result in a change to GS Bank USA's CRA requirements later in 2023, such that GS Bank USA will no longer be assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, will be assessed pursuant to the framework applicable to large commercial banks or pursuant to an approved strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA's CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities. Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been assumed to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime brokerage, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences. For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities will result in a change to GS Bank USA's CRA requirements later in 2023, such that GS Bank USA will no longer be assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, will be assessed pursuant to the framework applicable to large commercial banks or pursuant to an approved strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA's CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities. Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been assumed to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime brokerage, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences. For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of that client or another client, as well as situations where one or more of our businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our other businesses and situations where we may be a creditor of an entity with which we also have an advisory or other relationship.In addition, our status as a BHC subjects us to heightened regulation and increased regulatory scrutiny by the FRB with respect to transactions between GS Bank USA and its subsidiaries and entities that are or could be viewed as affiliates of ours and, under the Volcker Rule, transactions between us and covered funds.We have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest, including those designed to prevent the improper sharing of information among our businesses. However, appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation, which is one of our most important assets, could be damaged and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions with us may be adversely affected if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and deal appropriately with conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative aims to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing. The realignment of our businesses, reflected in our new segments beginning with the fourth quarter of 2022, presents similar risks." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.", "prior_title": "The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.", "similarity_score": 0.88, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets has caused and could continue to cause a reduction in commissions and spreads.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers or AI technologies, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in client preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees.Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense.\"" ], "current_body": "Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets has caused and could continue to cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades. In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, and AI, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers or AI technologies, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in client preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us. Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees.Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions.As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects.", "prior_body": "Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets could cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades.In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in consumer preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us.Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades. In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in consumer preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Group Inc. is a holding company and its liquidity depends on payments and loans from its subsidiaries, many of which are subject to legal, regulatory and other restrictions on providing funds or assets to Group Inc.", "prior_title": "Group Inc. is a holding company and its liquidity depends on payments and loans from its subsidiaries, many of which are subject to legal, regulatory and other restrictions on providing funds or assets to Group Inc.", "similarity_score": 0.88, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about regulatory restrictions.CreditOur businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Furthermore, Group Inc.\"", "Removed sentence: \"has guaranteed the payment obligations of certain of its subsidiaries, including GS&Co.\"", "Removed sentence: \"and GS Bank USA, subject to certain exceptions.\"", "Removed sentence: \"In addition, Group Inc.\"" ], "current_body": "Group Inc. is a holding company and, therefore, depends on dividends, distributions, loans and other payments from its subsidiaries to fund share repurchases and dividend payments and to fund payments on its obligations, including debt obligations. Many of our subsidiaries, including our broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries, are subject to laws that restrict dividend payments or authorize regulatory bodies to block or reduce the flow of funds from those subsidiaries to Group Inc. In addition, our broker-dealer and bank entities and their subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on their ability to lend or transact with affiliates and to minimum regulatory capital and other requirements, as well as restrictions on their ability to use funds deposited with them in brokerage or bank accounts to fund their businesses. Additional restrictions on related-party transactions, increased capital and liquidity requirements and additional limitations on the use of funds on deposit in bank or brokerage accounts, as well as lower earnings, can reduce the amount of funds available to meet the obligations of Group Inc., including under the FRB’s source of strength requirement, and even require Group Inc. to provide additional funding to such subsidiaries. Restrictions or regulatory action of that kind could impede access to funds that Group Inc. needs to make payments on its obligations, including debt obligations, or dividend payments. In addition, Group Inc.’s right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors. There has been a trend towards increased regulation and supervision of our subsidiaries by the governments and regulators in the countries in which those subsidiaries are located or do business. Concerns about protecting clients and creditors of financial institutions that are controlled by persons or entities located outside of the country in which such entities are located or do business have caused or may cause a number of governments and regulators to take additional steps to “ring fence” or require internal total loss-absorbing capacity (which may also be subject to “bail-in” powers, as described below) at those entities in order to protect clients and creditors of those entities in the event of financial difficulties involving those entities. The result has been and may continue to be additional limitations on our ability to efficiently move capital and liquidity among our affiliated entities, or to Group Inc., including in times of stress, thereby increasing the overall level of capital and liquidity required by us on a consolidated basis. Furthermore, Group Inc. has guaranteed the payment obligations of certain of its subsidiaries, including GS&Co. and GS Bank USA, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, Group Inc. guarantees many of the obligations of its other consolidated subsidiaries on a transaction-by-transaction basis, as negotiated with counterparties. These guarantees may require Group Inc. to provide substantial funds or assets to its subsidiaries or their creditors or counterparties at a time when Group Inc. is in need of liquidity to fund its own obligations. The requirements for us and certain of our subsidiaries to develop and submit recovery and resolution plans to regulators, and the incorporation of feedback received from regulators, may require us to increase capital or liquidity levels or issue additional long-term debt at Group Inc. or particular subsidiaries or otherwise incur additional or duplicative operational or other costs at multiple entities, and may reduce our ability to provide Group Inc. guarantees of the obligations of our subsidiaries or raise debt at Group Inc. Resolution planning may also impair our ability to structure our intercompany and external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Furthermore, arrangements to facilitate our resolution planning may cause us to be subject to additional taxes. Any such limitations or requirements would be in addition to the legal and regulatory restrictions described above on our ability to engage in capital actions or make intercompany dividends or payments. See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about regulatory restrictions.CreditOur businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, has in the past and could in the future lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us. We are also exposed to the risk of a special assessment, including under the FDIA or OLA in the event of the failure of a bank or non-bank financial institution, which have in the past, and may in the future, adversely affect our results of operations. Furthermore, Group Inc. has guaranteed the payment obligations of certain of its subsidiaries, including GS&Co. and GS Bank USA, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, Group Inc. guarantees many of the obligations of its other consolidated subsidiaries on a transaction-by-transaction basis, as negotiated with counterparties. These guarantees may require Group Inc. to provide substantial funds or assets to its subsidiaries or their creditors or counterparties at a time when Group Inc. is in need of liquidity to fund its own obligations. The requirements for us and certain of our subsidiaries to develop and submit recovery and resolution plans to regulators, and the incorporation of feedback received from regulators, may require us to increase capital or liquidity levels or issue additional long-term debt at Group Inc. or particular subsidiaries or otherwise incur additional or duplicative operational or other costs at multiple entities, and may reduce our ability to provide Group Inc. guarantees of the obligations of our subsidiaries or raise debt at Group Inc. Resolution planning may also impair our ability to structure our intercompany and external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Furthermore, arrangements to facilitate our resolution planning may cause us to be subject to additional taxes. Any such limitations or requirements would be in addition to the legal and regulatory restrictions described above on our ability to engage in capital actions or make intercompany dividends or payments. See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about regulatory restrictions. Credit", "prior_body": "Group Inc. is a holding company and, therefore, depends on dividends, distributions, loans and other payments from its subsidiaries to fund share repurchases and dividend payments and to fund payments on its obligations, including debt obligations. Many of our subsidiaries, including our broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries, are subject to laws that restrict dividend payments or authorize regulatory bodies to block or reduce the flow of funds from those subsidiaries to Group Inc. In addition, our broker-dealer and bank entities and their subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on their ability to lend or transact with affiliates and to minimum regulatory capital and other requirements, as well as restrictions on their ability to use funds deposited with them in brokerage or bank accounts to fund their businesses. Additional restrictions on related-party transactions, increased capital and liquidity requirements and additional limitations on the use of funds on deposit in bank or brokerage accounts, as well as lower earnings, can reduce the amount of funds available to meet the obligations of Group Inc., including under the FRB’s source of strength requirement, and even require Group Inc. to provide additional funding to such subsidiaries. Restrictions or regulatory action of that kind could impede access to funds that Group Inc. needs to make payments on its obligations, including debt obligations, or dividend payments. In addition, Group Inc.’s right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors. There has been a trend towards increased regulation and supervision of our subsidiaries by the governments and regulators in the countries in which those subsidiaries are located or do business. Concerns about protecting clients and creditors of financial institutions that are controlled by persons or entities located outside of the country in which such entities are located or do business have caused or may cause a number of governments and regulators to take additional steps to “ring fence” or require internal total loss-absorbing capacity (which may also be subject to “bail-in” powers, as described below) at those entities in order to protect clients and creditors of those entities in the event of financial difficulties involving those entities. The result has been and may continue to be additional limitations on our ability to efficiently move capital and liquidity among our affiliated entities, or to Group Inc., including in times of stress, thereby increasing the overall level of capital and liquidity required by us on a consolidated basis. Furthermore, Group Inc. has guaranteed the payment obligations of certain of its subsidiaries, including GS&Co. and GS Bank USA, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, Group Inc. guarantees many of the obligations of its other consolidated subsidiaries on a transaction-by-transaction basis, as negotiated with counterparties. These guarantees may require Group Inc. to provide substantial funds or assets to its subsidiaries or their creditors or counterparties at a time when Group Inc. is in need of liquidity to fund its own obligations. The requirements for us and certain of our subsidiaries to develop and submit recovery and resolution plans to regulators, and the incorporation of feedback received from regulators, may require us to increase capital or liquidity levels or issue additional long-term debt at Group Inc. or particular subsidiaries or otherwise incur additional or duplicative operational or other costs at multiple entities, and may reduce our ability to provide Group Inc. guarantees of the obligations of our subsidiaries or raise debt at Group Inc. Resolution planning may also impair our ability to structure our intercompany and external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Furthermore, arrangements to facilitate our resolution planning may cause us to be subject to additional taxes. Any such limitations or requirements would be in addition to the legal and regulatory restrictions described above on our ability to engage in capital actions or make intercompany dividends or payments. See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about regulatory restrictions. Furthermore, Group Inc. has guaranteed the payment obligations of certain of its subsidiaries, including GS&Co. and GS Bank USA, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, Group Inc. guarantees many of the obligations of its other consolidated subsidiaries on a transaction-by-transaction basis, as negotiated with counterparties. These guarantees may require Group Inc. to provide substantial funds or assets to its subsidiaries or their creditors or counterparties at a time when Group Inc. is in need of liquidity to fund its own obligations. The requirements for us and certain of our subsidiaries to develop and submit recovery and resolution plans to regulators, and the incorporation of feedback received from regulators, may require us to increase capital or liquidity levels or issue additional long-term debt at Group Inc. or particular subsidiaries or otherwise incur additional or duplicative operational or other costs at multiple entities, and may reduce our ability to provide Group Inc. guarantees of the obligations of our subsidiaries or raise debt at Group Inc. Resolution planning may also impair our ability to structure our intercompany and external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Furthermore, arrangements to facilitate our resolution planning may cause us to be subject to additional taxes. Any such limitations or requirements would be in addition to the legal and regulatory restrictions described above on our ability to engage in capital actions or make intercompany dividends or payments. See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about regulatory restrictions. Group Inc. is a holding company and its liquidity depends on payments and loans from its subsidiaries, many of which are subject to legal, regulatory and other restrictions on providing funds or assets to Group Inc.Group Inc. is a holding company and, therefore, depends on dividends, distributions, loans and other payments from its subsidiaries to fund share repurchases and dividend payments and to fund payments on its obligations, including debt obligations. Many of our subsidiaries, including our broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries, are subject to laws that restrict dividend payments or authorize regulatory bodies to block or reduce the flow of funds from those subsidiaries to Group Inc. In addition, our broker-dealer and bank entities and their subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on their ability to lend or transact with affiliates and to minimum regulatory capital and other requirements, as well as restrictions on their ability to use funds deposited with them in brokerage or bank accounts to fund their businesses. Additional restrictions on related-party transactions, increased capital and liquidity requirements and additional limitations on the use of funds on deposit in bank or brokerage accounts, as well as lower earnings, can reduce the amount of funds available to meet the obligations of Group Inc., including under the FRB’s source of strength requirement, and even require Group Inc. to provide additional funding to such subsidiaries. Restrictions or regulatory action of that kind could impede access to funds that Group Inc. needs to make payments on its obligations, including debt obligations, or dividend payments. In addition, Group Inc.’s right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors.There has been a trend towards increased regulation and supervision of our subsidiaries by the governments and regulators in the countries in which those subsidiaries are located or do business. Concerns about protecting clients and creditors of financial institutions that are controlled by persons or entities located outside of the country in which such entities are located or do business have caused or may cause a number of governments and regulators to take additional steps to “ring fence” or require internal total loss-absorbing capacity (which may also be subject to “bail-in” powers, as described below) at those entities in order to protect clients and creditors of those entities in the event of financial difficulties involving those entities. The result has been and may continue to be additional limitations on our ability to efficiently move capital and liquidity among our affiliated entities, or to Group Inc., including in times of stress, thereby increasing the overall level of capital and liquidity required by us on a consolidated basis." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.", "prior_title": "In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.", "similarity_score": 0.873, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Removed sentence: \"In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct.\"", "Removed sentence: \"This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software.\"", "Removed sentence: \"It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB.\"", "Removed sentence: \"While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K.\"", "Removed sentence: \"While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation.\"" ], "current_body": "In conducting our businesses and supporting our global operations, we are subject to risks of possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls, capital controls, exchange controls, communications and other content restrictions, and other restrictive governmental actions. For example, sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the E.U. on certain individuals and companies in Russia and Venezuela. In many countries, the laws and regulations applicable to the securities and financial services industries and many of the transactions in which we are involved are uncertain and evolving, and it may be difficult for us to determine the exact requirements of local laws in every market. We have been in some cases subject to divergent and conflicting laws and regulations across markets, and we are increasingly subject to the risk that the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented or may implement laws and regulations that directly conflict with those of another jurisdiction. Any determination by local regulators that we have not acted in compliance with the application of local laws in a particular market or our failure to develop effective working relationships with local regulators could have a significant and negative effect not only on our businesses in that market, but also on our reputation generally. Further, in some jurisdictions a failure, or alleged failure, to comply with laws and regulations has subjected and may in the future subject us and our personnel not only to civil actions, but also criminal actions and other sanctions. We are also subject to the enhanced risk that transactions we structure might not be legally enforceable in all cases. While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future.We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation.Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities. Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future. We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation. Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities. Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future. We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation. Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities. In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.In conducting our businesses and supporting our global operations, we are subject to risks of possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls, capital controls, exchange controls, communications and other content restrictions, and other restrictive governmental actions. For example, sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the E.U. on certain individuals and companies in Russia and Venezuela. In many countries, the laws and regulations applicable to the securities and financial services industries and many of the transactions in which we are involved are uncertain and evolving, and it may be difficult for us to determine the exact requirements of local laws in every market. We have been in some cases subject to divergent and conflicting laws and regulations across markets, and we are increasingly subject to the risk that the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented or may implement laws and regulations that directly conflict with those of another jurisdiction. Any determination by local regulators that we have not acted in compliance with the application of local laws in a particular market or our failure to develop effective working relationships with local regulators could have a significant and negative effect not only on our businesses in that market, but also on our reputation generally. Further, in some jurisdictions a failure, or alleged failure, to comply with laws and regulations has subjected and may in the future subject us and our personnel not only to civil actions, but also criminal actions and other sanctions. We are also subject to the enhanced risk that transactions we structure might not be legally enforceable in all cases. While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.", "prior_body": "In conducting our businesses and supporting our global operations, we are subject to risks of possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls, capital controls, exchange controls, communications and other content restrictions, and other restrictive governmental actions. For example, sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the E.U. on certain individuals and companies in Russia and Venezuela. In many countries, the laws and regulations applicable to the securities and financial services industries and many of the transactions in which we are involved are uncertain and evolving, and it may be difficult for us to determine the exact requirements of local laws in every market. We have been in some cases subject to divergent and conflicting laws and regulations across markets, and we are increasingly subject to the risk that the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented or may implement laws and regulations that directly conflict with those of another jurisdiction. Any determination by local regulators that we have not acted in compliance with the application of local laws in a particular market or our failure to develop effective working relationships with local regulators could have a significant and negative effect not only on our businesses in that market, but also on our reputation generally. Further, in some jurisdictions a failure, or alleged failure, to comply with laws and regulations has subjected and may in the future subject us and our personnel not only to civil actions, but also criminal actions and other sanctions. We are also subject to the enhanced risk that transactions we structure might not be legally enforceable in all cases. While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct. This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software. It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB. While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct. This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software. It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB. Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities.In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.In conducting our businesses and supporting our global operations, we are subject to risks of possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls, capital controls, exchange controls, communications and other content restrictions, and other restrictive governmental actions. For example, sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the E.U. on certain individuals and companies in Russia and Venezuela. In many countries, the laws and regulations applicable to the securities and financial services industries and many of the transactions in which we are involved are uncertain and evolving, and it may be difficult for us to determine the exact requirements of local laws in every market. We have been in some cases subject to divergent and conflicting laws and regulations across markets, and we are increasingly subject to the risk that the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented or may implement laws and regulations that directly conflict with those of another jurisdiction. Any determination by local regulators that we have not acted in compliance with the application of local laws in a particular market or our failure to develop effective working relationships with local regulators could have a significant and negative effect not only on our businesses in that market, but also on our reputation generally. Further, in some jurisdictions a failure, or alleged failure, to comply with laws and regulations has subjected and may in the future subject us and our personnel not only to civil actions, but also criminal actions and other sanctions. We are also subject to the enhanced risk that transactions we structure might not be legally enforceable in all cases. Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.", "prior_title": "We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.", "similarity_score": 0.871, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures.\"" ], "current_body": "Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures. The failure to complete these remediation activities in a timely manner could lead to higher operating expenses, reputational damage and other negative consequences. The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity.The rapid dissemination of negative information through social media, in part, is believed to have led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). SVB suffered a level of deposit withdrawals within a time period not previously experienced by a financial institution. We could also be subject to rapid deposit withdrawals or other outflows as a result of negative social media posts or other negative publicity. Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements. The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity. The rapid dissemination of negative information through social media, in part, is believed to have led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). SVB suffered a level of deposit withdrawals within a time period not previously experienced by a financial institution. We could also be subject to rapid deposit withdrawals or other outflows as a result of negative social media posts or other negative publicity.", "prior_body": "Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities, which require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures. The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity. Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements.Significant settlements by several large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have been publicly announced. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future.We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Market Developments and General Business Environment", "prior_title": "Market Developments and General Business Environment", "similarity_score": 0.87, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"•We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.\"", "Added sentence: \"32Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 32Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 32Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 32 32Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 32Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 32 32Goldman Sachs 2023 Form 10-K 32 32 THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Added sentence: \"AND SUBSIDIARIES THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Added sentence: \"AND SUBSIDIARIES THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"" ], "current_body": "•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters. •Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments. •Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China. •We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties. •We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. Credit•Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.•Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.•Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.Operational•A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.•A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.•The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business.•A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.•We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.Legal and Regulatory•Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.•A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.•We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.•Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.•In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.•The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders. Credit •Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties. •Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. •Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.", "prior_body": "•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters. •Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments. •Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR. •Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China. •We face enhanced risks as new business initiatives and acquisitions lead us to engage in new activities, operate in new locations, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties and expose us to new asset classes and markets. •We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above:MarketOur businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors.The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, European sovereign debt risk and its impact on the European banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above: Market" }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Market Developments and General Business Environment", "prior_title": "Market Developments and General Business Environment", "similarity_score": 0.866, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"•We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.\"", "Added sentence: \"•The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.\"" ], "current_body": "•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters. •Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments. •Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China. •We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties. •We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. Credit•Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.•Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.•Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.Operational•A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.•A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.•The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business.•A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.•We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.Legal and Regulatory•Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.•A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.•We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.•Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.•In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.•The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders. Credit •Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties. •Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. •Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.", "prior_body": "•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters. •Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments. •Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR. •Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China. •We face enhanced risks as new business initiatives and acquisitions lead us to engage in new activities, operate in new locations, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties and expose us to new asset classes and markets. •We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above:MarketOur businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors.The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, European sovereign debt risk and its impact on the European banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above: Market" }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.", "prior_title": "Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.", "similarity_score": 0.862, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects perceived to be associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"For example, in 2023 we participated in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise conducted by the FRB.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects perceived to be associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"For example, in 2023 we participated in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise conducted by the FRB.\"" ], "current_body": "Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects perceived to be associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer.New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. For example, in 2023 we participated in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise conducted by the FRB. We are also subject to interagency guidance jointly issued by the FRB, FDIC, and OCC in October 2023 regarding principles for climate-related financial risk management for large financial institutions. In addition, in December 2022, the NYDFS issued proposed guidance on the management of material financial risks from climate change, which would apply to New York State-regulated banking and mortgage institutions, including GS Bank USA. In the E.U., the CSRD will become effective beginning with year-end 2024 reporting. The CSRD expands the scope of ESG disclosure required under E.U. rules. These regulations, guidance and expectations, as well as any additional or heightened requirements, could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, but we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects perceived to be associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer. New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. For example, in 2023 we participated in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise conducted by the FRB. We are also subject to interagency guidance jointly issued by the FRB, FDIC, and OCC in October 2023 regarding principles for climate-related financial risk management for large financial institutions. In addition, in December 2022, the NYDFS issued proposed guidance on the management of material financial risks from climate change, which would apply to New York State-regulated banking and mortgage institutions, including GS Bank USA. In the E.U., the CSRD will become effective beginning with year-end 2024 reporting. The CSRD expands the scope of ESG disclosure required under E.U. rules. These regulations, guidance and expectations, as well as any additional or heightened requirements, could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, but we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate.Market Developments and General Business EnvironmentOur businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses.Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate.", "prior_body": "Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our expanding consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions.As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects.Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our expanding consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions. As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our expanding consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions. As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate. Market Developments and General Business EnvironmentOur businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, such as COVID-19, or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses.The COVID-19 pandemic created economic and financial disruptions that have in the past adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively affect our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on, among other things, future developments, including any resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments over the long term and against new variants, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.", "prior_title": "Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.", "similarity_score": 0.852, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Removed sentence: \"Significant settlements by several large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have been publicly announced.\"", "Removed sentence: \"The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements.\"", "Removed sentence: \"The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices.\"" ], "current_body": "We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements. We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures. The failure to complete these remediation activities in a timely manner could lead to higher operating expenses, reputational damage and other negative consequences.", "prior_body": "We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements. Significant settlements by several large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have been publicly announced. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future. We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation. We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities, which require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures.The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "The financial services industry is highly competitive.", "prior_title": "The financial services industry is highly competitive.", "similarity_score": 0.835, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Removed sentence: \"48Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 48Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 48Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 48 48Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 48Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 48 48Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 48 48 THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Removed sentence: \"AND SUBSIDIARIES THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Removed sentence: \"AND SUBSIDIARIES THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Removed sentence: \"AND SUBSIDIARIES Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage.\"", "Removed sentence: \"These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S.\"" ], "current_body": "The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses. Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages. CompetitionOur results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution.", "prior_body": "The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation that could increase the operating costs and adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments.There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations could require significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we may not be able to obtain insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses.The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm.We may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation that could increase the operating costs and adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments. There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations could require significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we may not be able to obtain insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses. The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm. We may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation that could increase the operating costs and adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments. There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations could require significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we may not be able to obtain insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses. The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm. We may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. CompetitionOur results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution.The financial services industry is highly competitive.The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.", "prior_title": "Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.", "similarity_score": 0.835, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers or AI technologies, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in client preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us.\"" ], "current_body": "Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions. As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets has caused and could continue to cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades.In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, and AI, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers or AI technologies, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in client preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us.", "prior_body": "Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees. Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages.The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets could cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.", "prior_title": "Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.", "similarity_score": 0.83, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Added sentence: \"Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations.\"", "Added sentence: \"Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate.\"" ], "current_body": "Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects perceived to be associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer.New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. For example, in 2023 we participated in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise conducted by the FRB. We are also subject to interagency guidance jointly issued by the FRB, FDIC, and OCC in October 2023 regarding principles for climate-related financial risk management for large financial institutions. In addition, in December 2022, the NYDFS issued proposed guidance on the management of material financial risks from climate change, which would apply to New York State-regulated banking and mortgage institutions, including GS Bank USA. In the E.U., the CSRD will become effective beginning with year-end 2024 reporting. The CSRD expands the scope of ESG disclosure required under E.U. rules. These regulations, guidance and expectations, as well as any additional or heightened requirements, could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, but we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects perceived to be associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer. New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. For example, in 2023 we participated in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise conducted by the FRB. We are also subject to interagency guidance jointly issued by the FRB, FDIC, and OCC in October 2023 regarding principles for climate-related financial risk management for large financial institutions. In addition, in December 2022, the NYDFS issued proposed guidance on the management of material financial risks from climate change, which would apply to New York State-regulated banking and mortgage institutions, including GS Bank USA. In the E.U., the CSRD will become effective beginning with year-end 2024 reporting. The CSRD expands the scope of ESG disclosure required under E.U. rules. These regulations, guidance and expectations, as well as any additional or heightened requirements, could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, but we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate.Market Developments and General Business EnvironmentOur businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses.Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate.", "prior_body": "Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our expanding consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions.As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects.Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our expanding consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions. As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our expanding consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions. As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate. Market Developments and General Business EnvironmentOur businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, such as COVID-19, or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses.The COVID-19 pandemic created economic and financial disruptions that have in the past adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively affect our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on, among other things, future developments, including any resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments over the long term and against new variants, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "prior_title": "The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "similarity_score": 0.83, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct.\"" ], "current_body": "As described in “Business — Regulation — Banking Supervision and Regulation — Insolvency of an IDI or a BHC,” if the FDIC is appointed as receiver under OLA, the rights of Group Inc.’s creditors would be determined under OLA, and substantial differences exist in the rights of creditors between OLA and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the right of the FDIC under OLA to disregard the strict priority of creditor claims in some circumstances, which could have a material adverse effect on our debtholders. The FDIC has announced that a single point of entry strategy may be a desirable strategy under OLA to resolve a large financial institution in a manner that would, among other things, impose losses on shareholders, debtholders and other creditors of the top-tier BHC (in our case, Group Inc.), while the BHC’s subsidiaries may continue to operate. It is possible that the application of the single point of entry strategy under OLA, in which Group Inc. would be the only entity to enter resolution proceedings (and its material broker-dealer, bank and other operating entities would not enter resolution proceedings), would result in greater losses to Group Inc.’s security holders (including holders of our fixed rate, floating rate and indexed debt securities), than the losses that would result from the application of a bankruptcy proceeding or a different resolution strategy, such as a multiple point of entry resolution strategy for Group Inc. and certain of its material subsidiaries. Assuming Group Inc. entered resolution proceedings and support from Group Inc. or other resources available to its subsidiaries was sufficient to enable the subsidiaries to remain solvent, losses at the subsidiary level would be transferred to Group Inc. and ultimately borne by Group Inc.’s security holders, third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, and Group Inc.’s security holders (including our shareholders, debtholders and other unsecured creditors) could face significant and possibly complete losses. In that case, Group Inc.’s security holders would face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would incur no losses because the subsidiaries would continue to operate and would not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities could face losses ahead of its other similarly situated creditors in a resolution under OLA if the FDIC exercised its right, described above, to disregard the priority of creditor claims.OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S. government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors.In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred. If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged. While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible. Assuming Group Inc. entered resolution proceedings and support from Group Inc. or other resources available to its subsidiaries was sufficient to enable the subsidiaries to remain solvent, losses at the subsidiary level would be transferred to Group Inc. and ultimately borne by Group Inc.’s security holders, third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, and Group Inc.’s security holders (including our shareholders, debtholders and other unsecured creditors) could face significant and possibly complete losses. In that case, Group Inc.’s security holders would face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would incur no losses because the subsidiaries would continue to operate and would not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities could face losses ahead of its other similarly situated creditors in a resolution under OLA if the FDIC exercised its right, described above, to disregard the priority of creditor claims. OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S. government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors. In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred. If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged. While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible. In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct. This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software. It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB.The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.As described in “Business — Regulation — Banking Supervision and Regulation — Insolvency of an IDI or a BHC,” if the FDIC is appointed as receiver under OLA, the rights of Group Inc.’s creditors would be determined under OLA, and substantial differences exist in the rights of creditors between OLA and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the right of the FDIC under OLA to disregard the strict priority of creditor claims in some circumstances, which could have a material adverse effect on our debtholders.The FDIC has announced that a single point of entry strategy may be a desirable strategy under OLA to resolve a large financial institution in a manner that would, among other things, impose losses on shareholders, debtholders and other creditors of the top-tier BHC (in our case, Group Inc.), while the BHC’s subsidiaries may continue to operate. It is possible that the application of the single point of entry strategy under OLA, in which Group Inc. would be the only entity to enter resolution proceedings (and its material broker-dealer, bank and other operating entities would not enter resolution proceedings), would result in greater losses to Group Inc.’s security holders (including holders of our fixed rate, floating rate and indexed debt securities), than the losses that would result from the application of a bankruptcy proceeding or a different resolution strategy, such as a multiple point of entry resolution strategy for Group Inc. and certain of its material subsidiaries. In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct. This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software. It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB.", "prior_body": "As described in “Business — Regulation — Banking Supervision and Regulation — Insolvency of an IDI or a BHC,” if the FDIC is appointed as receiver under OLA, the rights of Group Inc.’s creditors would be determined under OLA, and substantial differences exist in the rights of creditors between OLA and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the right of the FDIC under OLA to disregard the strict priority of creditor claims in some circumstances, which could have a material adverse effect on our debtholders. The FDIC has announced that a single point of entry strategy may be a desirable strategy under OLA to resolve a large financial institution in a manner that would, among other things, impose losses on shareholders, debtholders and other creditors of the top-tier BHC (in our case, Group Inc.), while the BHC’s subsidiaries may continue to operate. It is possible that the application of the single point of entry strategy under OLA, in which Group Inc. would be the only entity to enter resolution proceedings (and its material broker-dealer, bank and other operating entities would not enter resolution proceedings), would result in greater losses to Group Inc.’s security holders (including holders of our fixed rate, floating rate and indexed debt securities), than the losses that would result from the application of a bankruptcy proceeding or a different resolution strategy, such as a multiple point of entry resolution strategy for Group Inc. and certain of its material subsidiaries. Assuming Group Inc. entered resolution proceedings and that support from Group Inc. or other available resources to its subsidiaries was sufficient to enable the subsidiaries to remain solvent, losses at the subsidiary level would be transferred to Group Inc. and ultimately borne by Group Inc.’s security holders, third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, and Group Inc.’s security holders (including our shareholders, debtholders and other unsecured creditors) could face significant and possibly complete losses. In that case, Group Inc.’s security holders would face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would incur no losses because the subsidiaries would continue to operate and would not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities could face losses ahead of its other similarly situated creditors in a resolution under OLA if the FDIC exercised its right, described above, to disregard the priority of creditor claims. OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S. government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors.In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred. If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged. While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible.In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the E.U., have implemented resolution regimes to provide resolution authorities with the ability to recapitalize a failing entity by writing down its unsecured debt or converting its unsecured debt into equity. Such “bail-in” powers are intended to enable the recapitalization of a failing institution by allocating losses to its shareholders and unsecured debtholders. For example, the Bank of England requires a certain amount of intercompany funding that we provide to our material U.K. subsidiaries to contain a contractual trigger to expressly permit the Bank of England to exercise such “bail-in” powers in certain circumstances. If the intercompany funding we provide to our subsidiaries is “bailed in,” Group Inc.’s claims on its subsidiaries would be subordinated to the claims of the subsidiaries’ third-party creditors or written down. U.S. regulators are considering and non-U.S. authorities have adopted requirements that certain subsidiaries of large financial institutions maintain minimum amounts of total loss-absorbing capacity that would pass losses up from the subsidiaries to the top-tier BHC and, ultimately, to security holders of the top-tier BHC in the event of failure. OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S. government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors. In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred. If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged. While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible. In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the E.U., have implemented resolution regimes to provide resolution authorities with the ability to recapitalize a failing entity by writing down its unsecured debt or converting its unsecured debt into equity. Such “bail-in” powers are intended to enable the recapitalization of a failing institution by allocating losses to its shareholders and unsecured debtholders. For example, the Bank of England requires a certain amount of intercompany funding that we provide to our material U.K. subsidiaries to contain a contractual trigger to expressly permit the Bank of England to exercise such “bail-in” powers in certain circumstances. If the intercompany funding we provide to our subsidiaries is “bailed in,” Group Inc.’s claims on its subsidiaries would be subordinated to the claims of the subsidiaries’ third-party creditors or written down. U.S. regulators are considering and non-U.S. authorities have adopted requirements that certain subsidiaries of large financial institutions maintain minimum amounts of total loss-absorbing capacity that would pass losses up from the subsidiaries to the top-tier BHC and, ultimately, to security holders of the top-tier BHC in the event of failure. The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.As described in “Business — Regulation — Banking Supervision and Regulation — Insolvency of an IDI or a BHC,” if the FDIC is appointed as receiver under OLA, the rights of Group Inc.’s creditors would be determined under OLA, and substantial differences exist in the rights of creditors between OLA and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the right of the FDIC under OLA to disregard the strict priority of creditor claims in some circumstances, which could have a material adverse effect on our debtholders.The FDIC has announced that a single point of entry strategy may be a desirable strategy under OLA to resolve a large financial institution in a manner that would, among other things, impose losses on shareholders, debtholders and other creditors of the top-tier BHC (in our case, Group Inc.), while the BHC’s subsidiaries may continue to operate. It is possible that the application of the single point of entry strategy under OLA, in which Group Inc. would be the only entity to enter resolution proceedings (and its material broker-dealer, bank and other operating entities would not enter resolution proceedings), would result in greater losses to Group Inc.’s security holders (including holders of our fixed rate, floating rate and indexed debt securities), than the losses that would result from the application of a bankruptcy proceeding or a different resolution strategy, such as a multiple point of entry resolution strategy for Group Inc. and certain of its material subsidiaries.Assuming Group Inc. entered resolution proceedings and that support from Group Inc. or other available resources to its subsidiaries was sufficient to enable the subsidiaries to remain solvent, losses at the subsidiary level would be transferred to Group Inc. and ultimately borne by Group Inc.’s security holders, third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, and Group Inc.’s security holders (including our shareholders, debtholders and other unsecured creditors) could face significant and possibly complete losses. In that case, Group Inc.’s security holders would face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would incur no losses because the subsidiaries would continue to operate and would not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities could face losses ahead of its other similarly situated creditors in a resolution under OLA if the FDIC exercised its right, described above, to disregard the priority of creditor claims." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.", "prior_title": "We face enhanced risks as new business initiatives and acquisitions lead us to engage in new activities, operate in new locations, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties and expose us to new asset classes and new markets.", "similarity_score": 0.829, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information.\"", "Added sentence: \"We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities.\"", "Added sentence: \"As a result, we face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S.\"", "Added sentence: \"or other governmental authorities.\"" ], "current_body": "Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges. For example, we continue to transact business and invest in new regions, including a wide range of emerging and growth markets, and we expect this trend to continue. Various emerging and growth market countries have experienced severe economic and financial disruptions, including significant devaluations of their currencies, defaults or threatened defaults on sovereign debt, capital and currency exchange controls, and low or negative growth rates in their economies. The possible effects of any of these conditions include an adverse impact on our businesses and increased volatility in financial markets generally. Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S. In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information. We are also subject to additional legal requirements, including with respect to suitability and consumer protection (for example, Regulation Best Interest, fair lending laws and regulations and privacy laws and regulations). Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers. We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities. As a result, we face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S. or other governmental authorities. We are making significant enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures to manage these risks. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.Continued or escalating tensions between the U.S. and China have resulted in and may result in additional changes to U.S. international trade and investment policies, which could disrupt international trade and investment, adversely affect financial markets, including market activity levels, and adversely impact our revenues. Continued or escalating tensions may also lead to the U.S., China or other countries taking other actions, which could include the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or restrictions on cross-border trade, investment or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially.A conflict, or concerns about a potential conflict, involving China and Taiwan, the U.S. or other countries could negatively impact financial markets and our or our clients’ businesses. Trade restrictions by the U.S. or other countries in response to a conflict or potential conflict involving China, including financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain organizations or individuals, or actions taken by China in response to trade restrictions, could negatively impact our or our clients’ ability to conduct business in certain countries or with certain counterparties and could negatively impact regional and global financial markets and economic conditions. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially.", "prior_body": "A number of our recent and planned business initiatives and expansions of existing businesses, including through acquisitions and partnership arrangements, could continue to bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges. For example, we continue to transact business and invest in new regions, including a wide range of emerging and growth markets, and we expect this trend to continue. Various emerging and growth market countries have experienced severe economic and financial disruptions, including significant devaluations of their currencies, defaults or threatened defaults on sovereign debt, capital and currency exchange controls, and low or negative growth rates in their economies. The possible effects of any of these conditions include an adverse impact on our businesses and increased volatility in financial markets generally. Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S. We have increased our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and lending activities. For example, we now issue credit cards to consumers and through our acquisition of GreenSky, Inc. (GreenSky), we expanded our offering of point-of-sale financing. To the extent we engage in those and other consumer-oriented activities, we have faced, and would continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information. Acquisitions and new products can also expose us to new or different types of risks. For example, providing point-of-sale financing through GreenSky also subjects us to risks relating to retaining and attracting merchants and servicing loans for other banks, as well as potential liability for remediation costs if merchants fail to fulfill their obligations to consumers. We are also subject to additional legal requirements, including with respect to suitability and consumer protection (for example, Regulation Best Interest, fair lending laws and regulations and privacy laws and regulations). Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.Continued or escalating tensions between the U.S. and China have resulted in and may result in additional changes to U.S. international trade and investment policies, which could disrupt international trade and investment, adversely affect financial markets, including market activity levels, and adversely impact our revenues. Continued or escalating tensions may also lead to the U.S., China or other countries taking other actions, which could include the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or restrictions on cross-border trade, investment or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially.A conflict, or concerns about a potential conflict, involving China and Taiwan, the U.S. or other countries could negatively impact financial markets and our or our clients’ businesses. Trade restrictions by the U.S. or other countries in response to a conflict or potential conflict involving China, including financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain organizations or individuals, or actions taken by China in response to trade restrictions, could negatively impact our or our clients’ ability to conduct business in certain countries or with certain counterparties and could negatively impact regional and global financial markets and economic conditions. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.", "prior_title": "We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.", "similarity_score": 0.82, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs.\"" ], "current_body": "We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. Our risk management process seeks to balance our ability to profit from market-making, investing or lending positions, and underwriting activities, with our exposure to potential losses. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Thus, in the course of our activities, we have incurred and may in the future incur losses. Market conditions in recent years have involved unprecedented dislocations and highlight the limitations inherent in using historical data to manage risk. The models that we use to assess and control our risk exposures reflect assumptions about the degrees of correlation or lack thereof among prices of various asset classes or other market indicators. In times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances, previously uncorrelated indicators may become correlated, or conversely previously correlated indicators may move in different directions. These types of market movements have at times limited the effectiveness of our hedging strategies and have caused us to incur significant losses, and they may do so in the future. These changes in correlation have been and may in the future be exacerbated where other market participants are using risk or trading models with assumptions or algorithms that are similar to ours. In these and other cases, it may be difficult to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of other market participants or widespread market dislocations, including circumstances where asset values are declining significantly or no market exists for certain assets. In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs. To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments. Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities.Our consumer offerings present us with different risks, and we have needed and continue to need to expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities. A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us.For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments. Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities. Our consumer offerings present us with different risks, and we have needed and continue to need to expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities. A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us. For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. Our risk management process seeks to balance our ability to profit from market-making, investing or lending positions, and underwriting activities, with our exposure to potential losses. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Thus, in the course of our activities, we have incurred and may in the future incur losses. Market conditions in recent years have involved unprecedented dislocations and highlight the limitations inherent in using historical data to manage risk.The models that we use to assess and control our risk exposures reflect assumptions about the degrees of correlation or lack thereof among prices of various asset classes or other market indicators. In times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances, previously uncorrelated indicators may become correlated, or conversely previously correlated indicators may move in different directions. These types of market movements have at times limited the effectiveness of our hedging strategies and have caused us to incur significant losses, and they may do so in the future. These changes in correlation have been and may in the future be exacerbated where other market participants are using risk or trading models with assumptions or algorithms that are similar to ours. In these and other cases, it may be difficult to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of other market participants or widespread market dislocations, including circumstances where asset values are declining significantly or no market exists for certain assets. In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs.", "prior_body": "We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. Our risk management process seeks to balance our ability to profit from market-making, investing or lending positions, and underwriting activities, with our exposure to potential losses. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Thus, in the course of our activities, we have incurred and may in the future incur losses. Market conditions in recent years have involved unprecedented dislocations and highlight the limitations inherent in using historical data to manage risk. The models that we use to assess and control our risk exposures reflect assumptions about the degrees of correlation or lack thereof among prices of various asset classes or other market indicators. In times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances, previously uncorrelated indicators may become correlated, or conversely previously correlated indicators may move in different directions. These types of market movements have at times limited the effectiveness of our hedging strategies and have caused us to incur significant losses, and they may do so in the future. These changes in correlation have been and may in the future be exacerbated where other market participants are using risk or trading models with assumptions or algorithms that are similar to ours. In these and other cases, it may be difficult to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of other market participants or widespread market dislocations, including circumstances where asset values are declining significantly or no market exists for certain assets. In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs.To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments. Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities.As we have expanded and intend to continue to expand the product and geographic scope of our offerings of credit and investment products to consumers, we are presented with different risks and must expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities. A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us.For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs. To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments. Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities. As we have expanded and intend to continue to expand the product and geographic scope of our offerings of credit and investment products to consumers, we are presented with different risks and must expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities. A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us. For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. We routinely transmit and receive personal, confidential and proprietary information by email and other electronic means. We have discussed and worked with clients, vendors, service providers, counterparties and other third parties to develop secure transmission capabilities and protect against cyber attacks, but we do not have, and may be unable to put in place, secure capabilities with all of our clients, vendors, service providers, counterparties and other third parties and we may not be able to ensure that these third parties have appropriate controls in place to protect the confidentiality of the information. An interception, misuse or mishandling of personal, confidential or proprietary information being sent to or received from a client, vendor, service provider, counterparty or other third party could result in legal liability, regulatory action and reputational harm.We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. Our risk management process seeks to balance our ability to profit from market-making, investing or lending positions, and underwriting activities, with our exposure to potential losses. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Thus, in the course of our activities, we have incurred and may in the future incur losses. Market conditions in recent years have involved unprecedented dislocations and highlight the limitations inherent in using historical data to manage risk.The models that we use to assess and control our risk exposures reflect assumptions about the degrees of correlation or lack thereof among prices of various asset classes or other market indicators. In times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances, previously uncorrelated indicators may become correlated, or conversely previously correlated indicators may move in different directions. These types of market movements have at times limited the effectiveness of our hedging strategies and have caused us to incur significant losses, and they may do so in the future. These changes in correlation have been and may in the future be exacerbated where other market participants are using risk or trading models with assumptions or algorithms that are similar to ours. In these and other cases, it may be difficult to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of other market participants or widespread market dislocations, including circumstances where asset values are declining significantly or no market exists for certain assets. We routinely transmit and receive personal, confidential and proprietary information by email and other electronic means. We have discussed and worked with clients, vendors, service providers, counterparties and other third parties to develop secure transmission capabilities and protect against cyber attacks, but we do not have, and may be unable to put in place, secure capabilities with all of our clients, vendors, service providers, counterparties and other third parties and we may not be able to ensure that these third parties have appropriate controls in place to protect the confidentiality of the information. An interception, misuse or mishandling of personal, confidential or proprietary information being sent to or received from a client, vendor, service provider, counterparty or other third party could result in legal liability, regulatory action and reputational harm." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.", "prior_title": "Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.", "similarity_score": 0.813, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.\"", "Removed sentence: \"The COVID-19 pandemic created economic and financial disruptions that have in the past adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.\"", "Removed sentence: \"The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively affect our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on, among other things, future developments, including any resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments over the long term and against new variants, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.\"" ], "current_body": "The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses.", "prior_body": "The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, such as COVID-19, or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic created economic and financial disruptions that have in the past adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively affect our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on, among other things, future developments, including any resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments over the long term and against new variants, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.", "prior_title": "Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.", "similarity_score": 0.813, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.\"", "Removed sentence: \"The COVID-19 pandemic created economic and financial disruptions that have in the past adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.\"", "Removed sentence: \"The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively affect our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on, among other things, future developments, including any resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments over the long term and against new variants, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.\"" ], "current_body": "The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses.", "prior_body": "The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, such as COVID-19, or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic created economic and financial disruptions that have in the past adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively affect our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on, among other things, future developments, including any resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments over the long term and against new variants, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.", "prior_title": "Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.", "similarity_score": 0.813, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.\"", "Removed sentence: \"The COVID-19 pandemic created economic and financial disruptions that have in the past adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.\"", "Removed sentence: \"The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively affect our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on, among other things, future developments, including any resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments over the long term and against new variants, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.\"" ], "current_body": "The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses.", "prior_body": "The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, such as COVID-19, or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic created economic and financial disruptions that have in the past adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively affect our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on, among other things, future developments, including any resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments over the long term and against new variants, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by declining asset values, particularly where we have net “long” positions, receive fees based on the value of assets managed, or receive or post collateral.", "prior_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by declining asset values, particularly where we have net “long” positions, receive fees based on the value of assets managed, or receive or post collateral.", "similarity_score": 0.809, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"In certain circumstances (particularly in the case of credit products, including leveraged loans, and private equities or other securities that are not freely tradable or lack established and liquid trading markets), it may not be possible or economic to hedge our exposures and, to the extent that we do so, the hedge may be ineffective or may greatly reduce our ability to profit from increases in the values of the assets.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"In June 2023, the U.S.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"A downgrade of the U.S.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"An increasing frequency of government shutdowns, or near shutdowns, in the U.S.\"" ], "current_body": "Many of our businesses have net “long” positions in debt securities, loans, derivatives, mortgages, equities (including private equity and real estate) and most other asset classes. These include positions we take when we act as a principal to facilitate our clients’ activities, including our exchange-based market-making activities, or commit large amounts of capital to maintain positions in interest rate and credit products, as well as through our currencies, commodities, equities and mortgage-related activities. In addition, we invest in similar asset classes. Substantially all of our investing and market-making positions and a portion of our loans are marked-to-market on a daily or other periodic basis and declines in asset values directly and promptly impact our earnings, unless we have effectively “hedged” our exposures to those declines. In certain circumstances (particularly in the case of credit products, including leveraged loans, and private equities or other securities that are not freely tradable or lack established and liquid trading markets), it may not be possible or economic to hedge our exposures and, to the extent that we do so, the hedge may be ineffective or may greatly reduce our ability to profit from increases in the values of the assets. Sudden declines and significant volatility in the prices of assets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for certain assets, which may make it difficult to sell, hedge or value such assets. We may incur losses from time to time as trading markets deteriorate or cease to function, including with respect to loan commitments we have made or securities offerings we have underwritten. The inability to sell or effectively hedge assets reduces our ability to limit losses in such positions and the difficulty in valuing assets has in the past negatively affected, and may in the future negatively affect, our capital, liquidity or leverage ratios, our funding costs and our ability to deploy capital. In our exchange-based market-making activities, we are obligated by stock exchange rules to maintain an orderly market, including by purchasing securities in a declining market. In markets where asset values are declining and in volatile markets, this results in losses and an increased need for liquidity. We receive asset-based management fees based on the value of our clients’ portfolios or investment in funds managed by us and, in some cases, we also receive incentive fees based on increases in the value of such investments. Declines in asset values would ordinarily reduce the value of our clients’ portfolios or fund assets, which in turn would typically reduce the fees we earn for managing such assets. In June 2023, the U.S. federal government suspended the federal debt limit until 2025. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling prior to 2025, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the U.S. federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. An increasing frequency of government shutdowns, or near shutdowns, in the U.S. could also lead to uncertainty as to the continued funding of the U.S. government, which could, in turn, adversely affect the credit ratings of the U.S. and the market for U.S. Treasury or agency obligations.In 2024, numerous elections will be held globally. As a result, there may be significant market uncertainty in the periods leading up to and/or following the elections and this could cause higher volatility, lower levels of market activity and other adverse conditions for our businesses. The outcomes of the elections could also result in changes in policy, which could also have adverse effects on us or the business environment in which we operate more generally. In June 2023, the U.S. federal government suspended the federal debt limit until 2025. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling prior to 2025, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the U.S. federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. An increasing frequency of government shutdowns, or near shutdowns, in the U.S. could also lead to uncertainty as to the continued funding of the U.S. government, which could, in turn, adversely affect the credit ratings of the U.S. and the market for U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. In 2024, numerous elections will be held globally. As a result, there may be significant market uncertainty in the periods leading up to and/or following the elections and this could cause higher volatility, lower levels of market activity and other adverse conditions for our businesses. The outcomes of the elections could also result in changes in policy, which could also have adverse effects on us or the business environment in which we operate more generally. In June 2023, the U.S. federal government suspended the federal debt limit until 2025. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling prior to 2025, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the U.S. federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. An increasing frequency of government shutdowns, or near shutdowns, in the U.S. could also lead to uncertainty as to the continued funding of the U.S. government, which could, in turn, adversely affect the credit ratings of the U.S. and the market for U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. In 2024, numerous elections will be held globally. As a result, there may be significant market uncertainty in the periods leading up to and/or following the elections and this could cause higher volatility, lower levels of market activity and other adverse conditions for our businesses. The outcomes of the elections could also result in changes in policy, which could also have adverse effects on us or the business environment in which we operate more generally. Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by declining asset values, particularly where we have net “long” positions, receive fees based on the value of assets managed, or receive or post collateral.Many of our businesses have net “long” positions in debt securities, loans, derivatives, mortgages, equities (including private equity and real estate) and most other asset classes. These include positions we take when we act as a principal to facilitate our clients’ activities, including our exchange-based market-making activities, or commit large amounts of capital to maintain positions in interest rate and credit products, as well as through our currencies, commodities, equities and mortgage-related activities. In addition, we invest in similar asset classes. Substantially all of our investing and market-making positions and a portion of our loans are marked-to-market on a daily or other periodic basis and declines in asset values directly and promptly impact our earnings, unless we have effectively “hedged” our exposures to those declines. In certain circumstances (particularly in the case of credit products, including leveraged loans, and private equities or other securities that are not freely tradable or lack established and liquid trading markets), it may not be possible or economic to hedge our exposures and, to the extent that we do so, the hedge may be ineffective or may greatly reduce our ability to profit from increases in the values of the assets. Sudden declines and significant volatility in the prices of assets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for certain assets, which may make it difficult to sell, hedge or value such assets. We may incur losses from time to time as trading markets deteriorate or cease to function, including with respect to loan commitments we have made or securities offerings we have underwritten. The inability to sell or effectively hedge assets reduces our ability to limit losses in such positions and the difficulty in valuing assets has in the past negatively affected, and may in the future negatively affect, our capital, liquidity or leverage ratios, our funding costs and our ability to deploy capital.In our exchange-based market-making activities, we are obligated by stock exchange rules to maintain an orderly market, including by purchasing securities in a declining market. In markets where asset values are declining and in volatile markets, this results in losses and an increased need for liquidity.We receive asset-based management fees based on the value of our clients’ portfolios or investment in funds managed by us and, in some cases, we also receive incentive fees based on increases in the value of such investments. Declines in asset values would ordinarily reduce the value of our clients’ portfolios or fund assets, which in turn would typically reduce the fees we earn for managing such assets.", "prior_body": "Many of our businesses have net “long” positions in debt securities, loans, derivatives, mortgages, equities (including private equity and real estate) and most other asset classes. These include positions we take when we act as a principal to facilitate our clients’ activities, including our exchange-based market-making activities, or commit large amounts of capital to maintain positions in interest rate and credit products, as well as through our currencies, commodities, equities and mortgage-related activities. In addition, we invest in similar asset classes. Substantially all of our investing and market-making positions and a portion of our loans are marked-to-market on a daily or other periodic basis and declines in asset values directly and promptly impact our earnings, unless we have effectively “hedged” our exposures to those declines. In certain circumstances (particularly in the case of credit products, including leveraged loans, and private equities or other securities that are not freely tradable or lack established and liquid trading markets), it may not be possible or economic to hedge our exposures and to the extent that we do so the hedge may be ineffective or may greatly reduce our ability to profit from increases in the values of the assets. Sudden declines and significant volatility in the prices of assets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for certain assets, which may make it difficult to sell, hedge or value such assets. We may incur losses from time to time as trading markets deteriorate or cease to function, including with respect to loan commitments we have made or securities offerings we have underwritten. The inability to sell or effectively hedge assets reduces our ability to limit losses in such positions and the difficulty in valuing assets has in the past negatively affected, and may in the future negatively affect, our capital, liquidity or leverage ratios, our funding costs and our ability to deploy capital. In our exchange-based market-making activities, we are obligated by stock exchange rules to maintain an orderly market, including by purchasing securities in a declining market. In markets where asset values are declining and in volatile markets, this results in losses and an increased need for liquidity. We receive asset-based management fees based on the value of our clients’ portfolios or investment in funds managed by us and, in some cases, we also receive incentive fees based on increases in the value of such investments. Declines in asset values would ordinarily reduce the value of our clients’ portfolios or fund assets, which in turn would typically reduce the fees we earn for managing such assets. General uncertainty about economic, political and market activities, and the scope, timing and impact of regulatory reform, as well as weak consumer, investor and CEO confidence resulting in large part from such uncertainty, has in the past negatively impacted client activity, which can adversely affect many of our businesses. Periods of low volatility and periods of high volatility combined with a lack of liquidity, have at times had an unfavorable impact on our market-making businesses.Changes, or proposed changes, to U.S. international trade and investment policies, particularly with important trading partners, have in recent years negatively impacted financial markets. Continued or escalating tensions may result in further actions taken by the U.S. or other countries that could disrupt international trade and investment and adversely affect financial markets. Those actions could include, among others, the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or other restrictions on cross-border trade, investment, or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses.Financial institution returns may be negatively impacted by increased funding costs due in part to the lack of perceived government support of such institutions in the event of future financial crises relative to financial institutions in countries in which governmental support is maintained. In addition, liquidity in the financial markets has in the past been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted as market participants and market practices and structures adjust to evolving regulatory frameworks.In January 2023, the outstanding debt of the U.S. reached its statutory limit and the U.S. Treasury Department commenced taking extraordinary measures to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its obligations. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Even if the U.S. does not default, continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. General uncertainty about economic, political and market activities, and the scope, timing and impact of regulatory reform, as well as weak consumer, investor and CEO confidence resulting in large part from such uncertainty, has in the past negatively impacted client activity, which can adversely affect many of our businesses. Periods of low volatility and periods of high volatility combined with a lack of liquidity, have at times had an unfavorable impact on our market-making businesses. Changes, or proposed changes, to U.S. international trade and investment policies, particularly with important trading partners, have in recent years negatively impacted financial markets. Continued or escalating tensions may result in further actions taken by the U.S. or other countries that could disrupt international trade and investment and adversely affect financial markets. Those actions could include, among others, the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or other restrictions on cross-border trade, investment, or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses. Financial institution returns may be negatively impacted by increased funding costs due in part to the lack of perceived government support of such institutions in the event of future financial crises relative to financial institutions in countries in which governmental support is maintained. In addition, liquidity in the financial markets has in the past been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted as market participants and market practices and structures adjust to evolving regulatory frameworks. In January 2023, the outstanding debt of the U.S. reached its statutory limit and the U.S. Treasury Department commenced taking extraordinary measures to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its obligations. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Even if the U.S. does not default, continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. General uncertainty about economic, political and market activities, and the scope, timing and impact of regulatory reform, as well as weak consumer, investor and CEO confidence resulting in large part from such uncertainty, has in the past negatively impacted client activity, which can adversely affect many of our businesses. Periods of low volatility and periods of high volatility combined with a lack of liquidity, have at times had an unfavorable impact on our market-making businesses. Changes, or proposed changes, to U.S. international trade and investment policies, particularly with important trading partners, have in recent years negatively impacted financial markets. Continued or escalating tensions may result in further actions taken by the U.S. or other countries that could disrupt international trade and investment and adversely affect financial markets. Those actions could include, among others, the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or other restrictions on cross-border trade, investment, or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses. Financial institution returns may be negatively impacted by increased funding costs due in part to the lack of perceived government support of such institutions in the event of future financial crises relative to financial institutions in countries in which governmental support is maintained. In addition, liquidity in the financial markets has in the past been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted as market participants and market practices and structures adjust to evolving regulatory frameworks. In January 2023, the outstanding debt of the U.S. reached its statutory limit and the U.S. Treasury Department commenced taking extraordinary measures to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its obligations. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Even if the U.S. does not default, continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by declining asset values, particularly where we have net “long” positions, receive fees based on the value of assets managed, or receive or post collateral.Many of our businesses have net “long” positions in debt securities, loans, derivatives, mortgages, equities (including private equity and real estate) and most other asset classes. These include positions we take when we act as a principal to facilitate our clients’ activities, including our exchange-based market-making activities, or commit large amounts of capital to maintain positions in interest rate and credit products, as well as through our currencies, commodities, equities and mortgage-related activities. In addition, we invest in similar asset classes. Substantially all of our investing and market-making positions and a portion of our loans are marked-to-market on a daily or other periodic basis and declines in asset values directly and promptly impact our earnings, unless we have effectively “hedged” our exposures to those declines. In certain circumstances (particularly in the case of credit products, including leveraged loans, and private equities or other securities that are not freely tradable or lack established and liquid trading markets), it may not be possible or economic to hedge our exposures and to the extent that we do so the hedge may be ineffective or may greatly reduce our ability to profit from increases in the values of the assets. Sudden declines and significant volatility in the prices of assets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for certain assets, which may make it difficult to sell, hedge or value such assets. We may incur losses from time to time as trading markets deteriorate or cease to function, including with respect to loan commitments we have made or securities offerings we have underwritten. The inability to sell or effectively hedge assets reduces our ability to limit losses in such positions and the difficulty in valuing assets has in the past negatively affected, and may in the future negatively affect, our capital, liquidity or leverage ratios, our funding costs and our ability to deploy capital.In our exchange-based market-making activities, we are obligated by stock exchange rules to maintain an orderly market, including by purchasing securities in a declining market. In markets where asset values are declining and in volatile markets, this results in losses and an increased need for liquidity.We receive asset-based management fees based on the value of our clients’ portfolios or investment in funds managed by us and, in some cases, we also receive incentive fees based on increases in the value of such investments. Declines in asset values would ordinarily reduce the value of our clients’ portfolios or fund assets, which in turn would typically reduce the fees we earn for managing such assets." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.", "prior_title": "Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.", "similarity_score": 0.806, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Removed sentence: \"Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K49 Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K49 Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K49 49 Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K49 Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K49 49 Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K49 49 49 THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Removed sentence: \"AND SUBSIDIARIES THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Removed sentence: \"AND SUBSIDIARIES THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Removed sentence: \"AND SUBSIDIARIES Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense.\"", "Removed sentence: \"We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our expanding consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives.\"" ], "current_body": "Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions. As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets has caused and could continue to cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades.In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, and AI, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers or AI technologies, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in client preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us.", "prior_body": "Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees. Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages.The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets could cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "prior_title": "A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "similarity_score": 0.8, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"These disruptions may occur as a result of events that affect only our buildings or systems or those of third parties, or as a result of events with a broader impact globally, regionally or in the cities where those buildings or systems are located, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, economic or political developments, pandemics and weather events.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Market volatility of financial products using distributed ledger technology may increase these risks.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Market volatility of financial products using distributed ledger technology may increase these risks.\"" ], "current_body": "We face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of any of the clearing agents, exchanges, clearinghouses or other financial intermediaries we use to facilitate our securities and derivatives transactions, and as our interconnectivity with our clients grows, we increasingly face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay with respect to our clients’ systems. There has been significant consolidation among clearing agents, exchanges and clearinghouses and an increasing number of derivative transactions are cleared on exchanges, which has increased our exposure to operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of the particular financial intermediaries that we use and could affect our ability to find adequate and cost-effective alternatives in the event of any such failure, delay, termination or constraint. Industry consolidation, whether among market participants or financial intermediaries, increases the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay as disparate complex systems need to be integrated, often on an accelerated basis. The interconnectivity of multiple financial institutions with central agents, exchanges and clearinghouses, and the increased centrality of these entities, increases the risk that an operational failure at one institution or entity may cause an industry-wide operational failure that could materially impact our ability to conduct business. Interconnectivity of financial institutions with other companies through, among other things, application programming interfaces or APIs presents similar risks. Any such failure, termination or constraint could adversely affect our ability to effect transactions, service our clients, manage our exposure to risk or expand our businesses or result in financial loss or liability to our clients, impairment of our liquidity, disruption of our businesses, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Despite our resiliency plans and facilities, our ability to conduct business may be adversely impacted by a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses and the communities where we are located. This may include a disruption involving electrical, satellite, undersea cable or other communications, internet, transportation or other facilities used by us, our employees or third parties with which we conduct business, including cloud service providers. These disruptions may occur as a result of events that affect only our buildings or systems or those of third parties, or as a result of events with a broader impact globally, regionally or in the cities where those buildings or systems are located, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, economic or political developments, pandemics and weather events. In addition, although we seek to diversify our third-party vendors to increase our resiliency, we are exposed to risks if our vendors operate in the same area and are also exposed to the risk that a disruption or other information technology event at a common service provider to our vendors could impede their ability to provide products or services to us. We may not be able to effectively monitor or mitigate operational risks relating to our vendors’ use of common service providers.Additionally, although the prevalence and scope of applications of distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency and similar technologies is growing, the technology is nascent and may be vulnerable to cyber attacks or have other inherent weaknesses. We are exposed to risks, and may become exposed to additional risks, related to distributed ledger technology, including through our facilitation of clients’ activities involving financial products that use distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies or other digital assets, our investments in companies that seek to develop platforms based on distributed ledger technology, the use of distributed ledger technology by third-party vendors, clients, counterparties, clearinghouses and other financial intermediaries, and the receipt of cryptocurrencies or other digital assets as collateral. Market volatility of financial products using distributed ledger technology may increase these risks. In addition, although we seek to diversify our third-party vendors to increase our resiliency, we are exposed to risks if our vendors operate in the same area and are also exposed to the risk that a disruption or other information technology event at a common service provider to our vendors could impede their ability to provide products or services to us. We may not be able to effectively monitor or mitigate operational risks relating to our vendors’ use of common service providers. Additionally, although the prevalence and scope of applications of distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency and similar technologies is growing, the technology is nascent and may be vulnerable to cyber attacks or have other inherent weaknesses. We are exposed to risks, and may become exposed to additional risks, related to distributed ledger technology, including through our facilitation of clients’ activities involving financial products that use distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies or other digital assets, our investments in companies that seek to develop platforms based on distributed ledger technology, the use of distributed ledger technology by third-party vendors, clients, counterparties, clearinghouses and other financial intermediaries, and the receipt of cryptocurrencies or other digital assets as collateral. Market volatility of financial products using distributed ledger technology may increase these risks. A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.We face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of any of the clearing agents, exchanges, clearinghouses or other financial intermediaries we use to facilitate our securities and derivatives transactions, and as our interconnectivity with our clients grows, we increasingly face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay with respect to our clients’ systems. There has been significant consolidation among clearing agents, exchanges and clearinghouses and an increasing number of derivative transactions are cleared on exchanges, which has increased our exposure to operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of the particular financial intermediaries that we use and could affect our ability to find adequate and cost-effective alternatives in the event of any such failure, delay, termination or constraint. Industry consolidation, whether among market participants or financial intermediaries, increases the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay as disparate complex systems need to be integrated, often on an accelerated basis.The interconnectivity of multiple financial institutions with central agents, exchanges and clearinghouses, and the increased centrality of these entities, increases the risk that an operational failure at one institution or entity may cause an industry-wide operational failure that could materially impact our ability to conduct business. Interconnectivity of financial institutions with other companies through, among other things, application programming interfaces or APIs presents similar risks. Any such failure, termination or constraint could adversely affect our ability to effect transactions, service our clients, manage our exposure to risk or expand our businesses or result in financial loss or liability to our clients, impairment of our liquidity, disruption of our businesses, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Despite our resiliency plans and facilities, our ability to conduct business may be adversely impacted by a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses and the communities where we are located. This may include a disruption involving electrical, satellite, undersea cable or other communications, internet, transportation or other facilities used by us, our employees or third parties with which we conduct business, including cloud service providers. These disruptions may occur as a result of events that affect only our buildings or systems or those of third parties, or as a result of events with a broader impact globally, regionally or in the cities where those buildings or systems are located, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, economic or political developments, pandemics and weather events.", "prior_body": "We face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of any of the clearing agents, exchanges, clearinghouses or other financial intermediaries we use to facilitate our securities and derivatives transactions, and as our interconnectivity with our clients grows, we increasingly face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay with respect to our clients’ systems. There has been significant consolidation among clearing agents, exchanges and clearinghouses and an increasing number of derivative transactions are cleared on exchanges, which has increased our exposure to operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of the particular financial intermediaries that we use and could affect our ability to find adequate and cost-effective alternatives in the event of any such failure, delay, termination or constraint. Industry consolidation, whether among market participants or financial intermediaries, increases the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay as disparate complex systems need to be integrated, often on an accelerated basis. The interconnectivity of multiple financial institutions with central agents, exchanges and clearinghouses, and the increased centrality of these entities, increases the risk that an operational failure at one institution or entity may cause an industry-wide operational failure that could materially impact our ability to conduct business. Interconnectivity of financial institutions with other companies through, among other things, application programming interfaces or APIs presents similar risks. Any such failure, termination or constraint could adversely affect our ability to effect transactions, service our clients, manage our exposure to risk or expand our businesses or result in financial loss or liability to our clients, impairment of our liquidity, disruption of our businesses, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Despite our resiliency plans and facilities, our ability to conduct business may be adversely impacted by a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses and the communities where we are located. This may include a disruption involving electrical, satellite, undersea cable or other communications, internet, transportation or other facilities used by us, our employees or third parties with which we conduct business, including cloud service providers. These disruptions may occur as a result of events that affect only our buildings or systems or those of such third parties, or as a result of events with a broader impact globally, regionally or in the cities where those buildings or systems are located, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, economic or political developments, pandemics and weather events. In addition, although we seek to diversify our third-party vendors to increase our resiliency, we are exposed to risks if our vendors operate in the same area and are also exposed to the risk that a disruption or other information technology event at a common service provider to our vendors could impede their ability to provide products or services to us. We may not be able to effectively monitor or mitigate operational risks relating to our vendors’ use of common service providers.Additionally, although the prevalence and scope of applications of distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency and similar technologies is growing, the technology is nascent and may be vulnerable to cyber attacks or have other inherent weaknesses. We are exposed to risks, and may become exposed to additional risks, related to distributed ledger technology, including through our facilitation of clients’ activities involving financial products that use distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies or other digital assets, our investments in companies that seek to develop platforms based on distributed ledger technology, the use of distributed ledger technology by third-party vendors, clients, counterparties, clearinghouses and other financial intermediaries, and the receipt of cryptocurrencies or other digital assets as collateral. The market volatility that financial products using distributed ledger technology have recently experienced may increase these risks.A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.Our operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in our computer systems and networks and those of our vendors. There have been a number of highly publicized cases involving financial services companies, consumer-based companies, software and information technology service providers, governmental agencies and other organizations reporting the unauthorized access or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber attacks involving the dissemination, theft and destruction of corporate information or other assets, as a result of inadequate procedures or the failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by foreign governments. There have also been several highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information or for restoring access to information or systems. In addition, although we seek to diversify our third-party vendors to increase our resiliency, we are exposed to risks if our vendors operate in the same area and are also exposed to the risk that a disruption or other information technology event at a common service provider to our vendors could impede their ability to provide products or services to us. We may not be able to effectively monitor or mitigate operational risks relating to our vendors’ use of common service providers. Additionally, although the prevalence and scope of applications of distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency and similar technologies is growing, the technology is nascent and may be vulnerable to cyber attacks or have other inherent weaknesses. We are exposed to risks, and may become exposed to additional risks, related to distributed ledger technology, including through our facilitation of clients’ activities involving financial products that use distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies or other digital assets, our investments in companies that seek to develop platforms based on distributed ledger technology, the use of distributed ledger technology by third-party vendors, clients, counterparties, clearinghouses and other financial intermediaries, and the receipt of cryptocurrencies or other digital assets as collateral. The market volatility that financial products using distributed ledger technology have recently experienced may increase these risks." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.", "prior_title": "Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.", "similarity_score": 0.789, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Removed sentence: \"The language in our contracts and financial instruments that define IBORs, in particular LIBOR, have developed over time and have various events that trigger when a successor rate to the designated rate would be selected.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Once a trigger is satisfied, contracts and financial instruments often give the calculation agent (which may be us) discretion over the successor rate or benchmark to be selected.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Although the LIBOR Act includes safe harbors if the FRB-identified SOFR-based replacement rate is selected, these safe harbors are untested.\"", "Removed sentence: \"As a result, and despite the enactment of the LIBOR Act, for the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings, the selection of a successor rate could result in client disputes and litigation surrounding the proper interpretation of our IBOR-based contracts and financial instruments.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Discretionary actions taken in connection with the implementation of fallback provisions could also result in client disputes and litigation particularly for derivatives and other synthetic instruments.\"" ], "current_body": "Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and on Russian businesses and persons. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russian owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the conflict on the global economy. The conflicts in the Middle East could also affect and harm our business and increase market uncertainty. The impact of these conflicts on our business and operations is uncertain and therefore cannot be predicted.The escalation or continuation of these conflicts or other hostilities could result in, among other things, an increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets. The extent and duration of the conflicts, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. If international political instability and geopolitical tensions continue or increase in any region in which we do business, our business and results of operations could be harmed. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine.", "prior_body": "Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects. Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR.On January 1, 2022, the publication of all EUR, CHF, JPY and GBP LIBOR (non-USD LIBOR) settings along with certain USD LIBOR settings ceased. The publication of the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings as representative rates will cease after June 2023. The FCA proposed that certain of those USD LIBOR settings continue to be published on a synthetic basis through September 2024. The FCA has allowed the publication and use of synthetic rates for certain GBP LIBOR settings in legacy GBP LIBOR-based derivative contracts through March 2024. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol (IBOR Protocol) has provided derivatives market participants with amended fallbacks for legacy and new derivative contracts to mitigate legal or economic uncertainty. Both counterparties have to adhere to the IBOR Protocol or engage in bilateral amendments for the terms to be effective for derivative contracts. ISDA has confirmed that the FCA’s formal announcement to cease both non-USD and USD LIBOR settings fixed the spread adjustment for all LIBOR rates and as a result fallbacks applied automatically for non-USD LIBOR settings following December 31, 2021 and will apply automatically for USD LIBOR settings following June 30, 2023. The Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (LIBOR Act), that was enacted in March 2022, provides a statutory framework to replace USD LIBOR with a benchmark rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for contracts governed by U.S. law that have no fallbacks or fallbacks that would require the use of a poll or LIBOR-based rate. In December 2022, the FRB adopted a final rule that implements the LIBOR Act, which will become effective on February 27, 2023. The final rule identifies different SOFR-based replacement rates for derivative contracts, for cash instruments such as floating-rate notes and preferred stock, for consumer contracts, for certain government-sponsored enterprise contracts and for certain student loan securitizations that lack a fallback to an alternative rate when USD LIBOR ceases to be published on June 30, 2023. As the transition from LIBOR is ongoing, there continues to be uncertainty as to the ultimate effect of the transition on the financial markets for LIBOR-linked financial instruments. Similar developments have occurred with respect to other IBORs." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Legal and Regulatory", "prior_title": "Legal and Regulatory", "similarity_score": 0.785, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Added sentence: \"•The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.•Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.Competition•Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.•The financial services industry is highly competitive.•The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.•Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Market Developments and General Business Environment•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.•Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.\"", "Added sentence: \"•Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.•Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.•Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S.\"", "Added sentence: \"and China.•We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.•We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.\"", "Removed sentence: \"28Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 28Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 28Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 28 28Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 28Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 28 28Goldman Sachs 2022 Form 10-K 28 28 THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"", "Removed sentence: \"AND SUBSIDIARIES THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.\"" ], "current_body": "•Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world. •A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses. •We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity. •Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects. •In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries. •The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders. •The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.•Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.Competition•Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.•The financial services industry is highly competitive.•The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.•Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Market Developments and General Business Environment•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.•Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.•Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.•Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.•We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.•We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. •The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders. •Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.", "prior_body": "•Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world. •A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses. •We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity. •Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects. •In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries. •The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders. •The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders. Credit •Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties. •Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. •Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.", "prior_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments.", "similarity_score": 0.783, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russian owned businesses.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the conflict on the global economy.\"" ], "current_body": "The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and on Russian businesses and persons. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russian owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the conflict on the global economy. The conflicts in the Middle East could also affect and harm our business and increase market uncertainty. The impact of these conflicts on our business and operations is uncertain and therefore cannot be predicted. The escalation or continuation of these conflicts or other hostilities could result in, among other things, an increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets. The extent and duration of the conflicts, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. If international political instability and geopolitical tensions continue or increase in any region in which we do business, our business and results of operations could be harmed. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine. Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects.", "prior_body": "The war between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and parties in Russia. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russia owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the war on the global economy. The escalation or continuation of the war between Russia and Ukraine or other hostilities could result in, among other things, further increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets. The extent and duration of the war, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer.New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. The FRB has announced that we are among the six U.S. financial institutions participating in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise in 2023, and we also are subject to new or heightened regulatory requirements relating to climate change, such as requirements relating to operational resiliency or stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Any such new or heightened requirements could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, and we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer. New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. The FRB has announced that we are among the six U.S. financial institutions participating in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise in 2023, and we also are subject to new or heightened regulatory requirements relating to climate change, such as requirements relating to operational resiliency or stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Any such new or heightened requirements could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, and we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer. New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. The FRB has announced that we are among the six U.S. financial institutions participating in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise in 2023, and we also are subject to new or heightened regulatory requirements relating to climate change, such as requirements relating to operational resiliency or stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Any such new or heightened requirements could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, and we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments.The war between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and parties in Russia. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russia owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the war on the global economy. The escalation or continuation of the war between Russia and Ukraine or other hostilities could result in, among other things, further increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets.The extent and duration of the war, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.", "prior_title": "Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.", "similarity_score": 0.78, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Added sentence: \"The financial services industry is highly competitive.The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so.\"", "Added sentence: \"We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price.\"", "Added sentence: \"There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry.\"", "Added sentence: \"This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets.\"", "Added sentence: \"As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions.\"" ], "current_body": "Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution. The financial services industry is highly competitive.The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses.Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages.", "prior_body": "Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.", "prior_title": "Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.", "similarity_score": 0.78, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Added sentence: \"The financial services industry is highly competitive.The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so.\"", "Added sentence: \"We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price.\"", "Added sentence: \"There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry.\"", "Added sentence: \"This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets.\"", "Added sentence: \"As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions.\"" ], "current_body": "Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution. The financial services industry is highly competitive.The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses.Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages.", "prior_body": "Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.", "prior_title": "We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.", "similarity_score": 0.777, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"The rapid dissemination of negative information through social media, in part, is believed to have led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).\"" ], "current_body": "Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures. The failure to complete these remediation activities in a timely manner could lead to higher operating expenses, reputational damage and other negative consequences. The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity.The rapid dissemination of negative information through social media, in part, is believed to have led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). SVB suffered a level of deposit withdrawals within a time period not previously experienced by a financial institution. We could also be subject to rapid deposit withdrawals or other outflows as a result of negative social media posts or other negative publicity. Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements. The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity. The rapid dissemination of negative information through social media, in part, is believed to have led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). SVB suffered a level of deposit withdrawals within a time period not previously experienced by a financial institution. We could also be subject to rapid deposit withdrawals or other outflows as a result of negative social media posts or other negative publicity.", "prior_body": "Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities, which require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures. The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity. Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements.Significant settlements by several large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have been publicly announced. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future.We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.", "prior_title": "We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.", "similarity_score": 0.777, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"The rapid dissemination of negative information through social media, in part, is believed to have led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).\"" ], "current_body": "Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures. The failure to complete these remediation activities in a timely manner could lead to higher operating expenses, reputational damage and other negative consequences. The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity.The rapid dissemination of negative information through social media, in part, is believed to have led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). SVB suffered a level of deposit withdrawals within a time period not previously experienced by a financial institution. We could also be subject to rapid deposit withdrawals or other outflows as a result of negative social media posts or other negative publicity. Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements. The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity. The rapid dissemination of negative information through social media, in part, is believed to have led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). SVB suffered a level of deposit withdrawals within a time period not previously experienced by a financial institution. We could also be subject to rapid deposit withdrawals or other outflows as a result of negative social media posts or other negative publicity.", "prior_body": "Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities, which require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures. The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity. Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements.Significant settlements by several large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have been publicly announced. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future.We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.", "prior_title": "The financial services industry is highly competitive.", "similarity_score": 0.776, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation, regulatory scrutiny and disclosure obligations that have increased and could further increase the operating costs and could adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments and activities.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we do not have insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses.The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm.We have made changes to and may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we do not have insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"We have made changes to and may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change.\"" ], "current_body": "As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices. We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation, regulatory scrutiny and disclosure obligations that have increased and could further increase the operating costs and could adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments and activities. There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations requires significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we do not have insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses.The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm.We have made changes to and may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we do not have insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses. The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm. We have made changes to and may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. As a result of our recovery and resolution planning processes, including incorporating feedback from our regulators, we may incur increased operational, funding or other costs and face limitations on our ability to structure our internal organization or engage in internal or external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices.We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above.These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation, regulatory scrutiny and disclosure obligations that have increased and could further increase the operating costs and could adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments and activities.There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations requires significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. As a result of our recovery and resolution planning processes, including incorporating feedback from our regulators, we may incur increased operational, funding or other costs and face limitations on our ability to structure our internal organization or engage in internal or external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient.", "prior_body": "The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation that could increase the operating costs and adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments.There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations could require significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we may not be able to obtain insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses.The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm.We may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation that could increase the operating costs and adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments. There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations could require significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we may not be able to obtain insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses. The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm. We may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation that could increase the operating costs and adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments. There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations could require significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we may not be able to obtain insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses. The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm. We may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. CompetitionOur results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution.The financial services industry is highly competitive.The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.", "prior_title": "Market Developments and General Business Environment", "similarity_score": 0.768, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks or worsening of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors.\"" ], "current_body": "Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks or worsening of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors. The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a public health emergency, sovereign debt risk and its impact on the relevant sovereign banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity.General uncertainty about economic, political and market activities, and the scope, timing and impact of regulatory reform, as well as weak consumer, investor and CEO confidence resulting in large part from such uncertainty, has in the past negatively impacted client activity, which has in the past adversely affected and could in the future adversely affect many of our businesses. Periods of low volatility and periods of high volatility combined with a lack of liquidity have at times had an unfavorable impact on our market-making businesses.Changes, or proposed changes, to U.S. international trade and investment policies, particularly with important trading partners, have in recent years negatively impacted financial markets. Continued or escalating tensions may result in further actions taken by the U.S. or other countries that could disrupt international trade and investment and adversely affect financial markets. Those actions could include, among others, the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or other restrictions on cross-border trade, investment, or transfer of information or technology. Such developments have in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses.Financial institution returns may be negatively impacted by increased funding costs due in part to the lack of perceived government support of such institutions in the event of future financial crises relative to financial institutions in countries in which governmental support is maintained. In addition, liquidity in the financial markets has in the past been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted as market participants and market practices and structures adjust to evolving regulatory frameworks. The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a public health emergency, sovereign debt risk and its impact on the relevant sovereign banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity. General uncertainty about economic, political and market activities, and the scope, timing and impact of regulatory reform, as well as weak consumer, investor and CEO confidence resulting in large part from such uncertainty, has in the past negatively impacted client activity, which has in the past adversely affected and could in the future adversely affect many of our businesses. Periods of low volatility and periods of high volatility combined with a lack of liquidity have at times had an unfavorable impact on our market-making businesses. Changes, or proposed changes, to U.S. international trade and investment policies, particularly with important trading partners, have in recent years negatively impacted financial markets. Continued or escalating tensions may result in further actions taken by the U.S. or other countries that could disrupt international trade and investment and adversely affect financial markets. Those actions could include, among others, the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or other restrictions on cross-border trade, investment, or transfer of information or technology. Such developments have in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses. Financial institution returns may be negatively impacted by increased funding costs due in part to the lack of perceived government support of such institutions in the event of future financial crises relative to financial institutions in countries in which governmental support is maintained. In addition, liquidity in the financial markets has in the past been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted as market participants and market practices and structures adjust to evolving regulatory frameworks. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above:MarketOur businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks or worsening of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above: Market", "prior_body": "•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters. •Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments. •Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR. •Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China. •We face enhanced risks as new business initiatives and acquisitions lead us to engage in new activities, operate in new locations, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties and expose us to new asset classes and markets. •We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above:MarketOur businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors.The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, European sovereign debt risk and its impact on the European banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above: Market" }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.", "prior_title": "In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.", "similarity_score": 0.765, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Added sentence: \"While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K.\"", "Added sentence: \"While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation.\"", "Added sentence: \"See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.\"", "Added sentence: \"Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common.\"", "Added sentence: \"The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements.\"" ], "current_body": "In conducting our businesses and supporting our global operations, we are subject to risks of possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls, capital controls, exchange controls, communications and other content restrictions, and other restrictive governmental actions. For example, sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the E.U. on certain individuals and companies in Russia and Venezuela. In many countries, the laws and regulations applicable to the securities and financial services industries and many of the transactions in which we are involved are uncertain and evolving, and it may be difficult for us to determine the exact requirements of local laws in every market. We have been in some cases subject to divergent and conflicting laws and regulations across markets, and we are increasingly subject to the risk that the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented or may implement laws and regulations that directly conflict with those of another jurisdiction. Any determination by local regulators that we have not acted in compliance with the application of local laws in a particular market or our failure to develop effective working relationships with local regulators could have a significant and negative effect not only on our businesses in that market, but also on our reputation generally. Further, in some jurisdictions a failure, or alleged failure, to comply with laws and regulations has subjected and may in the future subject us and our personnel not only to civil actions, but also criminal actions and other sanctions. We are also subject to the enhanced risk that transactions we structure might not be legally enforceable in all cases. While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future.We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation.Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities. Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future. We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation. Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities. Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future. We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation. Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities. In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.In conducting our businesses and supporting our global operations, we are subject to risks of possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls, capital controls, exchange controls, communications and other content restrictions, and other restrictive governmental actions. For example, sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the E.U. on certain individuals and companies in Russia and Venezuela. In many countries, the laws and regulations applicable to the securities and financial services industries and many of the transactions in which we are involved are uncertain and evolving, and it may be difficult for us to determine the exact requirements of local laws in every market. We have been in some cases subject to divergent and conflicting laws and regulations across markets, and we are increasingly subject to the risk that the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented or may implement laws and regulations that directly conflict with those of another jurisdiction. Any determination by local regulators that we have not acted in compliance with the application of local laws in a particular market or our failure to develop effective working relationships with local regulators could have a significant and negative effect not only on our businesses in that market, but also on our reputation generally. Further, in some jurisdictions a failure, or alleged failure, to comply with laws and regulations has subjected and may in the future subject us and our personnel not only to civil actions, but also criminal actions and other sanctions. We are also subject to the enhanced risk that transactions we structure might not be legally enforceable in all cases. While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K.", "prior_body": "In conducting our businesses and supporting our global operations, we are subject to risks of possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls, capital controls, exchange controls, communications and other content restrictions, and other restrictive governmental actions. For example, sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the E.U. on certain individuals and companies in Russia and Venezuela. In many countries, the laws and regulations applicable to the securities and financial services industries and many of the transactions in which we are involved are uncertain and evolving, and it may be difficult for us to determine the exact requirements of local laws in every market. We have been in some cases subject to divergent and conflicting laws and regulations across markets, and we are increasingly subject to the risk that the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented or may implement laws and regulations that directly conflict with those of another jurisdiction. Any determination by local regulators that we have not acted in compliance with the application of local laws in a particular market or our failure to develop effective working relationships with local regulators could have a significant and negative effect not only on our businesses in that market, but also on our reputation generally. Further, in some jurisdictions a failure, or alleged failure, to comply with laws and regulations has subjected and may in the future subject us and our personnel not only to civil actions, but also criminal actions and other sanctions. We are also subject to the enhanced risk that transactions we structure might not be legally enforceable in all cases. While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct. This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software. It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB. While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct. This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software. It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB. Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities.In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.In conducting our businesses and supporting our global operations, we are subject to risks of possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls, capital controls, exchange controls, communications and other content restrictions, and other restrictive governmental actions. For example, sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the E.U. on certain individuals and companies in Russia and Venezuela. In many countries, the laws and regulations applicable to the securities and financial services industries and many of the transactions in which we are involved are uncertain and evolving, and it may be difficult for us to determine the exact requirements of local laws in every market. We have been in some cases subject to divergent and conflicting laws and regulations across markets, and we are increasingly subject to the risk that the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented or may implement laws and regulations that directly conflict with those of another jurisdiction. Any determination by local regulators that we have not acted in compliance with the application of local laws in a particular market or our failure to develop effective working relationships with local regulators could have a significant and negative effect not only on our businesses in that market, but also on our reputation generally. Further, in some jurisdictions a failure, or alleged failure, to comply with laws and regulations has subjected and may in the future subject us and our personnel not only to civil actions, but also criminal actions and other sanctions. We are also subject to the enhanced risk that transactions we structure might not be legally enforceable in all cases. Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.", "prior_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments.", "similarity_score": 0.753, "confidence": "high", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects perceived to be associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"For example, in 2023 we participated in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise conducted by the FRB.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects perceived to be associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"For example, in 2023 we participated in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise conducted by the FRB.\"" ], "current_body": "Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects perceived to be associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer.New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. For example, in 2023 we participated in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise conducted by the FRB. We are also subject to interagency guidance jointly issued by the FRB, FDIC, and OCC in October 2023 regarding principles for climate-related financial risk management for large financial institutions. In addition, in December 2022, the NYDFS issued proposed guidance on the management of material financial risks from climate change, which would apply to New York State-regulated banking and mortgage institutions, including GS Bank USA. In the E.U., the CSRD will become effective beginning with year-end 2024 reporting. The CSRD expands the scope of ESG disclosure required under E.U. rules. These regulations, guidance and expectations, as well as any additional or heightened requirements, could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, but we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects perceived to be associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer. New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. For example, in 2023 we participated in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise conducted by the FRB. We are also subject to interagency guidance jointly issued by the FRB, FDIC, and OCC in October 2023 regarding principles for climate-related financial risk management for large financial institutions. In addition, in December 2022, the NYDFS issued proposed guidance on the management of material financial risks from climate change, which would apply to New York State-regulated banking and mortgage institutions, including GS Bank USA. In the E.U., the CSRD will become effective beginning with year-end 2024 reporting. The CSRD expands the scope of ESG disclosure required under E.U. rules. These regulations, guidance and expectations, as well as any additional or heightened requirements, could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, but we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate.Market Developments and General Business EnvironmentOur businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses.Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate.", "prior_body": "The war between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and parties in Russia. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russia owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the war on the global economy. The escalation or continuation of the war between Russia and Ukraine or other hostilities could result in, among other things, further increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets. The extent and duration of the war, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer.New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. The FRB has announced that we are among the six U.S. financial institutions participating in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise in 2023, and we also are subject to new or heightened regulatory requirements relating to climate change, such as requirements relating to operational resiliency or stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Any such new or heightened requirements could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, and we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer. New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. The FRB has announced that we are among the six U.S. financial institutions participating in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise in 2023, and we also are subject to new or heightened regulatory requirements relating to climate change, such as requirements relating to operational resiliency or stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Any such new or heightened requirements could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, and we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. We are also exposed to risks resulting from changes in public policy, laws and regulations, or market and public perceptions and preferences in connection with the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy. These changes could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reputation. For example, our reputation and client relationships may be damaged as a result of our or our clients’ involvement in, or decision not to participate in, certain industries or projects associated with causing or exacerbating climate change, as well as any decisions we make to continue to conduct or change our activities in response to considerations relating to climate change. If we are unable to achieve our objectives relating to climate change or our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective, insufficient or otherwise inappropriate, our business, reputation and efforts to recruit and retain employees may suffer. New regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as the perspectives of government officials, regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding climate change, may affect whether and on what terms and conditions we engage in certain activities or offer certain products. Federal and state, and non-U.S. banking regulators and supervisory authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders have increasingly viewed financial institutions as playing an important role in helping to address risks related to climate change, both directly and with respect to their clients, which may result in financial institutions coming under increased requirements and expectations regarding the disclosure and management of their climate risks and related lending, investment and advisory activities. The FRB has announced that we are among the six U.S. financial institutions participating in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise in 2023, and we also are subject to new or heightened regulatory requirements relating to climate change, such as requirements relating to operational resiliency or stress testing for various climate stress scenarios. Any such new or heightened requirements could result in increased regulatory, compliance or other costs or higher capital requirements. The risks associated with, and the perspective of regulators, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders regarding, climate change are continuing to evolve rapidly, which can make it difficult to assess the ultimate impact on us of climate change-related risks and uncertainties, and we expect that climate change-related risks will increase over time. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments.The war between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and parties in Russia. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russia owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the war on the global economy. The escalation or continuation of the war between Russia and Ukraine or other hostilities could result in, among other things, further increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets.The extent and duration of the war, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "The financial services industry is highly competitive.", "prior_title": "Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.", "similarity_score": 0.743, "confidence": "medium", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so.\"" ], "current_body": "The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses. Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages. CompetitionOur results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution.", "prior_body": "Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees. Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages.The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets could cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.", "prior_title": "Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.", "similarity_score": 0.738, "confidence": "medium", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"As part of our clearing and prime financing activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients.\"" ], "current_body": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions have in the past made, and may in the future make, it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which have in the past resulted, and may in the future result, in losses for us. Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, has in the past negatively affected and may in the future negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans.In the ordinary course of business, we are at times subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties. Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, has in the past negatively affected and may in the future negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans. In the ordinary course of business, we are at times subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties. We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime financing activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee.Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions have in the past made, and may in the future make, it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which have in the past resulted, and may in the future result, in losses for us. We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime financing activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee.", "prior_body": "We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, could lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us. We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime brokerage activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Although we have limits and regularly review credit exposures to specific clients and counterparties and to specific industries, countries and regions that we believe may present credit concerns, default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee. Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions may make it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which may result in losses for us from time to time.Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, could negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans.In the ordinary course of business, we may be subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "prior_title": "A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "similarity_score": 0.732, "confidence": "medium", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"There have also been a number of highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information or for restoring access to information or systems.\"" ], "current_body": "Our operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in our computer systems and networks and those of our vendors. There have been a number of highly publicized cases involving financial services companies, consumer-based companies, software and information technology service providers, governmental agencies and other organizations reporting the unauthorized access or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber attacks involving the dissemination, theft and destruction of corporate information or other assets, as a result of inadequate procedures or the failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by foreign governments. There have also been a number of highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information or for restoring access to information or systems. We are regularly the target of attempted cyber attacks, including denial-of-service attacks, and must continuously monitor and develop our systems to protect the integrity and functionality of our technology infrastructure and access to and the security of our data. We have faced a high volume of cyber attacks as we expand our mobile- and other internet-based products and services, as well as our usage of mobile and cloud technologies, and as we provide these services to individual consumers. Further, the use of AI by cybercriminals may increase the frequency and severity of cybersecurity attacks against us or our third-party vendors and clients. The migration of our communication from devices we provide to employee-owned devices presents additional risks of cyber attacks, as do hybrid work arrangements. In addition, due to our interconnectivity with third-party vendors (and their respective service providers), central agents, exchanges, clearinghouses and other financial institutions, we could be adversely impacted if any of them is subject to a successful cyber attack or other information security event. These impacts could include the loss of access to information or services from the third party subject to the cyber attack or other information security event or could result in unauthorized access to or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information, which could, in turn, interrupt certain of our businesses or adversely affect our results of operations and reputation. The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business.We or our third-party vendors, clients or counterparties may develop or incorporate AI technology in certain business processes, services or products. The development and use of AI present a number of risks and challenges to our business. The legal and regulatory environment relating to AI is uncertain and rapidly evolving, both in the U.S. and internationally, and includes regulation targeted specifically at AI as well as provisions in intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, employment and other laws applicable to the use of AI. These evolving laws and regulations could require changes in our implementation of AI technology and increase our compliance costs and the risk of non-compliance. AI models, particularly generative AI models, may produce output or take action that is incorrect, that result in the release of private, confidential or proprietary information, that reflect biases included in the data on which they are trained, infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, or that is otherwise harmful. In addition, the complexity of many AI models makes it challenging to understand why they are generating particular outputs. This limited transparency increases the challenges associated with assessing the proper operation of AI models, understanding and monitoring the capabilities of the AI models, reducing erroneous output, eliminating bias and complying with regulations that require documentation or explanation of the basis on which decisions are made. Further, we may rely on AI models developed by third parties, and, to that extent, would be dependent in part on the manner in which those third parties develop and train their models, including risks arising from the inclusion of any unauthorized material in the training data for their models, and the effectiveness of the steps these third parties have taken to limit the risks associated with the output of their models, matters over which we may have limited visibility. Any of these risks could expose us to liability or adverse legal or regulatory consequences and harm our reputation and the public perception of our business or the effectiveness of our security measures.In addition to our use of AI technologies, we are exposed to risks arising from the use of AI technologies by bad actors to commit fraud and misappropriate funds and to facilitate cyberattacks. Generative AI, if used to perpetrate fraud or launch cyberattacks, could result in losses, liquidity outflows or other adverse effects at a particular financial institution or exchange.", "prior_body": "Our operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in our computer systems and networks and those of our vendors. There have been a number of highly publicized cases involving financial services companies, consumer-based companies, software and information technology service providers, governmental agencies and other organizations reporting the unauthorized access or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber attacks involving the dissemination, theft and destruction of corporate information or other assets, as a result of inadequate procedures or the failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by foreign governments. There have also been several highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information or for restoring access to information or systems. A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.We face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of any of the clearing agents, exchanges, clearinghouses or other financial intermediaries we use to facilitate our securities and derivatives transactions, and as our interconnectivity with our clients grows, we increasingly face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay with respect to our clients’ systems. There has been significant consolidation among clearing agents, exchanges and clearinghouses and an increasing number of derivative transactions are cleared on exchanges, which has increased our exposure to operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of the particular financial intermediaries that we use and could affect our ability to find adequate and cost-effective alternatives in the event of any such failure, delay, termination or constraint. Industry consolidation, whether among market participants or financial intermediaries, increases the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay as disparate complex systems need to be integrated, often on an accelerated basis.The interconnectivity of multiple financial institutions with central agents, exchanges and clearinghouses, and the increased centrality of these entities, increases the risk that an operational failure at one institution or entity may cause an industry-wide operational failure that could materially impact our ability to conduct business. Interconnectivity of financial institutions with other companies through, among other things, application programming interfaces or APIs presents similar risks. Any such failure, termination or constraint could adversely affect our ability to effect transactions, service our clients, manage our exposure to risk or expand our businesses or result in financial loss or liability to our clients, impairment of our liquidity, disruption of our businesses, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Despite our resiliency plans and facilities, our ability to conduct business may be adversely impacted by a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses and the communities where we are located. This may include a disruption involving electrical, satellite, undersea cable or other communications, internet, transportation or other facilities used by us, our employees or third parties with which we conduct business, including cloud service providers. These disruptions may occur as a result of events that affect only our buildings or systems or those of such third parties, or as a result of events with a broader impact globally, regionally or in the cities where those buildings or systems are located, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, economic or political developments, pandemics and weather events." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.", "prior_title": "We face enhanced risks as new business initiatives and acquisitions lead us to engage in new activities, operate in new locations, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties and expose us to new asset classes and new markets.", "similarity_score": 0.728, "confidence": "medium", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information.\"", "Added sentence: \"We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities.\"", "Added sentence: \"As a result, we face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S.\"", "Added sentence: \"or other governmental authorities.\"" ], "current_body": "Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges. For example, we continue to transact business and invest in new regions, including a wide range of emerging and growth markets, and we expect this trend to continue. Various emerging and growth market countries have experienced severe economic and financial disruptions, including significant devaluations of their currencies, defaults or threatened defaults on sovereign debt, capital and currency exchange controls, and low or negative growth rates in their economies. The possible effects of any of these conditions include an adverse impact on our businesses and increased volatility in financial markets generally. Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S. In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information. We are also subject to additional legal requirements, including with respect to suitability and consumer protection (for example, Regulation Best Interest, fair lending laws and regulations and privacy laws and regulations). Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers. We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities. As a result, we face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S. or other governmental authorities. We are making significant enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures to manage these risks. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.Continued or escalating tensions between the U.S. and China have resulted in and may result in additional changes to U.S. international trade and investment policies, which could disrupt international trade and investment, adversely affect financial markets, including market activity levels, and adversely impact our revenues. Continued or escalating tensions may also lead to the U.S., China or other countries taking other actions, which could include the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or restrictions on cross-border trade, investment or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially.A conflict, or concerns about a potential conflict, involving China and Taiwan, the U.S. or other countries could negatively impact financial markets and our or our clients’ businesses. Trade restrictions by the U.S. or other countries in response to a conflict or potential conflict involving China, including financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain organizations or individuals, or actions taken by China in response to trade restrictions, could negatively impact our or our clients’ ability to conduct business in certain countries or with certain counterparties and could negatively impact regional and global financial markets and economic conditions. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially.", "prior_body": "A number of our recent and planned business initiatives and expansions of existing businesses, including through acquisitions and partnership arrangements, could continue to bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges. For example, we continue to transact business and invest in new regions, including a wide range of emerging and growth markets, and we expect this trend to continue. Various emerging and growth market countries have experienced severe economic and financial disruptions, including significant devaluations of their currencies, defaults or threatened defaults on sovereign debt, capital and currency exchange controls, and low or negative growth rates in their economies. The possible effects of any of these conditions include an adverse impact on our businesses and increased volatility in financial markets generally. Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S. We have increased our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and lending activities. For example, we now issue credit cards to consumers and through our acquisition of GreenSky, Inc. (GreenSky), we expanded our offering of point-of-sale financing. To the extent we engage in those and other consumer-oriented activities, we have faced, and would continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information. Acquisitions and new products can also expose us to new or different types of risks. For example, providing point-of-sale financing through GreenSky also subjects us to risks relating to retaining and attracting merchants and servicing loans for other banks, as well as potential liability for remediation costs if merchants fail to fulfill their obligations to consumers. We are also subject to additional legal requirements, including with respect to suitability and consumer protection (for example, Regulation Best Interest, fair lending laws and regulations and privacy laws and regulations). Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.Continued or escalating tensions between the U.S. and China have resulted in and may result in additional changes to U.S. international trade and investment policies, which could disrupt international trade and investment, adversely affect financial markets, including market activity levels, and adversely impact our revenues. Continued or escalating tensions may also lead to the U.S., China or other countries taking other actions, which could include the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or restrictions on cross-border trade, investment or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially.A conflict, or concerns about a potential conflict, involving China and Taiwan, the U.S. or other countries could negatively impact financial markets and our or our clients’ businesses. Trade restrictions by the U.S. or other countries in response to a conflict or potential conflict involving China, including financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain organizations or individuals, or actions taken by China in response to trade restrictions, could negatively impact our or our clients’ ability to conduct business in certain countries or with certain counterparties and could negatively impact regional and global financial markets and economic conditions. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "prior_title": "The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "similarity_score": 0.709, "confidence": "medium", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K.\"" ], "current_body": "In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds. We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented.If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the strategy, Group Inc. could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations. It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented. In all cases, any payments to debtholders are dependent on our ability to make such payments and are therefore subject to our credit risk. We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the strategy, Group Inc. could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations. It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented. In all cases, any payments to debtholders are dependent on our ability to make such payments and are therefore subject to our credit risk. In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the E.U., have implemented resolution regimes to provide resolution authorities with the ability to recapitalize a failing entity by writing down its unsecured debt or converting its unsecured debt into equity. Such “bail-in” powers are intended to enable the recapitalization of a failing institution by allocating losses to its shareholders and unsecured debtholders. For example, the Bank of England requires a certain amount of intercompany funding that we provide to our material U.K. subsidiaries to contain a contractual trigger to expressly permit the Bank of England to exercise such “bail-in” powers in certain circumstances. If the intercompany funding we provide to our subsidiaries is “bailed in,” Group Inc.’s claims on its subsidiaries would be subordinated to the claims of the subsidiaries’ third-party creditors or written down. U.S. regulators are considering and non-U.S. authorities have adopted requirements that certain subsidiaries of large financial institutions maintain minimum amounts of total loss-absorbing capacity that would pass losses up from the subsidiaries to the top-tier BHC and, ultimately, to security holders of the top-tier BHC in the event of failure.The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds. In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the E.U., have implemented resolution regimes to provide resolution authorities with the ability to recapitalize a failing entity by writing down its unsecured debt or converting its unsecured debt into equity. Such “bail-in” powers are intended to enable the recapitalization of a failing institution by allocating losses to its shareholders and unsecured debtholders. For example, the Bank of England requires a certain amount of intercompany funding that we provide to our material U.K. subsidiaries to contain a contractual trigger to expressly permit the Bank of England to exercise such “bail-in” powers in certain circumstances. If the intercompany funding we provide to our subsidiaries is “bailed in,” Group Inc.’s claims on its subsidiaries would be subordinated to the claims of the subsidiaries’ third-party creditors or written down. U.S. regulators are considering and non-U.S. authorities have adopted requirements that certain subsidiaries of large financial institutions maintain minimum amounts of total loss-absorbing capacity that would pass losses up from the subsidiaries to the top-tier BHC and, ultimately, to security holders of the top-tier BHC in the event of failure.", "prior_body": "In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds. We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the strategy, Group Inc. could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations. It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented. In all cases, any payments to debtholders are dependent on our ability to make such payments and are therefore subject to our credit risk.As a result of our recovery and resolution planning processes, including incorporating feedback from our regulators, we may incur increased operational, funding or other costs and face limitations on our ability to structure our internal organization or engage in internal or external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices.We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the strategy, Group Inc. could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations. It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented. In all cases, any payments to debtholders are dependent on our ability to make such payments and are therefore subject to our credit risk. As a result of our recovery and resolution planning processes, including incorporating feedback from our regulators, we may incur increased operational, funding or other costs and face limitations on our ability to structure our internal organization or engage in internal or external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.", "prior_title": "Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.", "similarity_score": 0.694, "confidence": "medium", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate.\"", "Removed sentence: \"Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense.\"" ], "current_body": "Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions. As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets has caused and could continue to cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades.In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, and AI, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers or AI technologies, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in client preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us.", "prior_body": "Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our expanding consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions.As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects.Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our expanding consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions. As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate. Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our expanding consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions. As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects. Our operating expenses and efficiency ratio depend, in part, on our overall headcount and the proportion of our employees located in strategic locations. Our future human capital resource requirements and the benefits provided by strategic locations are uncertain, and we may not realize the benefits we anticipate. Market Developments and General Business EnvironmentOur businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, such as COVID-19, or other widespread health emergencies (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, extreme weather events, solar events or other natural disasters, could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. These events could have such effects through economic or financial market disruptions or challenging economic or market conditions more generally, the deterioration of our creditworthiness or that of our counterparties, changes in consumer sentiment and consumer borrowing, spending and savings patterns, liquidity stress, or operational difficulties (such as travel limitations and limitations on occupancy in our offices) that impair our ability to manage our businesses.The COVID-19 pandemic created economic and financial disruptions that have in the past adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will negatively affect our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations will depend on, among other things, future developments, including any resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of vaccines and treatments over the long term and against new variants, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation.Climate change may cause extreme weather events that disrupt operations at one or more of our primary locations, which may negatively affect our ability to service and interact with our clients, adversely affect the value of our investments, including our real estate investments, and reduce the availability or increase the cost of insurance. Climate change and the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy may also have a negative impact on the operations or financial condition of our clients and counterparties, which may decrease revenues from those clients and counterparties and increase the credit risk associated with loans and other credit exposures to those clients and counterparties. In addition, climate change may impact the broader economy." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.", "prior_title": "Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.", "similarity_score": 0.667, "confidence": "medium", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety.\"" ], "current_body": "As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices. We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation, regulatory scrutiny and disclosure obligations that have increased and could further increase the operating costs and could adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments and activities. There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations requires significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we do not have insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses.The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm.We have made changes to and may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we do not have insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses. The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm. We have made changes to and may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. As a result of our recovery and resolution planning processes, including incorporating feedback from our regulators, we may incur increased operational, funding or other costs and face limitations on our ability to structure our internal organization or engage in internal or external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices.We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above.These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation, regulatory scrutiny and disclosure obligations that have increased and could further increase the operating costs and could adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments and activities.There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations requires significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. As a result of our recovery and resolution planning processes, including incorporating feedback from our regulators, we may incur increased operational, funding or other costs and face limitations on our ability to structure our internal organization or engage in internal or external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient.", "prior_body": "As part of our commodities business, we purchase and sell certain physical commodities, arrange for their storage and transport, and engage in market making of commodities. The commodities involved in these activities may include crude oil, refined oil products, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, electric power, agricultural products, metals (base and precious), minerals (including unenriched uranium), emission credits, coal, freight and related products and indices. We make investments in and finance entities that engage in the production, storage and transportation of numerous commodities, including many of the commodities referenced above. The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds.We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.", "prior_title": "Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects.", "similarity_score": 0.653, "confidence": "medium", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity.\"" ], "current_body": "We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements. We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities and enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures, which has required and will require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures. The failure to complete these remediation activities in a timely manner could lead to higher operating expenses, reputational damage and other negative consequences.", "prior_body": "We face significant legal risks in our businesses, and the volume of claims and amount of damages and penalties claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial institutions remain high. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K for information about certain of our legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations. We have seen legal claims by consumers and clients increase in a market downturn and employment-related claims increase following periods in which we have reduced our headcount. Additionally, governmental entities have been plaintiffs and are parties in certain of our legal proceedings, and we may face future civil or criminal actions or claims by the same or other governmental entities, as well as follow-on civil litigation that is often commenced after regulatory settlements. Significant settlements by several large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have been publicly announced. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future. We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation. We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity.Governmental scrutiny from regulators, legislative bodies and law enforcement agencies with respect to matters relating to compensation, our business practices, our past actions and other matters remains at high levels. Political and public sentiment regarding financial institutions has in the past resulted and may in the future result in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or other government officials. Press coverage and other public statements that assert some form of wrongdoing (including, in some cases, press coverage and public statements that do not directly involve us) often result in some type of investigation by regulators, legislators and law enforcement officials or in lawsuits. Responding to these investigations and lawsuits, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the proceeding, is time-consuming and expensive and can divert the time and effort of our senior management from our business. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially and certain regulators have been more likely in recent years to commence enforcement actions or to support legislation targeted at the financial services industry. Governmental authorities may also be more likely to pursue criminal or other actions, including seeking admissions of wrongdoing or guilty pleas, in connection with the resolution of an inquiry or investigation to the extent a company is viewed as having previously engaged in criminal, regulatory or other misconduct. Adverse publicity, governmental scrutiny and legal and enforcement proceedings can also have a negative impact on our reputation and on the morale and performance of our employees, which could adversely affect our businesses and results of operations. Further, we are subject to regulatory settlements, orders and feedback that require significant remediation activities, which require us to commit significant resources, including hiring, as well as testing the operation and effectiveness of new controls, policies and procedures.The financial services industry generally and our businesses in particular have been subject to negative publicity. Our reputation and businesses may be adversely affected by negative publicity or information regarding our businesses and personnel, whether or not accurate or true, that may be posted on social media or other internet forums or published by news organizations. Postings on these types of forums may also adversely impact risk positions of our clients and other parties that owe us money, securities or other assets and increase the chance that they will not perform their obligations to us or reduce the revenues we receive from their use of our services. The speed and pervasiveness with which information can be disseminated through these channels, in particular social media, may magnify risks relating to negative publicity." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Legal and Regulatory", "prior_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.", "similarity_score": 0.636, "confidence": "medium", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"•Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.\"" ], "current_body": "•Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world. •A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses. •We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity. •Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects. •In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries. •The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders. •The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.•Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.Competition•Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.•The financial services industry is highly competitive.•The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.•Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Market Developments and General Business Environment•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.•Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.•Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.•Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.•We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.•We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. •The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders. •Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.", "prior_body": "Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors. The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, European sovereign debt risk and its impact on the European banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity. •Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.Competition•Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.•The financial services industry is highly competitive.•The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.•Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Market Developments and General Business Environment•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.•Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our efforts to address concerns relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments.•Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR.•Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.•Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.•We face enhanced risks as new business initiatives and acquisitions lead us to engage in new activities, operate in new locations, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties and expose us to new asset classes and markets.•We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. •Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.", "prior_title": "The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.", "similarity_score": 0.631, "confidence": "medium", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets has caused and could continue to cause a reduction in commissions and spreads.\"", "Reworded sentence: \"We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades.\"" ], "current_body": "Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets has caused and could continue to cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades. In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, and AI, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers or AI technologies, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in client preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us. Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees.Competition from within the financial services industry and from businesses outside the financial services industry, including the technology industry, for qualified employees has often been intense. We have experienced increased competition in hiring and retaining employees to address the demands of our consumer-oriented businesses and our technology initiatives. This is also the case in emerging and growth markets, where we are often competing for qualified employees with entities that have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience in the region. Laws or regulations in jurisdictions in which our operations are located that affect taxes on our employees’ income or the amount or composition of compensation, or that require us to disclose our or our competitors’ compensation practices, may also adversely affect our ability to hire and retain qualified employees in those jurisdictions.As described further in “Business — Regulation —Compensation Practices” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K, our compensation practices are subject to review by, and the standards of, the FRB. As a large global financial and banking institution, we are subject to limitations on compensation practices (which may or may not affect the companies with which we compete for talent) by the FRB, the PRA, the FCA, the FDIC and other regulators worldwide. These limitations have shaped our compensation practices, which has, in some cases, adversely affected our ability to attract and retain talented employees, in particular in relation to companies not subject to these limitations, and future legislation or regulation may have similar adverse effects.", "prior_body": "Technology is fundamental to our business and our industry. The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new technologies is changing our businesses and presenting us with new challenges. Securities, futures and options transactions are increasingly occurring electronically, both on our own systems and through other alternative trading systems, and it appears that the trend toward alternative trading systems will continue. Some of these alternative trading systems compete with us, particularly our exchange-based market-making activities, and we may experience continued competitive pressures in these and other areas. In addition, the increased use by our clients of low-cost electronic trading systems and direct electronic access to trading markets could cause a reduction in commissions and spreads. As our clients increasingly use our systems to trade directly in the markets, we may incur liabilities as a result of their use of our order routing and execution infrastructure. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades.In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in consumer preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us.Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Our performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled people; therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively in our businesses, to manage our businesses effectively and to expand into new businesses and geographic areas depends on our ability to attract new talented and diverse employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees. Factors that affect our ability to attract and retain such employees include the level and composition of our compensation and benefits, and our reputation as a successful business with a culture of fairly hiring, training and promoting qualified employees. As a significant portion of the compensation that we pay to our employees is in the form of year-end discretionary compensation, a significant portion of which is in the form of deferred equity-related awards, declines in our profitability, or in the outlook for our future profitability, as well as regulatory limitations on compensation levels and terms, can negatively impact our ability to hire and retain highly qualified employees. We have invested significant resources into the development of electronic trading systems and expect to continue to do so, but there is no assurance that the revenues generated by these systems will yield an adequate return, particularly given the generally lower commissions arising from electronic trades. In addition, the emergence, adoption and evolution of new technologies, including distributed ledgers, such as digital assets and blockchain, have required us to invest resources to adapt our existing products and services, and we expect to continue to make such investments, which could be material. The adoption and evolution of such new technologies may also increase our compliance and regulatory costs. Further, technologies, such as those based on distributed ledgers, that do not require intermediation could also significantly disrupt payments processing and other financial services. Regulatory limitations on our involvement in products and platforms involving digital assets and distributed ledger technologies may not apply equally or in some cases at all to certain of our competitors. We may not be as timely or successful in developing or integrating, or even able to develop or integrate, new products and technologies, such as those built on distributed ledgers, into our existing products and services, adapting to changes in consumer preferences or achieving market acceptance of our products and services, any of which could affect our ability to attract or retain clients, cause us to lose market share or result in service disruptions and in turn reduce our revenues or otherwise adversely affect us." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Operational", "prior_title": "A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "similarity_score": 0.58, "confidence": "low", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"•A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.\"" ], "current_body": "•A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses. •A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses. •The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business. •A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses. •We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.", "prior_body": "Our operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in our computer systems and networks and those of our vendors. There have been a number of highly publicized cases involving financial services companies, consumer-based companies, software and information technology service providers, governmental agencies and other organizations reporting the unauthorized access or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber attacks involving the dissemination, theft and destruction of corporate information or other assets, as a result of inadequate procedures or the failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by foreign governments. There have also been several highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information or for restoring access to information or systems. A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.We face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of any of the clearing agents, exchanges, clearinghouses or other financial intermediaries we use to facilitate our securities and derivatives transactions, and as our interconnectivity with our clients grows, we increasingly face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay with respect to our clients’ systems. There has been significant consolidation among clearing agents, exchanges and clearinghouses and an increasing number of derivative transactions are cleared on exchanges, which has increased our exposure to operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of the particular financial intermediaries that we use and could affect our ability to find adequate and cost-effective alternatives in the event of any such failure, delay, termination or constraint. Industry consolidation, whether among market participants or financial intermediaries, increases the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay as disparate complex systems need to be integrated, often on an accelerated basis.The interconnectivity of multiple financial institutions with central agents, exchanges and clearinghouses, and the increased centrality of these entities, increases the risk that an operational failure at one institution or entity may cause an industry-wide operational failure that could materially impact our ability to conduct business. Interconnectivity of financial institutions with other companies through, among other things, application programming interfaces or APIs presents similar risks. Any such failure, termination or constraint could adversely affect our ability to effect transactions, service our clients, manage our exposure to risk or expand our businesses or result in financial loss or liability to our clients, impairment of our liquidity, disruption of our businesses, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Despite our resiliency plans and facilities, our ability to conduct business may be adversely impacted by a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses and the communities where we are located. This may include a disruption involving electrical, satellite, undersea cable or other communications, internet, transportation or other facilities used by us, our employees or third parties with which we conduct business, including cloud service providers. These disruptions may occur as a result of events that affect only our buildings or systems or those of such third parties, or as a result of events with a broader impact globally, regionally or in the cities where those buildings or systems are located, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, economic or political developments, pandemics and weather events." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "The financial services industry is highly competitive.", "prior_title": "The financial services industry is highly competitive.", "similarity_score": 0.56, "confidence": "low", "key_changes": [ "Added sentence: \"Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage.\"", "Added sentence: \"These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S.\"", "Added sentence: \"competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively.\"", "Added sentence: \"Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices.\"", "Added sentence: \"For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook.\"" ], "current_body": "The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses. Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages. CompetitionOur results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution.", "prior_body": "The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation that could increase the operating costs and adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments.There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations could require significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we may not be able to obtain insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses.The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm.We may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation that could increase the operating costs and adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments. There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations could require significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we may not be able to obtain insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses. The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm. We may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. These activities subject us and/or the entities in which we invest to extensive and evolving federal, state and local energy, environmental, antitrust and other governmental laws and regulations worldwide, including environmental laws and regulations relating to, among others, air quality, water quality, waste management, transportation of hazardous substances, natural resources, site remediation and health and safety. Additionally, rising climate change concerns have led to additional regulation that could increase the operating costs and adversely affect the profitability of certain of our investments. There may be substantial costs in complying with current or future laws and regulations relating to our commodities-related activities and investments. Compliance with these laws and regulations could require significant commitments of capital toward environmental monitoring, renovation of storage facilities or transport vessels, payment of emission fees and carbon or other taxes, and application for, and holding of, permits and licenses. Commodities involved in our intermediation activities and investments are also subject to the risk of unforeseen or catastrophic events, which are likely to be outside of our control, including those arising from the breakdown or failure of transport vessels, storage facilities or other equipment or processes or other mechanical malfunctions, fires, leaks, spills or release of hazardous substances, performance below expected levels of output or efficiency, terrorist attacks, extreme weather events or other natural disasters or other hostile or catastrophic events. In addition, we rely on third-party suppliers or service providers to perform their contractual obligations and any failure on their part, including the failure to obtain raw materials at reasonable prices or to safely transport or store commodities, could expose us to costs or losses. Also, while we seek to insure against potential risks, we may not be able to obtain insurance to cover some of these risks and the insurance that we have may be inadequate to cover our losses. The occurrence of any of such events may prevent us from performing under our agreements with clients, may impair our operations or financial results and may result in litigation, regulatory action, negative publicity or other reputational harm. We may also be required to divest or discontinue certain of these activities for regulatory or legal reasons or due to the transition to a less carbon-dependent economy in response to climate change. CompetitionOur results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution.The financial services industry is highly competitive.The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.", "prior_title": "Our businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.", "similarity_score": 0.541, "confidence": "low", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, has in the past and could in the future lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us.\"" ], "current_body": "We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, has in the past and could in the future lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us. We are also exposed to the risk of a special assessment, including under the FDIA or OLA in the event of the failure of a bank or non-bank financial institution, which have in the past, and may in the future, adversely affect our results of operations. Group Inc. is a holding company and its liquidity depends on payments and loans from its subsidiaries, many of which are subject to legal, regulatory and other restrictions on providing funds or assets to Group Inc.Group Inc. is a holding company and, therefore, depends on dividends, distributions, loans and other payments from its subsidiaries to fund share repurchases and dividend payments and to fund payments on its obligations, including debt obligations. Many of our subsidiaries, including our broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries, are subject to laws that restrict dividend payments or authorize regulatory bodies to block or reduce the flow of funds from those subsidiaries to Group Inc. In addition, our broker-dealer and bank entities and their subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on their ability to lend or transact with affiliates and to minimum regulatory capital and other requirements, as well as restrictions on their ability to use funds deposited with them in brokerage or bank accounts to fund their businesses. Additional restrictions on related-party transactions, increased capital and liquidity requirements and additional limitations on the use of funds on deposit in bank or brokerage accounts, as well as lower earnings, can reduce the amount of funds available to meet the obligations of Group Inc., including under the FRB’s source of strength requirement, and even require Group Inc. to provide additional funding to such subsidiaries. Restrictions or regulatory action of that kind could impede access to funds that Group Inc. needs to make payments on its obligations, including debt obligations, or dividend payments. In addition, Group Inc.’s right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors.There has been a trend towards increased regulation and supervision of our subsidiaries by the governments and regulators in the countries in which those subsidiaries are located or do business. Concerns about protecting clients and creditors of financial institutions that are controlled by persons or entities located outside of the country in which such entities are located or do business have caused or may cause a number of governments and regulators to take additional steps to “ring fence” or require internal total loss-absorbing capacity (which may also be subject to “bail-in” powers, as described below) at those entities in order to protect clients and creditors of those entities in the event of financial difficulties involving those entities. The result has been and may continue to be additional limitations on our ability to efficiently move capital and liquidity among our affiliated entities, or to Group Inc., including in times of stress, thereby increasing the overall level of capital and liquidity required by us on a consolidated basis.", "prior_body": "We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, could lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us. We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime brokerage activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Although we have limits and regularly review credit exposures to specific clients and counterparties and to specific industries, countries and regions that we believe may present credit concerns, default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee. Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions may make it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which may result in losses for us from time to time.Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, could negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans.In the ordinary course of business, we may be subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties." }, { "status": "MODIFIED", "current_title": "Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.", "prior_title": "Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in other reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.", "similarity_score": 0.468, "confidence": "low", "key_changes": [ "Reworded sentence: \"Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy.\"" ], "current_body": "Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy. Governments around the world have responded to Russia’s invasion by imposing economic sanctions and export controls on certain industry sectors, including price caps on Russian oil, and on Russian businesses and persons. Compliance with economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by governments has increased our costs and otherwise adversely affected our business and may continue to do so. Russia has responded with its own restrictions against investors and countries outside Russia and has proposed additional measures aimed at non-Russian owned businesses. Businesses in the U.S. and globally have experienced shortages in materials and increased costs for transportation, energy, and raw materials due in part to the negative effects of the conflict on the global economy. The conflicts in the Middle East could also affect and harm our business and increase market uncertainty. The impact of these conflicts on our business and operations is uncertain and therefore cannot be predicted.The escalation or continuation of these conflicts or other hostilities could result in, among other things, an increased risk of cyber attacks, an increased frequency and volume of failures to settle securities transactions, supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, lower consumer demand and increased volatility in commodity, currency and other financial markets. The extent and duration of the conflicts, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, and the consequences for our business could be significant. If international political instability and geopolitical tensions continue or increase in any region in which we do business, our business and results of operations could be harmed. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Selected Exposures — Country Exposures” for further information about our credit exposure to Russia and Ukraine.", "prior_body": "Many of the products that we own or that we offer, such as structured notes, warrants, swaps or security-based swaps, pay interest or determine the principal amount to be paid at maturity or in the event of default by reference to rates or by reference to an index, currency, basket, ETF or other financial metric (the underlier). In the event that the composition of the underlier is significantly changed, by reference to rules governing such underlier or otherwise, the underlier ceases to exist (for example, in the event that a country withdraws from the Euro or links its currency to or delinks its currency from another currency or benchmark, an index or ETF sponsor materially alters the composition of an index or ETF, or stocks in a basket are delisted or become impermissible to be included in the index or ETF), the underlier ceases to be recognized as an acceptable market benchmark or there are legal or regulatory constraints on linking a financial instrument to the underlier, we may experience adverse effects. Certain of our businesses, our funding instruments and financial products may be adversely affected by changes in or the discontinuance of Interbank Offered Rates (IBORs), in particular USD LIBOR.On January 1, 2022, the publication of all EUR, CHF, JPY and GBP LIBOR (non-USD LIBOR) settings along with certain USD LIBOR settings ceased. The publication of the most commonly used USD LIBOR settings as representative rates will cease after June 2023. The FCA proposed that certain of those USD LIBOR settings continue to be published on a synthetic basis through September 2024. The FCA has allowed the publication and use of synthetic rates for certain GBP LIBOR settings in legacy GBP LIBOR-based derivative contracts through March 2024. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol (IBOR Protocol) has provided derivatives market participants with amended fallbacks for legacy and new derivative contracts to mitigate legal or economic uncertainty. Both counterparties have to adhere to the IBOR Protocol or engage in bilateral amendments for the terms to be effective for derivative contracts. ISDA has confirmed that the FCA’s formal announcement to cease both non-USD and USD LIBOR settings fixed the spread adjustment for all LIBOR rates and as a result fallbacks applied automatically for non-USD LIBOR settings following December 31, 2021 and will apply automatically for USD LIBOR settings following June 30, 2023. The Adjustable Interest Rate (LIBOR) Act (LIBOR Act), that was enacted in March 2022, provides a statutory framework to replace USD LIBOR with a benchmark rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) for contracts governed by U.S. law that have no fallbacks or fallbacks that would require the use of a poll or LIBOR-based rate. In December 2022, the FRB adopted a final rule that implements the LIBOR Act, which will become effective on February 27, 2023. The final rule identifies different SOFR-based replacement rates for derivative contracts, for cash instruments such as floating-rate notes and preferred stock, for consumer contracts, for certain government-sponsored enterprise contracts and for certain student loan securitizations that lack a fallback to an alternative rate when USD LIBOR ceases to be published on June 30, 2023. As the transition from LIBOR is ongoing, there continues to be uncertainty as to the ultimate effect of the transition on the financial markets for LIBOR-linked financial instruments. Similar developments have occurred with respect to other IBORs." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by declining asset values, particularly where we have net “long” positions, receive fees based on the value of assets managed, or receive or post collateral.", "prior_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by declining asset values, particularly where we have net “long” positions, receive fees based on the value of assets managed, or receive or post collateral.", "current_body": "Many of our businesses have net “long” positions in debt securities, loans, derivatives, mortgages, equities (including private equity and real estate) and most other asset classes. These include positions we take when we act as a principal to facilitate our clients’ activities, including our exchange-based market-making activities, or commit large amounts of capital to maintain positions in interest rate and credit products, as well as through our currencies, commodities, equities and mortgage-related activities. In addition, we invest in similar asset classes. Substantially all of our investing and market-making positions and a portion of our loans are marked-to-market on a daily or other periodic basis and declines in asset values directly and promptly impact our earnings, unless we have effectively “hedged” our exposures to those declines. In certain circumstances (particularly in the case of credit products, including leveraged loans, and private equities or other securities that are not freely tradable or lack established and liquid trading markets), it may not be possible or economic to hedge our exposures and, to the extent that we do so, the hedge may be ineffective or may greatly reduce our ability to profit from increases in the values of the assets. Sudden declines and significant volatility in the prices of assets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for certain assets, which may make it difficult to sell, hedge or value such assets. We may incur losses from time to time as trading markets deteriorate or cease to function, including with respect to loan commitments we have made or securities offerings we have underwritten. The inability to sell or effectively hedge assets reduces our ability to limit losses in such positions and the difficulty in valuing assets has in the past negatively affected, and may in the future negatively affect, our capital, liquidity or leverage ratios, our funding costs and our ability to deploy capital. In our exchange-based market-making activities, we are obligated by stock exchange rules to maintain an orderly market, including by purchasing securities in a declining market. In markets where asset values are declining and in volatile markets, this results in losses and an increased need for liquidity. We receive asset-based management fees based on the value of our clients’ portfolios or investment in funds managed by us and, in some cases, we also receive incentive fees based on increases in the value of such investments. Declines in asset values would ordinarily reduce the value of our clients’ portfolios or fund assets, which in turn would typically reduce the fees we earn for managing such assets. In June 2023, the U.S. federal government suspended the federal debt limit until 2025. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling prior to 2025, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the U.S. federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. An increasing frequency of government shutdowns, or near shutdowns, in the U.S. could also lead to uncertainty as to the continued funding of the U.S. government, which could, in turn, adversely affect the credit ratings of the U.S. and the market for U.S. Treasury or agency obligations.In 2024, numerous elections will be held globally. As a result, there may be significant market uncertainty in the periods leading up to and/or following the elections and this could cause higher volatility, lower levels of market activity and other adverse conditions for our businesses. The outcomes of the elections could also result in changes in policy, which could also have adverse effects on us or the business environment in which we operate more generally. In June 2023, the U.S. federal government suspended the federal debt limit until 2025. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling prior to 2025, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the U.S. federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. An increasing frequency of government shutdowns, or near shutdowns, in the U.S. could also lead to uncertainty as to the continued funding of the U.S. government, which could, in turn, adversely affect the credit ratings of the U.S. and the market for U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. In 2024, numerous elections will be held globally. As a result, there may be significant market uncertainty in the periods leading up to and/or following the elections and this could cause higher volatility, lower levels of market activity and other adverse conditions for our businesses. The outcomes of the elections could also result in changes in policy, which could also have adverse effects on us or the business environment in which we operate more generally. In June 2023, the U.S. federal government suspended the federal debt limit until 2025. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling prior to 2025, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the U.S. federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. An increasing frequency of government shutdowns, or near shutdowns, in the U.S. could also lead to uncertainty as to the continued funding of the U.S. government, which could, in turn, adversely affect the credit ratings of the U.S. and the market for U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. In 2024, numerous elections will be held globally. As a result, there may be significant market uncertainty in the periods leading up to and/or following the elections and this could cause higher volatility, lower levels of market activity and other adverse conditions for our businesses. The outcomes of the elections could also result in changes in policy, which could also have adverse effects on us or the business environment in which we operate more generally. Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by declining asset values, particularly where we have net “long” positions, receive fees based on the value of assets managed, or receive or post collateral.Many of our businesses have net “long” positions in debt securities, loans, derivatives, mortgages, equities (including private equity and real estate) and most other asset classes. These include positions we take when we act as a principal to facilitate our clients’ activities, including our exchange-based market-making activities, or commit large amounts of capital to maintain positions in interest rate and credit products, as well as through our currencies, commodities, equities and mortgage-related activities. In addition, we invest in similar asset classes. Substantially all of our investing and market-making positions and a portion of our loans are marked-to-market on a daily or other periodic basis and declines in asset values directly and promptly impact our earnings, unless we have effectively “hedged” our exposures to those declines. In certain circumstances (particularly in the case of credit products, including leveraged loans, and private equities or other securities that are not freely tradable or lack established and liquid trading markets), it may not be possible or economic to hedge our exposures and, to the extent that we do so, the hedge may be ineffective or may greatly reduce our ability to profit from increases in the values of the assets. Sudden declines and significant volatility in the prices of assets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for certain assets, which may make it difficult to sell, hedge or value such assets. We may incur losses from time to time as trading markets deteriorate or cease to function, including with respect to loan commitments we have made or securities offerings we have underwritten. The inability to sell or effectively hedge assets reduces our ability to limit losses in such positions and the difficulty in valuing assets has in the past negatively affected, and may in the future negatively affect, our capital, liquidity or leverage ratios, our funding costs and our ability to deploy capital.In our exchange-based market-making activities, we are obligated by stock exchange rules to maintain an orderly market, including by purchasing securities in a declining market. In markets where asset values are declining and in volatile markets, this results in losses and an increased need for liquidity.We receive asset-based management fees based on the value of our clients’ portfolios or investment in funds managed by us and, in some cases, we also receive incentive fees based on increases in the value of such investments. Declines in asset values would ordinarily reduce the value of our clients’ portfolios or fund assets, which in turn would typically reduce the fees we earn for managing such assets." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.", "prior_title": "Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.", "current_body": "We are party to a large number of derivative transactions, including credit derivatives. Many of these derivative instruments are individually negotiated and non-standardized, which can make exiting, transferring or settling positions difficult. Many credit derivatives require that we deliver to the counterparty the underlying security, loan or other obligation in order to receive payment. In a number of cases, we do not hold the underlying security, loan or other obligation and may not be able to obtain the underlying security, loan or other obligation. This could cause us to forfeit the payments due to us under these contracts or result in settlement delays with the attendant credit and operational risk, as well as increased costs to us. Derivative transactions also involve the risk that documentation has not been properly executed, that executed agreements may not be enforceable against the counterparty, or that obligations under such agreements may not be able to be “netted” against other obligations with such counterparty. In addition, counterparties may claim that such transactions were not appropriate or authorized. As a signatory to the ISDA Universal Protocol or U.S. ISDA Protocol (ISDA Protocols) and being subject to the FRB’s and FDIC’s rules on QFCs and similar rules in other jurisdictions, we may not be able to exercise remedies against counterparties and, as this regime has not yet been tested, we may suffer risks or losses that we would not have expected to suffer if we could immediately close out transactions upon a termination event. The ISDA Protocols and these rules and regulations extend to repurchase agreements and other instruments that are not derivative contracts. Derivative contracts and other transactions, including secondary bank loan purchases and sales, entered into with third parties are not always confirmed by the counterparties or settled on a timely basis. While the transaction remains unconfirmed or during any delay in settlement, we are subject to heightened credit and operational risk and in the event of a default may find it more difficult to enforce our rights. In addition, as new complex derivative products are created, covering a wider array of underlying credit and other instruments, disputes about the terms of the underlying contracts could arise, which could impair our ability to effectively manage our risk exposures from these products and subject us to increased costs. The provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act requiring central clearing of credit derivatives and other OTC derivatives, or a market shift toward standardized derivatives, could reduce the risk associated with these transactions, but under certain circumstances could also limit our ability to develop derivatives that best suit the needs of our clients and to hedge our own risks, and could adversely affect our profitability. In addition, these provisions have increased our credit exposure to central clearing platforms. OperationalA failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.Our businesses are highly dependent on our ability to process and monitor, on a daily basis, a very large number of transactions, many of which are highly complex and occur at high volumes and frequencies, across numerous and diverse markets in many currencies. These transactions, as well as the information technology services we provide to clients, often must adhere to client-specific guidelines, as well as legal and regulatory standards. Many rules and regulations worldwide govern our obligations to execute transactions and report such transactions and other information to regulators, exchanges and investors. Compliance with these legal and reporting requirements can be challenging, and we have been and may in the future be subject to regulatory fines and penalties for failing to follow these rules or to report timely, accurate and complete information in accordance with these rules. As the volume, speed, frequency and complexity of transactions, especially electronic transactions (as well as the requirements to report such transactions on a real-time basis to clients, regulators and exchanges) increase, developing and maintaining our operational systems and infrastructure has become more challenging, and the risk of systems or human error in connection with such transactions has increased, as have the potential consequences of such errors due to the speed and volume of transactions involved and the potential difficulty associated with discovering errors quickly enough to limit the resulting consequences. For example, the transition to a T+1 settlement timeframe in the U.S. in 2024 subjects us to increased operational risks with respect to reporting and timely settlement of transactions. These risks are exacerbated in times of increased volatility. As with other similarly situated institutions, we utilize credit underwriting models in connection with our businesses, including our consumer-oriented activities. Allegations or publicity, whether or not accurate, that our underwriting decisions do not treat consumers or clients fairly, or comply with the applicable law or regulation, have in the past resulted and may in the future result in negative publicity, reputational damage and governmental and regulatory scrutiny, investigations and enforcement actions." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Group Inc. is a holding company and its liquidity depends on payments and loans from its subsidiaries, many of which are subject to legal, regulatory and other restrictions on providing funds or assets to Group Inc.", "prior_title": "Group Inc. is a holding company and its liquidity depends on payments and loans from its subsidiaries, many of which are subject to legal, regulatory and other restrictions on providing funds or assets to Group Inc.", "current_body": "Group Inc. is a holding company and, therefore, depends on dividends, distributions, loans and other payments from its subsidiaries to fund share repurchases and dividend payments and to fund payments on its obligations, including debt obligations. Many of our subsidiaries, including our broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries, are subject to laws that restrict dividend payments or authorize regulatory bodies to block or reduce the flow of funds from those subsidiaries to Group Inc. In addition, our broker-dealer and bank entities and their subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on their ability to lend or transact with affiliates and to minimum regulatory capital and other requirements, as well as restrictions on their ability to use funds deposited with them in brokerage or bank accounts to fund their businesses. Additional restrictions on related-party transactions, increased capital and liquidity requirements and additional limitations on the use of funds on deposit in bank or brokerage accounts, as well as lower earnings, can reduce the amount of funds available to meet the obligations of Group Inc., including under the FRB’s source of strength requirement, and even require Group Inc. to provide additional funding to such subsidiaries. Restrictions or regulatory action of that kind could impede access to funds that Group Inc. needs to make payments on its obligations, including debt obligations, or dividend payments. In addition, Group Inc.’s right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors. There has been a trend towards increased regulation and supervision of our subsidiaries by the governments and regulators in the countries in which those subsidiaries are located or do business. Concerns about protecting clients and creditors of financial institutions that are controlled by persons or entities located outside of the country in which such entities are located or do business have caused or may cause a number of governments and regulators to take additional steps to “ring fence” or require internal total loss-absorbing capacity (which may also be subject to “bail-in” powers, as described below) at those entities in order to protect clients and creditors of those entities in the event of financial difficulties involving those entities. The result has been and may continue to be additional limitations on our ability to efficiently move capital and liquidity among our affiliated entities, or to Group Inc., including in times of stress, thereby increasing the overall level of capital and liquidity required by us on a consolidated basis. Furthermore, Group Inc. has guaranteed the payment obligations of certain of its subsidiaries, including GS&Co. and GS Bank USA, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, Group Inc. guarantees many of the obligations of its other consolidated subsidiaries on a transaction-by-transaction basis, as negotiated with counterparties. These guarantees may require Group Inc. to provide substantial funds or assets to its subsidiaries or their creditors or counterparties at a time when Group Inc. is in need of liquidity to fund its own obligations. The requirements for us and certain of our subsidiaries to develop and submit recovery and resolution plans to regulators, and the incorporation of feedback received from regulators, may require us to increase capital or liquidity levels or issue additional long-term debt at Group Inc. or particular subsidiaries or otherwise incur additional or duplicative operational or other costs at multiple entities, and may reduce our ability to provide Group Inc. guarantees of the obligations of our subsidiaries or raise debt at Group Inc. Resolution planning may also impair our ability to structure our intercompany and external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Furthermore, arrangements to facilitate our resolution planning may cause us to be subject to additional taxes. Any such limitations or requirements would be in addition to the legal and regulatory restrictions described above on our ability to engage in capital actions or make intercompany dividends or payments. See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about regulatory restrictions.CreditOur businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, has in the past and could in the future lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us. We are also exposed to the risk of a special assessment, including under the FDIA or OLA in the event of the failure of a bank or non-bank financial institution, which have in the past, and may in the future, adversely affect our results of operations. Furthermore, Group Inc. has guaranteed the payment obligations of certain of its subsidiaries, including GS&Co. and GS Bank USA, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, Group Inc. guarantees many of the obligations of its other consolidated subsidiaries on a transaction-by-transaction basis, as negotiated with counterparties. These guarantees may require Group Inc. to provide substantial funds or assets to its subsidiaries or their creditors or counterparties at a time when Group Inc. is in need of liquidity to fund its own obligations. The requirements for us and certain of our subsidiaries to develop and submit recovery and resolution plans to regulators, and the incorporation of feedback received from regulators, may require us to increase capital or liquidity levels or issue additional long-term debt at Group Inc. or particular subsidiaries or otherwise incur additional or duplicative operational or other costs at multiple entities, and may reduce our ability to provide Group Inc. guarantees of the obligations of our subsidiaries or raise debt at Group Inc. Resolution planning may also impair our ability to structure our intercompany and external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Furthermore, arrangements to facilitate our resolution planning may cause us to be subject to additional taxes. Any such limitations or requirements would be in addition to the legal and regulatory restrictions described above on our ability to engage in capital actions or make intercompany dividends or payments. See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about regulatory restrictions. Credit" }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.", "prior_title": "Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.", "current_body": "Our client base is not the same as that of our major competitors. Our businesses may have a higher or lower percentage of clients in certain industries or markets than some or all of our competitors. Therefore, unfavorable industry developments or market conditions affecting certain industries or markets have resulted in the past and may result in the future in our businesses underperforming relative to similar businesses of a competitor if our businesses have a higher concentration of clients in such industries or markets. For example, our market-making businesses have a higher percentage of clients with actively managed assets than some of our competitors and such clients have in the past been and may in the future be disproportionately affected by low volatility. Correspondingly, favorable or simply less adverse developments or market conditions involving industries or markets in a business where we have a lower concentration of clients in such industry or market have also resulted in the past and may result in the future in our underperforming relative to a similar business of a competitor that has a higher concentration of clients in such industry or market. For example, we have a smaller corporate client base in our market-making businesses than some of our peers and therefore those competitors may benefit more from increased activity by corporate clients. Similarly, we have not historically engaged in retail equities intermediation to the same extent as other financial institutions, which has in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our market share in equities execution. The financial services industry is highly competitive.The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete on the basis of a number of factors, including transaction execution, our products and services, innovation, reputation, creditworthiness and price. There has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry. This has hastened the globalization of the securities and other financial services markets. As a result, we have had to commit capital to support our international operations and to execute large global transactions. As we have expanded into new business areas and new geographic regions, we have faced competitors with more experience and more established relationships with clients, regulators and industry participants in the relevant market, which could adversely affect our ability to expand our businesses.Governments and regulators have adopted regulations, imposed taxes, adopted compensation restrictions or otherwise put forward various proposals that have impacted or may impact our ability to conduct certain of our businesses in a cost-effective manner or at all in certain or all jurisdictions, including proposals relating to restrictions on the type of activities in which financial institutions are permitted to engage. These or other similar rules, many of which do not apply to all our U.S. or non-U.S. competitors, could impact our ability to compete effectively. Pricing and other competitive pressures in our businesses have continued to increase, particularly in situations where some of our competitors may seek to increase market share by reducing prices. For example, in connection with investment banking and other assignments, in response to competitive pressure we have experienced, we have extended and priced credit at levels that in some cases have not fully compensated us for the risks we undertook. The financial services industry is highly interrelated in that a significant volume of transactions occur among a limited number of members of that industry. Many transactions are syndicated to other financial institutions, and financial institutions are often counterparties in transactions. This has led to claims by other market participants and regulators that such institutions have colluded in order to manipulate markets or market prices, including allegations that antitrust laws have been violated. While we have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and prevent such activities, they may not be effective. Allegations of such activities, particularly by regulators, can have a negative reputational impact and can subject us to large fines and settlements, and potentially significant penalties, including treble damages." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.", "prior_title": "Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.", "current_body": "Continued or escalating tensions between the U.S. and China have resulted in and may result in additional changes to U.S. international trade and investment policies, which could disrupt international trade and investment, adversely affect financial markets, including market activity levels, and adversely impact our revenues. Continued or escalating tensions may also lead to the U.S., China or other countries taking other actions, which could include the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or restrictions on cross-border trade, investment or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially. A conflict, or concerns about a potential conflict, involving China and Taiwan, the U.S. or other countries could negatively impact financial markets and our or our clients’ businesses. Trade restrictions by the U.S. or other countries in response to a conflict or potential conflict involving China, including financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain organizations or individuals, or actions taken by China in response to trade restrictions, could negatively impact our or our clients’ ability to conduct business in certain countries or with certain counterparties and could negatively impact regional and global financial markets and economic conditions. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially. We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges. For example, we continue to transact business and invest in new regions, including a wide range of emerging and growth markets, and we expect this trend to continue. Various emerging and growth market countries have experienced severe economic and financial disruptions, including significant devaluations of their currencies, defaults or threatened defaults on sovereign debt, capital and currency exchange controls, and low or negative growth rates in their economies. The possible effects of any of these conditions include an adverse impact on our businesses and increased volatility in financial markets generally. Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S.In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information. We are also subject to additional legal requirements, including with respect to suitability and consumer protection (for example, Regulation Best Interest, fair lending laws and regulations and privacy laws and regulations). Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers.We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities. As a result, we face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S. or other governmental authorities. We are making significant enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures to manage these risks." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Competition", "prior_title": "Competition", "current_body": "•Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base. •The financial services industry is highly competitive. •The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition. •Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Competition", "prior_title": "Competition", "current_body": "•Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base. •The financial services industry is highly competitive. •The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition. •Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Competition", "prior_title": "Competition", "current_body": "•Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base. •The financial services industry is highly competitive. •The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition. •Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our liquidity, profitability and businesses may be adversely affected by an inability to access the debt capital markets or to sell assets.", "prior_title": "Our liquidity, profitability and businesses may be adversely affected by an inability to access the debt capital markets or to sell assets.", "current_body": "Liquidity is essential to our businesses. It is of critical importance to us, as most of the failures of financial institutions have occurred in large part due to insufficient liquidity. Our liquidity may be impaired by an inability to access secured and/or unsecured debt markets, an inability to raise or retain deposits, an inability to access funds from our subsidiaries or otherwise allocate liquidity optimally, an inability to sell assets or redeem our investments, lack of timely settlement of transactions, unusual deposit outflows, or other unforeseen outflows of cash or collateral, such as in March 2020, when corporate clients drew on revolving credit facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation may arise due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as a general market or economic disruption or an operational problem that affects third parties or us, or even by the perception among market participants that we, or other market participants, are experiencing greater liquidity risk. We employ structured products to benefit our clients and hedge our own risks. The financial instruments that we hold and the contracts to which we are a party are often complex, and these complex structured products often do not have readily available markets to access in times of liquidity stress. Our investing and financing activities may lead to situations where the holdings from these activities represent a significant portion of specific markets, which could restrict liquidity for our positions. Further, our ability to sell assets may be impaired if there is not generally a liquid market for such assets, as well as in circumstances where other market participants are seeking to sell similar otherwise generally liquid assets at the same time, as is likely to occur in a liquidity or other market crisis or in response to changes to rules or regulations. For example, in 2021, an investment management firm with large positions with several financial institutions defaulted, resulting in rapidly declining prices in the securities underlying those positions. In addition, clearinghouses, exchanges and other financial institutions with which we interact may exercise set-off rights or the right to require additional collateral, including in difficult market conditions, which could further impair our liquidity. Numerous regulations have been adopted that impose more stringent liquidity requirements on large financial institutions, including us. These regulations require us to hold large amounts of highly liquid assets and reduce our flexibility to source and deploy funding. In addition, our need to manage our operations in light of certain regulatory requirements when applicable thresholds are met has in the past limited and may in the future limit our ability to raise deposits in GSIB or other funding, which could adversely affect our liquidity or ability to respond efficiently to liquidity stress. Our asset management and wealth management businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the poor investment performance of our investment products or a client preference for products other than those which we offer or for products that generate lower fees.Poor investment returns in our asset management and wealth management businesses, due to either general market conditions or underperformance (relative to our competitors or to benchmarks) by funds or accounts that we manage or investment products that we design or sell, affect our ability to retain existing assets and to attract new clients or additional assets from existing clients. This could affect the management and incentive fees that we earn on AUS or the commissions and net spreads that we earn for selling other investment products, such as structured notes or derivatives. To the extent that our clients choose to invest in products that we do not currently offer, we will suffer outflows and a loss of management fees. Further, if, due to changes in investor sentiment or the relative performance of certain asset classes or otherwise, clients continue to invest in products that generate lower fees (e.g., passively managed or fixed income products), our average effective management fee will decline further and our asset management and wealth management businesses could be adversely affected.Inflation has had, and could continue to have, a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.Inflationary pressures have affected economies, financial markets and market participants worldwide. Inflationary pressures have increased certain of our operating expenses, and have adversely affected consumer sentiment and CEO confidence. Central bank responses to inflationary pressures have also resulted in higher market interest rates, which, in turn, have contributed to lower activity levels across financial markets, in particular for debt underwriting transactions and mortgage originations, and resulted in lower values for certain financial assets which have adversely affected our equity and debt investments. Higher interest rates increase our borrowing costs and have required us to increase interest paid on our deposits. If inflationary pressures persist, our expenses may increase further; we may be unable to achieve our efficiency ratio target; activity levels for certain of our businesses, in particular debt underwriting and mortgages, may decline; our interest expense could increase faster than our interest income, reducing our net interest income and net interest margin; certain of our investments could continue to incur losses or generally low levels of returns; AUS could decline, or the composition of our AUS could shift to lower fee products, reducing management and other fees; economies worldwide could experience recessions; and we could continue to operate in a generally unfavorable economic and market environment." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by disruptions or lack of liquidity in the credit markets, including reduced access to credit and higher costs of obtaining credit.", "prior_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by disruptions or lack of liquidity in the credit markets, including reduced access to credit and higher costs of obtaining credit.", "current_body": "Widening credit spreads, as well as significant declines in the availability of credit, have in the past adversely affected our ability to borrow on a secured and unsecured basis and may do so in the future. We fund ourselves on an unsecured basis by issuing long-term debt and commercial paper, by raising deposits at our bank subsidiaries, by issuing hybrid financial instruments and by obtaining loans or lines of credit from commercial or other banking entities. We seek to finance many of our assets on a secured basis. Any disruptions in the credit markets may make it harder and more expensive to obtain funding for our businesses. If our available funding is limited or we are forced to fund our operations at a higher cost, these conditions may require us to curtail our business activities and increase our cost of funding, both of which could reduce our profitability, particularly in our businesses that involve investing, lending and market making. Our clients engaging in mergers, acquisitions and other types of strategic transactions often rely on access to the secured and unsecured credit markets to finance their transactions. A lack of available credit or an increased cost of credit can adversely affect the size, volume and timing of our clients’ merger and acquisition transactions, particularly large transactions, and adversely affect our advisory and underwriting businesses. Our credit businesses have been and may in the future be negatively affected by a lack of liquidity in credit markets. A lack of liquidity reduces price transparency, increases price volatility and decreases transaction volumes and size, all of which can increase transaction risk or decrease the profitability of these businesses. Reductions in our credit ratings or an increase in our credit spreads may adversely affect our liquidity and cost of funding.Our credit ratings are important to our liquidity. A reduction in our credit ratings could adversely affect our liquidity and competitive position, increase our borrowing costs, limit our access to the capital markets or trigger our obligations under certain provisions in some of our trading and collateralized financing contracts. Under these provisions, counterparties could be permitted to terminate contracts with us or require us to post additional collateral. Termination of our trading and collateralized financing contracts could cause us to sustain losses and impair our liquidity by requiring us to find other sources of financing or to make significant cash payments or securities movements. As of December 2023, our counterparties could have called for additional collateral or termination payments related to our net derivative liabilities under bilateral agreements in an aggregate amount of $271 million in the event of a one-notch downgrade of our credit ratings and $1.58 billion in the event of a two-notch downgrade of our credit ratings. A downgrade by any one rating agency, depending on the agency’s relative ratings of us at the time of the downgrade, may have an impact which is comparable to the impact of a downgrade by all rating agencies. For further information about our credit ratings, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Liquidity Risk Management — Credit Ratings” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K.Our cost of obtaining long-term unsecured funding is directly related to our credit spreads (the amount in excess of the interest rate of benchmark securities that we need to pay). Increases in our credit spreads can significantly increase our cost of this funding. Changes in credit spreads are continuous, market-driven, and subject at times to unpredictable and highly volatile movements. Our credit spreads are also influenced by market perceptions of our creditworthiness and movements in the costs to purchasers of credit default swaps referenced to our long-term debt. The market for credit default swaps has proven to be extremely volatile and at times has lacked a high degree of transparency or liquidity." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "prior_title": "A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "current_body": "We face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of any of the clearing agents, exchanges, clearinghouses or other financial intermediaries we use to facilitate our securities and derivatives transactions, and as our interconnectivity with our clients grows, we increasingly face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay with respect to our clients’ systems. There has been significant consolidation among clearing agents, exchanges and clearinghouses and an increasing number of derivative transactions are cleared on exchanges, which has increased our exposure to operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of the particular financial intermediaries that we use and could affect our ability to find adequate and cost-effective alternatives in the event of any such failure, delay, termination or constraint. Industry consolidation, whether among market participants or financial intermediaries, increases the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay as disparate complex systems need to be integrated, often on an accelerated basis. The interconnectivity of multiple financial institutions with central agents, exchanges and clearinghouses, and the increased centrality of these entities, increases the risk that an operational failure at one institution or entity may cause an industry-wide operational failure that could materially impact our ability to conduct business. Interconnectivity of financial institutions with other companies through, among other things, application programming interfaces or APIs presents similar risks. Any such failure, termination or constraint could adversely affect our ability to effect transactions, service our clients, manage our exposure to risk or expand our businesses or result in financial loss or liability to our clients, impairment of our liquidity, disruption of our businesses, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Despite our resiliency plans and facilities, our ability to conduct business may be adversely impacted by a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses and the communities where we are located. This may include a disruption involving electrical, satellite, undersea cable or other communications, internet, transportation or other facilities used by us, our employees or third parties with which we conduct business, including cloud service providers. These disruptions may occur as a result of events that affect only our buildings or systems or those of third parties, or as a result of events with a broader impact globally, regionally or in the cities where those buildings or systems are located, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, economic or political developments, pandemics and weather events. In addition, although we seek to diversify our third-party vendors to increase our resiliency, we are exposed to risks if our vendors operate in the same area and are also exposed to the risk that a disruption or other information technology event at a common service provider to our vendors could impede their ability to provide products or services to us. We may not be able to effectively monitor or mitigate operational risks relating to our vendors’ use of common service providers.Additionally, although the prevalence and scope of applications of distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency and similar technologies is growing, the technology is nascent and may be vulnerable to cyber attacks or have other inherent weaknesses. We are exposed to risks, and may become exposed to additional risks, related to distributed ledger technology, including through our facilitation of clients’ activities involving financial products that use distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies or other digital assets, our investments in companies that seek to develop platforms based on distributed ledger technology, the use of distributed ledger technology by third-party vendors, clients, counterparties, clearinghouses and other financial intermediaries, and the receipt of cryptocurrencies or other digital assets as collateral. Market volatility of financial products using distributed ledger technology may increase these risks. In addition, although we seek to diversify our third-party vendors to increase our resiliency, we are exposed to risks if our vendors operate in the same area and are also exposed to the risk that a disruption or other information technology event at a common service provider to our vendors could impede their ability to provide products or services to us. We may not be able to effectively monitor or mitigate operational risks relating to our vendors’ use of common service providers. Additionally, although the prevalence and scope of applications of distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency and similar technologies is growing, the technology is nascent and may be vulnerable to cyber attacks or have other inherent weaknesses. We are exposed to risks, and may become exposed to additional risks, related to distributed ledger technology, including through our facilitation of clients’ activities involving financial products that use distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies or other digital assets, our investments in companies that seek to develop platforms based on distributed ledger technology, the use of distributed ledger technology by third-party vendors, clients, counterparties, clearinghouses and other financial intermediaries, and the receipt of cryptocurrencies or other digital assets as collateral. Market volatility of financial products using distributed ledger technology may increase these risks. A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.We face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of any of the clearing agents, exchanges, clearinghouses or other financial intermediaries we use to facilitate our securities and derivatives transactions, and as our interconnectivity with our clients grows, we increasingly face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay with respect to our clients’ systems. There has been significant consolidation among clearing agents, exchanges and clearinghouses and an increasing number of derivative transactions are cleared on exchanges, which has increased our exposure to operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of the particular financial intermediaries that we use and could affect our ability to find adequate and cost-effective alternatives in the event of any such failure, delay, termination or constraint. Industry consolidation, whether among market participants or financial intermediaries, increases the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay as disparate complex systems need to be integrated, often on an accelerated basis.The interconnectivity of multiple financial institutions with central agents, exchanges and clearinghouses, and the increased centrality of these entities, increases the risk that an operational failure at one institution or entity may cause an industry-wide operational failure that could materially impact our ability to conduct business. Interconnectivity of financial institutions with other companies through, among other things, application programming interfaces or APIs presents similar risks. Any such failure, termination or constraint could adversely affect our ability to effect transactions, service our clients, manage our exposure to risk or expand our businesses or result in financial loss or liability to our clients, impairment of our liquidity, disruption of our businesses, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Despite our resiliency plans and facilities, our ability to conduct business may be adversely impacted by a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses and the communities where we are located. This may include a disruption involving electrical, satellite, undersea cable or other communications, internet, transportation or other facilities used by us, our employees or third parties with which we conduct business, including cloud service providers. These disruptions may occur as a result of events that affect only our buildings or systems or those of third parties, or as a result of events with a broader impact globally, regionally or in the cities where those buildings or systems are located, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, economic or political developments, pandemics and weather events." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by disruptions or lack of liquidity in the credit markets, including reduced access to credit and higher costs of obtaining credit.", "prior_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by disruptions or lack of liquidity in the credit markets, including reduced access to credit and higher costs of obtaining credit.", "current_body": "Widening credit spreads, as well as significant declines in the availability of credit, have in the past adversely affected our ability to borrow on a secured and unsecured basis and may do so in the future. We fund ourselves on an unsecured basis by issuing long-term debt and commercial paper, by raising deposits at our bank subsidiaries, by issuing hybrid financial instruments and by obtaining loans or lines of credit from commercial or other banking entities. We seek to finance many of our assets on a secured basis. Any disruptions in the credit markets may make it harder and more expensive to obtain funding for our businesses. If our available funding is limited or we are forced to fund our operations at a higher cost, these conditions may require us to curtail our business activities and increase our cost of funding, both of which could reduce our profitability, particularly in our businesses that involve investing, lending and market making. Our clients engaging in mergers, acquisitions and other types of strategic transactions often rely on access to the secured and unsecured credit markets to finance their transactions. A lack of available credit or an increased cost of credit can adversely affect the size, volume and timing of our clients’ merger and acquisition transactions, particularly large transactions, and adversely affect our advisory and underwriting businesses. Our credit businesses have been and may in the future be negatively affected by a lack of liquidity in credit markets. A lack of liquidity reduces price transparency, increases price volatility and decreases transaction volumes and size, all of which can increase transaction risk or decrease the profitability of these businesses. Reductions in our credit ratings or an increase in our credit spreads may adversely affect our liquidity and cost of funding.Our credit ratings are important to our liquidity. A reduction in our credit ratings could adversely affect our liquidity and competitive position, increase our borrowing costs, limit our access to the capital markets or trigger our obligations under certain provisions in some of our trading and collateralized financing contracts. Under these provisions, counterparties could be permitted to terminate contracts with us or require us to post additional collateral. Termination of our trading and collateralized financing contracts could cause us to sustain losses and impair our liquidity by requiring us to find other sources of financing or to make significant cash payments or securities movements. As of December 2023, our counterparties could have called for additional collateral or termination payments related to our net derivative liabilities under bilateral agreements in an aggregate amount of $271 million in the event of a one-notch downgrade of our credit ratings and $1.58 billion in the event of a two-notch downgrade of our credit ratings. A downgrade by any one rating agency, depending on the agency’s relative ratings of us at the time of the downgrade, may have an impact which is comparable to the impact of a downgrade by all rating agencies. For further information about our credit ratings, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Liquidity Risk Management — Credit Ratings” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K.Our cost of obtaining long-term unsecured funding is directly related to our credit spreads (the amount in excess of the interest rate of benchmark securities that we need to pay). Increases in our credit spreads can significantly increase our cost of this funding. Changes in credit spreads are continuous, market-driven, and subject at times to unpredictable and highly volatile movements. Our credit spreads are also influenced by market perceptions of our creditworthiness and movements in the costs to purchasers of credit default swaps referenced to our long-term debt. The market for credit default swaps has proven to be extremely volatile and at times has lacked a high degree of transparency or liquidity." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by disruptions or lack of liquidity in the credit markets, including reduced access to credit and higher costs of obtaining credit.", "prior_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by disruptions or lack of liquidity in the credit markets, including reduced access to credit and higher costs of obtaining credit.", "current_body": "Widening credit spreads, as well as significant declines in the availability of credit, have in the past adversely affected our ability to borrow on a secured and unsecured basis and may do so in the future. We fund ourselves on an unsecured basis by issuing long-term debt and commercial paper, by raising deposits at our bank subsidiaries, by issuing hybrid financial instruments and by obtaining loans or lines of credit from commercial or other banking entities. We seek to finance many of our assets on a secured basis. Any disruptions in the credit markets may make it harder and more expensive to obtain funding for our businesses. If our available funding is limited or we are forced to fund our operations at a higher cost, these conditions may require us to curtail our business activities and increase our cost of funding, both of which could reduce our profitability, particularly in our businesses that involve investing, lending and market making. Our clients engaging in mergers, acquisitions and other types of strategic transactions often rely on access to the secured and unsecured credit markets to finance their transactions. A lack of available credit or an increased cost of credit can adversely affect the size, volume and timing of our clients’ merger and acquisition transactions, particularly large transactions, and adversely affect our advisory and underwriting businesses. Our credit businesses have been and may in the future be negatively affected by a lack of liquidity in credit markets. A lack of liquidity reduces price transparency, increases price volatility and decreases transaction volumes and size, all of which can increase transaction risk or decrease the profitability of these businesses. Reductions in our credit ratings or an increase in our credit spreads may adversely affect our liquidity and cost of funding.Our credit ratings are important to our liquidity. A reduction in our credit ratings could adversely affect our liquidity and competitive position, increase our borrowing costs, limit our access to the capital markets or trigger our obligations under certain provisions in some of our trading and collateralized financing contracts. Under these provisions, counterparties could be permitted to terminate contracts with us or require us to post additional collateral. Termination of our trading and collateralized financing contracts could cause us to sustain losses and impair our liquidity by requiring us to find other sources of financing or to make significant cash payments or securities movements. As of December 2023, our counterparties could have called for additional collateral or termination payments related to our net derivative liabilities under bilateral agreements in an aggregate amount of $271 million in the event of a one-notch downgrade of our credit ratings and $1.58 billion in the event of a two-notch downgrade of our credit ratings. A downgrade by any one rating agency, depending on the agency’s relative ratings of us at the time of the downgrade, may have an impact which is comparable to the impact of a downgrade by all rating agencies. For further information about our credit ratings, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Liquidity Risk Management — Credit Ratings” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K.Our cost of obtaining long-term unsecured funding is directly related to our credit spreads (the amount in excess of the interest rate of benchmark securities that we need to pay). Increases in our credit spreads can significantly increase our cost of this funding. Changes in credit spreads are continuous, market-driven, and subject at times to unpredictable and highly volatile movements. Our credit spreads are also influenced by market perceptions of our creditworthiness and movements in the costs to purchasers of credit default swaps referenced to our long-term debt. The market for credit default swaps has proven to be extremely volatile and at times has lacked a high degree of transparency or liquidity." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Reductions in our credit ratings or an increase in our credit spreads may adversely affect our liquidity and cost of funding.", "prior_title": "Reductions in our credit ratings or an increase in our credit spreads may adversely affect our liquidity and cost of funding.", "current_body": "Our credit ratings are important to our liquidity. A reduction in our credit ratings could adversely affect our liquidity and competitive position, increase our borrowing costs, limit our access to the capital markets or trigger our obligations under certain provisions in some of our trading and collateralized financing contracts. Under these provisions, counterparties could be permitted to terminate contracts with us or require us to post additional collateral. Termination of our trading and collateralized financing contracts could cause us to sustain losses and impair our liquidity by requiring us to find other sources of financing or to make significant cash payments or securities movements. As of December 2023, our counterparties could have called for additional collateral or termination payments related to our net derivative liabilities under bilateral agreements in an aggregate amount of $271 million in the event of a one-notch downgrade of our credit ratings and $1.58 billion in the event of a two-notch downgrade of our credit ratings. A downgrade by any one rating agency, depending on the agency’s relative ratings of us at the time of the downgrade, may have an impact which is comparable to the impact of a downgrade by all rating agencies. For further information about our credit ratings, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Liquidity Risk Management — Credit Ratings” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. Our cost of obtaining long-term unsecured funding is directly related to our credit spreads (the amount in excess of the interest rate of benchmark securities that we need to pay). Increases in our credit spreads can significantly increase our cost of this funding. Changes in credit spreads are continuous, market-driven, and subject at times to unpredictable and highly volatile movements. Our credit spreads are also influenced by market perceptions of our creditworthiness and movements in the costs to purchasers of credit default swaps referenced to our long-term debt. The market for credit default swaps has proven to be extremely volatile and at times has lacked a high degree of transparency or liquidity. Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by disruptions or lack of liquidity in the credit markets, including reduced access to credit and higher costs of obtaining credit.Widening credit spreads, as well as significant declines in the availability of credit, have in the past adversely affected our ability to borrow on a secured and unsecured basis and may do so in the future. We fund ourselves on an unsecured basis by issuing long-term debt and commercial paper, by raising deposits at our bank subsidiaries, by issuing hybrid financial instruments and by obtaining loans or lines of credit from commercial or other banking entities. We seek to finance many of our assets on a secured basis. Any disruptions in the credit markets may make it harder and more expensive to obtain funding for our businesses. If our available funding is limited or we are forced to fund our operations at a higher cost, these conditions may require us to curtail our business activities and increase our cost of funding, both of which could reduce our profitability, particularly in our businesses that involve investing, lending and market making.Our clients engaging in mergers, acquisitions and other types of strategic transactions often rely on access to the secured and unsecured credit markets to finance their transactions. A lack of available credit or an increased cost of credit can adversely affect the size, volume and timing of our clients’ merger and acquisition transactions, particularly large transactions, and adversely affect our advisory and underwriting businesses.Our credit businesses have been and may in the future be negatively affected by a lack of liquidity in credit markets. A lack of liquidity reduces price transparency, increases price volatility and decreases transaction volumes and size, all of which can increase transaction risk or decrease the profitability of these businesses." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our asset management and wealth management businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the poor investment performance of our investment products or a client preference for products other than those which we offer or for products that generate lower fees.", "prior_title": "Our asset management and wealth management businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the poor investment performance of our investment products or a client preference for products other than those which we offer or for products that generate lower fees.", "current_body": "Poor investment returns in our asset management and wealth management businesses, due to either general market conditions or underperformance (relative to our competitors or to benchmarks) by funds or accounts that we manage or investment products that we design or sell, affect our ability to retain existing assets and to attract new clients or additional assets from existing clients. This could affect the management and incentive fees that we earn on AUS or the commissions and net spreads that we earn for selling other investment products, such as structured notes or derivatives. To the extent that our clients choose to invest in products that we do not currently offer, we will suffer outflows and a loss of management fees. Further, if, due to changes in investor sentiment or the relative performance of certain asset classes or otherwise, clients continue to invest in products that generate lower fees (e.g., passively managed or fixed income products), our average effective management fee will decline further and our asset management and wealth management businesses could be adversely affected." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our asset management and wealth management businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the poor investment performance of our investment products or a client preference for products other than those which we offer or for products that generate lower fees.", "prior_title": "Our asset management and wealth management businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the poor investment performance of our investment products or a client preference for products other than those which we offer or for products that generate lower fees.", "current_body": "Poor investment returns in our asset management and wealth management businesses, due to either general market conditions or underperformance (relative to our competitors or to benchmarks) by funds or accounts that we manage or investment products that we design or sell, affect our ability to retain existing assets and to attract new clients or additional assets from existing clients. This could affect the management and incentive fees that we earn on AUS or the commissions and net spreads that we earn for selling other investment products, such as structured notes or derivatives. To the extent that our clients choose to invest in products that we do not currently offer, we will suffer outflows and a loss of management fees. Further, if, due to changes in investor sentiment or the relative performance of certain asset classes or otherwise, clients continue to invest in products that generate lower fees (e.g., passively managed or fixed income products), our average effective management fee will decline further and our asset management and wealth management businesses could be adversely affected." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our asset management and wealth management businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the poor investment performance of our investment products or a client preference for products other than those which we offer or for products that generate lower fees.", "prior_title": "Our asset management and wealth management businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the poor investment performance of our investment products or a client preference for products other than those which we offer or for products that generate lower fees.", "current_body": "Poor investment returns in our asset management and wealth management businesses, due to either general market conditions or underperformance (relative to our competitors or to benchmarks) by funds or accounts that we manage or investment products that we design or sell, affect our ability to retain existing assets and to attract new clients or additional assets from existing clients. This could affect the management and incentive fees that we earn on AUS or the commissions and net spreads that we earn for selling other investment products, such as structured notes or derivatives. To the extent that our clients choose to invest in products that we do not currently offer, we will suffer outflows and a loss of management fees. Further, if, due to changes in investor sentiment or the relative performance of certain asset classes or otherwise, clients continue to invest in products that generate lower fees (e.g., passively managed or fixed income products), our average effective management fee will decline further and our asset management and wealth management businesses could be adversely affected." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our liquidity, profitability and businesses may be adversely affected by an inability to access the debt capital markets or to sell assets.", "prior_title": "Our liquidity, profitability and businesses may be adversely affected by an inability to access the debt capital markets or to sell assets.", "current_body": "Liquidity is essential to our businesses. It is of critical importance to us, as most of the failures of financial institutions have occurred in large part due to insufficient liquidity. Our liquidity may be impaired by an inability to access secured and/or unsecured debt markets, an inability to raise or retain deposits, an inability to access funds from our subsidiaries or otherwise allocate liquidity optimally, an inability to sell assets or redeem our investments, lack of timely settlement of transactions, unusual deposit outflows, or other unforeseen outflows of cash or collateral, such as in March 2020, when corporate clients drew on revolving credit facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation may arise due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as a general market or economic disruption or an operational problem that affects third parties or us, or even by the perception among market participants that we, or other market participants, are experiencing greater liquidity risk. We employ structured products to benefit our clients and hedge our own risks. The financial instruments that we hold and the contracts to which we are a party are often complex, and these complex structured products often do not have readily available markets to access in times of liquidity stress. Our investing and financing activities may lead to situations where the holdings from these activities represent a significant portion of specific markets, which could restrict liquidity for our positions. Further, our ability to sell assets may be impaired if there is not generally a liquid market for such assets, as well as in circumstances where other market participants are seeking to sell similar otherwise generally liquid assets at the same time, as is likely to occur in a liquidity or other market crisis or in response to changes to rules or regulations. For example, in 2021, an investment management firm with large positions with several financial institutions defaulted, resulting in rapidly declining prices in the securities underlying those positions. In addition, clearinghouses, exchanges and other financial institutions with which we interact may exercise set-off rights or the right to require additional collateral, including in difficult market conditions, which could further impair our liquidity. Numerous regulations have been adopted that impose more stringent liquidity requirements on large financial institutions, including us. These regulations require us to hold large amounts of highly liquid assets and reduce our flexibility to source and deploy funding. In addition, our need to manage our operations in light of certain regulatory requirements when applicable thresholds are met has in the past limited and may in the future limit our ability to raise deposits in GSIB or other funding, which could adversely affect our liquidity or ability to respond efficiently to liquidity stress. Our asset management and wealth management businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the poor investment performance of our investment products or a client preference for products other than those which we offer or for products that generate lower fees.Poor investment returns in our asset management and wealth management businesses, due to either general market conditions or underperformance (relative to our competitors or to benchmarks) by funds or accounts that we manage or investment products that we design or sell, affect our ability to retain existing assets and to attract new clients or additional assets from existing clients. This could affect the management and incentive fees that we earn on AUS or the commissions and net spreads that we earn for selling other investment products, such as structured notes or derivatives. To the extent that our clients choose to invest in products that we do not currently offer, we will suffer outflows and a loss of management fees. Further, if, due to changes in investor sentiment or the relative performance of certain asset classes or otherwise, clients continue to invest in products that generate lower fees (e.g., passively managed or fixed income products), our average effective management fee will decline further and our asset management and wealth management businesses could be adversely affected.Inflation has had, and could continue to have, a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.Inflationary pressures have affected economies, financial markets and market participants worldwide. Inflationary pressures have increased certain of our operating expenses, and have adversely affected consumer sentiment and CEO confidence. Central bank responses to inflationary pressures have also resulted in higher market interest rates, which, in turn, have contributed to lower activity levels across financial markets, in particular for debt underwriting transactions and mortgage originations, and resulted in lower values for certain financial assets which have adversely affected our equity and debt investments. Higher interest rates increase our borrowing costs and have required us to increase interest paid on our deposits. If inflationary pressures persist, our expenses may increase further; we may be unable to achieve our efficiency ratio target; activity levels for certain of our businesses, in particular debt underwriting and mortgages, may decline; our interest expense could increase faster than our interest income, reducing our net interest income and net interest margin; certain of our investments could continue to incur losses or generally low levels of returns; AUS could decline, or the composition of our AUS could shift to lower fee products, reducing management and other fees; economies worldwide could experience recessions; and we could continue to operate in a generally unfavorable economic and market environment." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Reductions in our credit ratings or an increase in our credit spreads may adversely affect our liquidity and cost of funding.", "prior_title": "Reductions in our credit ratings or an increase in our credit spreads may adversely affect our liquidity and cost of funding.", "current_body": "Our credit ratings are important to our liquidity. A reduction in our credit ratings could adversely affect our liquidity and competitive position, increase our borrowing costs, limit our access to the capital markets or trigger our obligations under certain provisions in some of our trading and collateralized financing contracts. Under these provisions, counterparties could be permitted to terminate contracts with us or require us to post additional collateral. Termination of our trading and collateralized financing contracts could cause us to sustain losses and impair our liquidity by requiring us to find other sources of financing or to make significant cash payments or securities movements. As of December 2023, our counterparties could have called for additional collateral or termination payments related to our net derivative liabilities under bilateral agreements in an aggregate amount of $271 million in the event of a one-notch downgrade of our credit ratings and $1.58 billion in the event of a two-notch downgrade of our credit ratings. A downgrade by any one rating agency, depending on the agency’s relative ratings of us at the time of the downgrade, may have an impact which is comparable to the impact of a downgrade by all rating agencies. For further information about our credit ratings, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Liquidity Risk Management — Credit Ratings” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. Our cost of obtaining long-term unsecured funding is directly related to our credit spreads (the amount in excess of the interest rate of benchmark securities that we need to pay). Increases in our credit spreads can significantly increase our cost of this funding. Changes in credit spreads are continuous, market-driven, and subject at times to unpredictable and highly volatile movements. Our credit spreads are also influenced by market perceptions of our creditworthiness and movements in the costs to purchasers of credit default swaps referenced to our long-term debt. The market for credit default swaps has proven to be extremely volatile and at times has lacked a high degree of transparency or liquidity. Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by disruptions or lack of liquidity in the credit markets, including reduced access to credit and higher costs of obtaining credit.Widening credit spreads, as well as significant declines in the availability of credit, have in the past adversely affected our ability to borrow on a secured and unsecured basis and may do so in the future. We fund ourselves on an unsecured basis by issuing long-term debt and commercial paper, by raising deposits at our bank subsidiaries, by issuing hybrid financial instruments and by obtaining loans or lines of credit from commercial or other banking entities. We seek to finance many of our assets on a secured basis. Any disruptions in the credit markets may make it harder and more expensive to obtain funding for our businesses. If our available funding is limited or we are forced to fund our operations at a higher cost, these conditions may require us to curtail our business activities and increase our cost of funding, both of which could reduce our profitability, particularly in our businesses that involve investing, lending and market making.Our clients engaging in mergers, acquisitions and other types of strategic transactions often rely on access to the secured and unsecured credit markets to finance their transactions. A lack of available credit or an increased cost of credit can adversely affect the size, volume and timing of our clients’ merger and acquisition transactions, particularly large transactions, and adversely affect our advisory and underwriting businesses.Our credit businesses have been and may in the future be negatively affected by a lack of liquidity in credit markets. A lack of liquidity reduces price transparency, increases price volatility and decreases transaction volumes and size, all of which can increase transaction risk or decrease the profitability of these businesses." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Inflation has had, and could continue to have, a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.", "prior_title": "Inflation has had, and could continue to have, a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.", "current_body": "Inflationary pressures have affected economies, financial markets and market participants worldwide. Inflationary pressures have increased certain of our operating expenses, and have adversely affected consumer sentiment and CEO confidence. Central bank responses to inflationary pressures have also resulted in higher market interest rates, which, in turn, have contributed to lower activity levels across financial markets, in particular for debt underwriting transactions and mortgage originations, and resulted in lower values for certain financial assets which have adversely affected our equity and debt investments. Higher interest rates increase our borrowing costs and have required us to increase interest paid on our deposits. If inflationary pressures persist, our expenses may increase further; we may be unable to achieve our efficiency ratio target; activity levels for certain of our businesses, in particular debt underwriting and mortgages, may decline; our interest expense could increase faster than our interest income, reducing our net interest income and net interest margin; certain of our investments could continue to incur losses or generally low levels of returns; AUS could decline, or the composition of our AUS could shift to lower fee products, reducing management and other fees; economies worldwide could experience recessions; and we could continue to operate in a generally unfavorable economic and market environment. LiquidityOur liquidity, profitability and businesses may be adversely affected by an inability to access the debt capital markets or to sell assets.Liquidity is essential to our businesses. It is of critical importance to us, as most of the failures of financial institutions have occurred in large part due to insufficient liquidity. Our liquidity may be impaired by an inability to access secured and/or unsecured debt markets, an inability to raise or retain deposits, an inability to access funds from our subsidiaries or otherwise allocate liquidity optimally, an inability to sell assets or redeem our investments, lack of timely settlement of transactions, unusual deposit outflows, or other unforeseen outflows of cash or collateral, such as in March 2020, when corporate clients drew on revolving credit facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation may arise due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as a general market or economic disruption or an operational problem that affects third parties or us, or even by the perception among market participants that we, or other market participants, are experiencing greater liquidity risk.We employ structured products to benefit our clients and hedge our own risks. The financial instruments that we hold and the contracts to which we are a party are often complex, and these complex structured products often do not have readily available markets to access in times of liquidity stress. Our investing and financing activities may lead to situations where the holdings from these activities represent a significant portion of specific markets, which could restrict liquidity for our positions. Further, our ability to sell assets may be impaired if there is not generally a liquid market for such assets, as well as in circumstances where other market participants are seeking to sell similar otherwise generally liquid assets at the same time, as is likely to occur in a liquidity or other market crisis or in response to changes to rules or regulations. For example, in 2021, an investment management firm with large positions with several financial institutions defaulted, resulting in rapidly declining prices in the securities underlying those positions. In addition, clearinghouses, exchanges and other financial institutions with which we interact may exercise set-off rights or the right to require additional collateral, including in difficult market conditions, which could further impair our liquidity.Numerous regulations have been adopted that impose more stringent liquidity requirements on large financial institutions, including us. These regulations require us to hold large amounts of highly liquid assets and reduce our flexibility to source and deploy funding. In addition, our need to manage our operations in light of certain regulatory requirements when applicable thresholds are met has in the past limited and may in the future limit our ability to raise deposits in GSIB or other funding, which could adversely affect our liquidity or ability to respond efficiently to liquidity stress. Liquidity" }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Inflation has had, and could continue to have, a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.", "prior_title": "Inflation has had, and could continue to have, a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.", "current_body": "Inflationary pressures have affected economies, financial markets and market participants worldwide. Inflationary pressures have increased certain of our operating expenses, and have adversely affected consumer sentiment and CEO confidence. Central bank responses to inflationary pressures have also resulted in higher market interest rates, which, in turn, have contributed to lower activity levels across financial markets, in particular for debt underwriting transactions and mortgage originations, and resulted in lower values for certain financial assets which have adversely affected our equity and debt investments. Higher interest rates increase our borrowing costs and have required us to increase interest paid on our deposits. If inflationary pressures persist, our expenses may increase further; we may be unable to achieve our efficiency ratio target; activity levels for certain of our businesses, in particular debt underwriting and mortgages, may decline; our interest expense could increase faster than our interest income, reducing our net interest income and net interest margin; certain of our investments could continue to incur losses or generally low levels of returns; AUS could decline, or the composition of our AUS could shift to lower fee products, reducing management and other fees; economies worldwide could experience recessions; and we could continue to operate in a generally unfavorable economic and market environment. LiquidityOur liquidity, profitability and businesses may be adversely affected by an inability to access the debt capital markets or to sell assets.Liquidity is essential to our businesses. It is of critical importance to us, as most of the failures of financial institutions have occurred in large part due to insufficient liquidity. Our liquidity may be impaired by an inability to access secured and/or unsecured debt markets, an inability to raise or retain deposits, an inability to access funds from our subsidiaries or otherwise allocate liquidity optimally, an inability to sell assets or redeem our investments, lack of timely settlement of transactions, unusual deposit outflows, or other unforeseen outflows of cash or collateral, such as in March 2020, when corporate clients drew on revolving credit facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation may arise due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as a general market or economic disruption or an operational problem that affects third parties or us, or even by the perception among market participants that we, or other market participants, are experiencing greater liquidity risk.We employ structured products to benefit our clients and hedge our own risks. The financial instruments that we hold and the contracts to which we are a party are often complex, and these complex structured products often do not have readily available markets to access in times of liquidity stress. Our investing and financing activities may lead to situations where the holdings from these activities represent a significant portion of specific markets, which could restrict liquidity for our positions. Further, our ability to sell assets may be impaired if there is not generally a liquid market for such assets, as well as in circumstances where other market participants are seeking to sell similar otherwise generally liquid assets at the same time, as is likely to occur in a liquidity or other market crisis or in response to changes to rules or regulations. For example, in 2021, an investment management firm with large positions with several financial institutions defaulted, resulting in rapidly declining prices in the securities underlying those positions. In addition, clearinghouses, exchanges and other financial institutions with which we interact may exercise set-off rights or the right to require additional collateral, including in difficult market conditions, which could further impair our liquidity.Numerous regulations have been adopted that impose more stringent liquidity requirements on large financial institutions, including us. These regulations require us to hold large amounts of highly liquid assets and reduce our flexibility to source and deploy funding. In addition, our need to manage our operations in light of certain regulatory requirements when applicable thresholds are met has in the past limited and may in the future limit our ability to raise deposits in GSIB or other funding, which could adversely affect our liquidity or ability to respond efficiently to liquidity stress. Liquidity" }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our investment banking, client intermediation, asset management and wealth management businesses have been adversely affected and may in the future be adversely affected by market uncertainty or lack of confidence among investors and CEOs due to declines in economic activity and other unfavorable economic, geopolitical or market conditions.", "prior_title": "Our investment banking, client intermediation, asset management and wealth management businesses have been adversely affected and may in the future be adversely affected by market uncertainty or lack of confidence among investors and CEOs due to declines in economic activity and other unfavorable economic, geopolitical or market conditions.", "current_body": "Our investment banking business has been and may in the future be adversely affected by market conditions. Poor economic conditions and other uncertain geopolitical conditions may adversely affect and have in the past adversely affected investor and CEO confidence, resulting in significant industry-wide declines in the size and number of underwritings and of advisory transactions, which would likely have and have in the past had an adverse effect on our revenues and our profit margins. In particular, because a significant portion of our investment banking revenues is derived from our participation in large transactions, a decline in the number of large transactions has in the past and would in the future adversely affect our investment banking business. Similarly, in recent years, cross-border initial public offerings and other securities offerings have accounted for a significant proportion of new issuance activity. Legislative, regulatory or other changes that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities outside the issuers’ domestic markets, that result in or could result in the delisting or removal of securities from exchanges or indices, have in the past adversely affected and would in the future adversely affect our underwriting and client intermediation businesses. Furthermore, changes, or proposed changes, to international trade and investment policies of the U.S. and other countries could negatively affect market activity levels and our revenues. In certain circumstances, market uncertainty or general declines in market or economic activity may adversely affect our client intermediation businesses by decreasing levels of overall activity or by decreasing volatility. Market uncertainty, volatility and adverse economic conditions, as well as declines in asset values, may cause our clients to transfer their assets out of our funds or other products or their brokerage accounts and result in reduced net revenues, principally in our asset management and wealth management businesses. Even if clients do not withdraw their funds, they may invest them in products that generate less fee income. We post collateral to support our obligations and receive collateral that supports the obligations of our clients and counterparties. When the value of the assets posted as collateral or the credit ratings of the party posting collateral decline, the party posting the collateral may need to provide additional collateral or, if possible, reduce its trading position. An example of such a situation is a “margin call” in connection with a brokerage account. Therefore, declines in the value of asset classes used as collateral mean that either the cost of funding positions is increased or the size of positions is decreased. If we are the party providing collateral, this can increase our costs and reduce our profitability and if we are the party receiving collateral, this can also reduce our profitability by reducing the level of business done with our clients and counterparties.In addition, volatile or less liquid markets increase the difficulty of valuing assets, which can lead to costly and time-consuming disputes over asset values and the level of required collateral, as well as increased credit risk to the recipient of the collateral due to delays in receiving adequate collateral. In cases where we foreclose on collateral, sudden declines in the value or liquidity of the collateral have in the past resulted in, and may in the future result in, significant losses to us, especially where there is a single type of collateral supporting the obligation. In addition, we have been and may in the future be subject to claims that the foreclosure was not permitted under the legal documents, was conducted in an improper manner, including in violation of law, or caused a client or counterparty to go out of business.Our market-making activities have been and may in the future be affected by changes in the levels of market volatility.Certain of our market-making activities depend on market volatility to provide trading and arbitrage opportunities to our clients, and decreases in volatility have reduced and may in the future reduce these opportunities and the level of client activity associated with them and have adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect the results of these activities. Increased volatility, while it can increase trading volumes and spreads, also increases risk as measured by Value-at-Risk (VaR) and increases risks in connection with our market-making activities and can cause us to reduce our inventory. Limiting the size of our market-making positions can adversely affect our profitability. In periods when volatility is increasing, but asset values are declining significantly, it may not be possible to sell assets at all or it may only be possible to do so at steep discounts. In those circumstances, we have been and may in the future be forced to either take on additional risk or to realize losses in order to decrease our VaR. In addition, increases in volatility increase the level of our RWAs, which increases the amount of capital that we are required to hold, and this can reduce our profitability and reduce our ability to distribute capital to our shareholders. We post collateral to support our obligations and receive collateral that supports the obligations of our clients and counterparties. When the value of the assets posted as collateral or the credit ratings of the party posting collateral decline, the party posting the collateral may need to provide additional collateral or, if possible, reduce its trading position. An example of such a situation is a “margin call” in connection with a brokerage account. Therefore, declines in the value of asset classes used as collateral mean that either the cost of funding positions is increased or the size of positions is decreased. If we are the party providing collateral, this can increase our costs and reduce our profitability and if we are the party receiving collateral, this can also reduce our profitability by reducing the level of business done with our clients and counterparties. In addition, volatile or less liquid markets increase the difficulty of valuing assets, which can lead to costly and time-consuming disputes over asset values and the level of required collateral, as well as increased credit risk to the recipient of the collateral due to delays in receiving adequate collateral. In cases where we foreclose on collateral, sudden declines in the value or liquidity of the collateral have in the past resulted in, and may in the future result in, significant losses to us, especially where there is a single type of collateral supporting the obligation. In addition, we have been and may in the future be subject to claims that the foreclosure was not permitted under the legal documents, was conducted in an improper manner, including in violation of law, or caused a client or counterparty to go out of business." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "prior_title": "A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "current_body": "Our businesses are highly dependent on our ability to process and monitor, on a daily basis, a very large number of transactions, many of which are highly complex and occur at high volumes and frequencies, across numerous and diverse markets in many currencies. These transactions, as well as the information technology services we provide to clients, often must adhere to client-specific guidelines, as well as legal and regulatory standards. Many rules and regulations worldwide govern our obligations to execute transactions and report such transactions and other information to regulators, exchanges and investors. Compliance with these legal and reporting requirements can be challenging, and we have been and may in the future be subject to regulatory fines and penalties for failing to follow these rules or to report timely, accurate and complete information in accordance with these rules. As the volume, speed, frequency and complexity of transactions, especially electronic transactions (as well as the requirements to report such transactions on a real-time basis to clients, regulators and exchanges) increase, developing and maintaining our operational systems and infrastructure has become more challenging, and the risk of systems or human error in connection with such transactions has increased, as have the potential consequences of such errors due to the speed and volume of transactions involved and the potential difficulty associated with discovering errors quickly enough to limit the resulting consequences. For example, the transition to a T+1 settlement timeframe in the U.S. in 2024 subjects us to increased operational risks with respect to reporting and timely settlement of transactions. These risks are exacerbated in times of increased volatility. As with other similarly situated institutions, we utilize credit underwriting models in connection with our businesses, including our consumer-oriented activities. Allegations or publicity, whether or not accurate, that our underwriting decisions do not treat consumers or clients fairly, or comply with the applicable law or regulation, have in the past resulted and may in the future result in negative publicity, reputational damage and governmental and regulatory scrutiny, investigations and enforcement actions. Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.We are party to a large number of derivative transactions, including credit derivatives. Many of these derivative instruments are individually negotiated and non-standardized, which can make exiting, transferring or settling positions difficult. Many credit derivatives require that we deliver to the counterparty the underlying security, loan or other obligation in order to receive payment. In a number of cases, we do not hold the underlying security, loan or other obligation and may not be able to obtain the underlying security, loan or other obligation. This could cause us to forfeit the payments due to us under these contracts or result in settlement delays with the attendant credit and operational risk, as well as increased costs to us. Derivative transactions also involve the risk that documentation has not been properly executed, that executed agreements may not be enforceable against the counterparty, or that obligations under such agreements may not be able to be “netted” against other obligations with such counterparty. In addition, counterparties may claim that such transactions were not appropriate or authorized.As a signatory to the ISDA Universal Protocol or U.S. ISDA Protocol (ISDA Protocols) and being subject to the FRB’s and FDIC’s rules on QFCs and similar rules in other jurisdictions, we may not be able to exercise remedies against counterparties and, as this regime has not yet been tested, we may suffer risks or losses that we would not have expected to suffer if we could immediately close out transactions upon a termination event. The ISDA Protocols and these rules and regulations extend to repurchase agreements and other instruments that are not derivative contracts.Derivative contracts and other transactions, including secondary bank loan purchases and sales, entered into with third parties are not always confirmed by the counterparties or settled on a timely basis. While the transaction remains unconfirmed or during any delay in settlement, we are subject to heightened credit and operational risk and in the event of a default may find it more difficult to enforce our rights.In addition, as new complex derivative products are created, covering a wider array of underlying credit and other instruments, disputes about the terms of the underlying contracts could arise, which could impair our ability to effectively manage our risk exposures from these products and subject us to increased costs. The provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act requiring central clearing of credit derivatives and other OTC derivatives, or a market shift toward standardized derivatives, could reduce the risk associated with these transactions, but under certain circumstances could also limit our ability to develop derivatives that best suit the needs of our clients and to hedge our own risks, and could adversely affect our profitability. In addition, these provisions have increased our credit exposure to central clearing platforms." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.", "prior_title": "Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.", "current_body": "We are party to a large number of derivative transactions, including credit derivatives. Many of these derivative instruments are individually negotiated and non-standardized, which can make exiting, transferring or settling positions difficult. Many credit derivatives require that we deliver to the counterparty the underlying security, loan or other obligation in order to receive payment. In a number of cases, we do not hold the underlying security, loan or other obligation and may not be able to obtain the underlying security, loan or other obligation. This could cause us to forfeit the payments due to us under these contracts or result in settlement delays with the attendant credit and operational risk, as well as increased costs to us. Derivative transactions also involve the risk that documentation has not been properly executed, that executed agreements may not be enforceable against the counterparty, or that obligations under such agreements may not be able to be “netted” against other obligations with such counterparty. In addition, counterparties may claim that such transactions were not appropriate or authorized. As a signatory to the ISDA Universal Protocol or U.S. ISDA Protocol (ISDA Protocols) and being subject to the FRB’s and FDIC’s rules on QFCs and similar rules in other jurisdictions, we may not be able to exercise remedies against counterparties and, as this regime has not yet been tested, we may suffer risks or losses that we would not have expected to suffer if we could immediately close out transactions upon a termination event. The ISDA Protocols and these rules and regulations extend to repurchase agreements and other instruments that are not derivative contracts. Derivative contracts and other transactions, including secondary bank loan purchases and sales, entered into with third parties are not always confirmed by the counterparties or settled on a timely basis. While the transaction remains unconfirmed or during any delay in settlement, we are subject to heightened credit and operational risk and in the event of a default may find it more difficult to enforce our rights. In addition, as new complex derivative products are created, covering a wider array of underlying credit and other instruments, disputes about the terms of the underlying contracts could arise, which could impair our ability to effectively manage our risk exposures from these products and subject us to increased costs. The provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act requiring central clearing of credit derivatives and other OTC derivatives, or a market shift toward standardized derivatives, could reduce the risk associated with these transactions, but under certain circumstances could also limit our ability to develop derivatives that best suit the needs of our clients and to hedge our own risks, and could adversely affect our profitability. In addition, these provisions have increased our credit exposure to central clearing platforms. OperationalA failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.Our businesses are highly dependent on our ability to process and monitor, on a daily basis, a very large number of transactions, many of which are highly complex and occur at high volumes and frequencies, across numerous and diverse markets in many currencies. These transactions, as well as the information technology services we provide to clients, often must adhere to client-specific guidelines, as well as legal and regulatory standards. Many rules and regulations worldwide govern our obligations to execute transactions and report such transactions and other information to regulators, exchanges and investors. Compliance with these legal and reporting requirements can be challenging, and we have been and may in the future be subject to regulatory fines and penalties for failing to follow these rules or to report timely, accurate and complete information in accordance with these rules. As the volume, speed, frequency and complexity of transactions, especially electronic transactions (as well as the requirements to report such transactions on a real-time basis to clients, regulators and exchanges) increase, developing and maintaining our operational systems and infrastructure has become more challenging, and the risk of systems or human error in connection with such transactions has increased, as have the potential consequences of such errors due to the speed and volume of transactions involved and the potential difficulty associated with discovering errors quickly enough to limit the resulting consequences. For example, the transition to a T+1 settlement timeframe in the U.S. in 2024 subjects us to increased operational risks with respect to reporting and timely settlement of transactions. These risks are exacerbated in times of increased volatility. As with other similarly situated institutions, we utilize credit underwriting models in connection with our businesses, including our consumer-oriented activities. Allegations or publicity, whether or not accurate, that our underwriting decisions do not treat consumers or clients fairly, or comply with the applicable law or regulation, have in the past resulted and may in the future result in negative publicity, reputational damage and governmental and regulatory scrutiny, investigations and enforcement actions." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.", "prior_title": "Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.", "current_body": "We are party to a large number of derivative transactions, including credit derivatives. Many of these derivative instruments are individually negotiated and non-standardized, which can make exiting, transferring or settling positions difficult. Many credit derivatives require that we deliver to the counterparty the underlying security, loan or other obligation in order to receive payment. In a number of cases, we do not hold the underlying security, loan or other obligation and may not be able to obtain the underlying security, loan or other obligation. This could cause us to forfeit the payments due to us under these contracts or result in settlement delays with the attendant credit and operational risk, as well as increased costs to us. Derivative transactions also involve the risk that documentation has not been properly executed, that executed agreements may not be enforceable against the counterparty, or that obligations under such agreements may not be able to be “netted” against other obligations with such counterparty. In addition, counterparties may claim that such transactions were not appropriate or authorized. As a signatory to the ISDA Universal Protocol or U.S. ISDA Protocol (ISDA Protocols) and being subject to the FRB’s and FDIC’s rules on QFCs and similar rules in other jurisdictions, we may not be able to exercise remedies against counterparties and, as this regime has not yet been tested, we may suffer risks or losses that we would not have expected to suffer if we could immediately close out transactions upon a termination event. The ISDA Protocols and these rules and regulations extend to repurchase agreements and other instruments that are not derivative contracts. Derivative contracts and other transactions, including secondary bank loan purchases and sales, entered into with third parties are not always confirmed by the counterparties or settled on a timely basis. While the transaction remains unconfirmed or during any delay in settlement, we are subject to heightened credit and operational risk and in the event of a default may find it more difficult to enforce our rights. In addition, as new complex derivative products are created, covering a wider array of underlying credit and other instruments, disputes about the terms of the underlying contracts could arise, which could impair our ability to effectively manage our risk exposures from these products and subject us to increased costs. The provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act requiring central clearing of credit derivatives and other OTC derivatives, or a market shift toward standardized derivatives, could reduce the risk associated with these transactions, but under certain circumstances could also limit our ability to develop derivatives that best suit the needs of our clients and to hedge our own risks, and could adversely affect our profitability. In addition, these provisions have increased our credit exposure to central clearing platforms. OperationalA failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.Our businesses are highly dependent on our ability to process and monitor, on a daily basis, a very large number of transactions, many of which are highly complex and occur at high volumes and frequencies, across numerous and diverse markets in many currencies. These transactions, as well as the information technology services we provide to clients, often must adhere to client-specific guidelines, as well as legal and regulatory standards. Many rules and regulations worldwide govern our obligations to execute transactions and report such transactions and other information to regulators, exchanges and investors. Compliance with these legal and reporting requirements can be challenging, and we have been and may in the future be subject to regulatory fines and penalties for failing to follow these rules or to report timely, accurate and complete information in accordance with these rules. As the volume, speed, frequency and complexity of transactions, especially electronic transactions (as well as the requirements to report such transactions on a real-time basis to clients, regulators and exchanges) increase, developing and maintaining our operational systems and infrastructure has become more challenging, and the risk of systems or human error in connection with such transactions has increased, as have the potential consequences of such errors due to the speed and volume of transactions involved and the potential difficulty associated with discovering errors quickly enough to limit the resulting consequences. For example, the transition to a T+1 settlement timeframe in the U.S. in 2024 subjects us to increased operational risks with respect to reporting and timely settlement of transactions. These risks are exacerbated in times of increased volatility. As with other similarly situated institutions, we utilize credit underwriting models in connection with our businesses, including our consumer-oriented activities. Allegations or publicity, whether or not accurate, that our underwriting decisions do not treat consumers or clients fairly, or comply with the applicable law or regulation, have in the past resulted and may in the future result in negative publicity, reputational damage and governmental and regulatory scrutiny, investigations and enforcement actions." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "prior_title": "A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "current_body": "Our businesses are highly dependent on our ability to process and monitor, on a daily basis, a very large number of transactions, many of which are highly complex and occur at high volumes and frequencies, across numerous and diverse markets in many currencies. These transactions, as well as the information technology services we provide to clients, often must adhere to client-specific guidelines, as well as legal and regulatory standards. Many rules and regulations worldwide govern our obligations to execute transactions and report such transactions and other information to regulators, exchanges and investors. Compliance with these legal and reporting requirements can be challenging, and we have been and may in the future be subject to regulatory fines and penalties for failing to follow these rules or to report timely, accurate and complete information in accordance with these rules. As the volume, speed, frequency and complexity of transactions, especially electronic transactions (as well as the requirements to report such transactions on a real-time basis to clients, regulators and exchanges) increase, developing and maintaining our operational systems and infrastructure has become more challenging, and the risk of systems or human error in connection with such transactions has increased, as have the potential consequences of such errors due to the speed and volume of transactions involved and the potential difficulty associated with discovering errors quickly enough to limit the resulting consequences. For example, the transition to a T+1 settlement timeframe in the U.S. in 2024 subjects us to increased operational risks with respect to reporting and timely settlement of transactions. These risks are exacerbated in times of increased volatility. As with other similarly situated institutions, we utilize credit underwriting models in connection with our businesses, including our consumer-oriented activities. Allegations or publicity, whether or not accurate, that our underwriting decisions do not treat consumers or clients fairly, or comply with the applicable law or regulation, have in the past resulted and may in the future result in negative publicity, reputational damage and governmental and regulatory scrutiny, investigations and enforcement actions. Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.We are party to a large number of derivative transactions, including credit derivatives. Many of these derivative instruments are individually negotiated and non-standardized, which can make exiting, transferring or settling positions difficult. Many credit derivatives require that we deliver to the counterparty the underlying security, loan or other obligation in order to receive payment. In a number of cases, we do not hold the underlying security, loan or other obligation and may not be able to obtain the underlying security, loan or other obligation. This could cause us to forfeit the payments due to us under these contracts or result in settlement delays with the attendant credit and operational risk, as well as increased costs to us. Derivative transactions also involve the risk that documentation has not been properly executed, that executed agreements may not be enforceable against the counterparty, or that obligations under such agreements may not be able to be “netted” against other obligations with such counterparty. In addition, counterparties may claim that such transactions were not appropriate or authorized.As a signatory to the ISDA Universal Protocol or U.S. ISDA Protocol (ISDA Protocols) and being subject to the FRB’s and FDIC’s rules on QFCs and similar rules in other jurisdictions, we may not be able to exercise remedies against counterparties and, as this regime has not yet been tested, we may suffer risks or losses that we would not have expected to suffer if we could immediately close out transactions upon a termination event. The ISDA Protocols and these rules and regulations extend to repurchase agreements and other instruments that are not derivative contracts.Derivative contracts and other transactions, including secondary bank loan purchases and sales, entered into with third parties are not always confirmed by the counterparties or settled on a timely basis. While the transaction remains unconfirmed or during any delay in settlement, we are subject to heightened credit and operational risk and in the event of a default may find it more difficult to enforce our rights.In addition, as new complex derivative products are created, covering a wider array of underlying credit and other instruments, disputes about the terms of the underlying contracts could arise, which could impair our ability to effectively manage our risk exposures from these products and subject us to increased costs. The provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act requiring central clearing of credit derivatives and other OTC derivatives, or a market shift toward standardized derivatives, could reduce the risk associated with these transactions, but under certain circumstances could also limit our ability to develop derivatives that best suit the needs of our clients and to hedge our own risks, and could adversely affect our profitability. In addition, these provisions have increased our credit exposure to central clearing platforms." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.", "prior_title": "We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.", "current_body": "We have engaged in selective acquisitions and may continue to do so in the future and these acquisitions may, individually or in the aggregate, be material to us. Any future acquisitions could involve the issuance of common stock and/or the payment of cash as consideration. The success of our acquisitions will depend, in part, on our ability to integrate the acquired businesses and realize anticipated synergies, cost savings and growth opportunities. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2023, we entered into an agreement to sell GreenSky and sold PFM, both of which we had previously acquired, and in connection with the GreenSky disposition incurred a write-down of intangible assets and goodwill. We may face numerous risks and uncertainties in combining and integrating the relevant businesses and systems, including the need to combine or separate accounting and data processing systems and management controls and to integrate relationships with clients, counterparties, regulators and others in connection with acquisitions. Integration of acquired businesses is time-consuming and could disrupt our ongoing businesses, produce unforeseen regulatory or operating difficulties, cause us to incur incremental expenses or require incremental financial, management and other resources. It is also possible that an acquisition, once announced, may not close due to the failure to satisfy applicable closing conditions, such as the receipt of necessary shareholder or regulatory approvals. There is no assurance that any of our acquisitions will be successfully integrated or yield all of the expected benefits and synergies in the time frames that we expect, or at all. If we are not able to integrate our acquisitions successfully, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions.We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and may continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions. We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and may continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions. We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and may continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses. We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.We have engaged in selective acquisitions and may continue to do so in the future and these acquisitions may, individually or in the aggregate, be material to us. Any future acquisitions could involve the issuance of common stock and/or the payment of cash as consideration. The success of our acquisitions will depend, in part, on our ability to integrate the acquired businesses and realize anticipated synergies, cost savings and growth opportunities. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2023, we entered into an agreement to sell GreenSky and sold PFM, both of which we had previously acquired, and in connection with the GreenSky disposition incurred a write-down of intangible assets and goodwill. We may face numerous risks and uncertainties in combining and integrating the relevant businesses and systems, including the need to combine or separate accounting and data processing systems and management controls and to integrate relationships with clients, counterparties, regulators and others in connection with acquisitions. Integration of acquired businesses is time-consuming and could disrupt our ongoing businesses, produce unforeseen regulatory or operating difficulties, cause us to incur incremental expenses or require incremental financial, management and other resources. It is also possible that an acquisition, once announced, may not close due to the failure to satisfy applicable closing conditions, such as the receipt of necessary shareholder or regulatory approvals.There is no assurance that any of our acquisitions will be successfully integrated or yield all of the expected benefits and synergies in the time frames that we expect, or at all. If we are not able to integrate our acquisitions successfully, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.", "prior_title": "Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.", "current_body": "As a participant in the financial services industry and a systemically important financial institution, we are subject to extensive regulation in jurisdictions around the world. We face the risk of significant intervention by law enforcement, regulatory and taxing authorities, as well as private litigation, in all jurisdictions in which we conduct our businesses. In many cases, our activities have been and may continue to be subject to overlapping and divergent regulation in different jurisdictions. Among other things, as a result of law enforcement authorities, regulators or private parties challenging our compliance with existing laws and regulations, we or our employees have been, and could be, fined, criminally charged or sanctioned; prohibited from engaging in some of our business activities; subjected to limitations or conditions on our business activities, including higher capital requirements; or subjected to new or substantially higher taxes or other governmental charges in connection with the conduct of our businesses or with respect to our employees. These limitations or conditions may limit our business activities and negatively impact our profitability. In addition to the impact on the scope and profitability of our business activities, day-to-day compliance with existing laws and regulations has involved and will continue to involve significant amounts of time, including that of our senior leaders and that of a large number of dedicated compliance and other reporting and operational personnel, in connection with which we expect to continue to add personnel, all of which may negatively impact our profitability. Our revenues and profitability and those of our competitors have been and will continue to be impacted by requirements relating to capital, leverage, liquidity and long-term funding levels, requirements related to resolution and recovery planning, derivatives clearing and margin rules and levels of regulatory oversight, as well as limitations on which and, if permitted, how certain business activities may be carried out by financial institutions. The laws, regulations and accounting standards, that apply to our businesses are often complex and, in many cases, we must make interpretive decisions regarding the application of those laws, regulations and accounting standards to our business activities. Changes in interpretations, whether in response to regulatory guidance, industry conventions, our own reassessments or otherwise, could adversely affect our businesses, results of operations or ability to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, such as capital or liquidity requirements. If there are new laws or regulations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws or regulations applicable to our businesses or those of our clients, including capital, liquidity, leverage, long-term debt, total loss-absorbing capacity and margin requirements, restrictions on leveraged lending or other business practices, reporting requirements, requirements relating to recovery and resolution planning, tax burdens and compensation restrictions, that are imposed on a limited subset of financial institutions (whether based on size, method of funding, activities, geography or other criteria), compliance with these new laws or regulations, or changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations, could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively with other institutions that are not affected in the same way. In addition, regulation imposed on financial institutions or market participants generally, such as taxes on stock transfers, share repurchases and other financial transactions, could adversely impact levels of market activity more broadly, and thus impact our businesses. Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where or how we provide these services. These developments could impact our profitability in the affected jurisdictions, or even make it uneconomic for us to continue to conduct all or certain of our businesses in those jurisdictions, or could cause us to incur significant costs associated with changing our business practices, restructuring our businesses, moving all or certain of our businesses and our employees to other locations or complying with applicable capital requirements, including reducing dividends or share repurchases, liquidating assets or raising capital in a manner that adversely increases our funding costs or otherwise adversely affects our shareholders and creditors. If there are new laws or regulations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws or regulations applicable to our businesses or those of our clients, including capital, liquidity, leverage, long-term debt, total loss-absorbing capacity and margin requirements, restrictions on leveraged lending or other business practices, reporting requirements, requirements relating to recovery and resolution planning, tax burdens and compensation restrictions, that are imposed on a limited subset of financial institutions (whether based on size, method of funding, activities, geography or other criteria), compliance with these new laws or regulations, or changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations, could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively with other institutions that are not affected in the same way. In addition, regulation imposed on financial institutions or market participants generally, such as taxes on stock transfers, share repurchases and other financial transactions, could adversely impact levels of market activity more broadly, and thus impact our businesses. Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where or how we provide these services. These developments could impact our profitability in the affected jurisdictions, or even make it uneconomic for us to continue to conduct all or certain of our businesses in those jurisdictions, or could cause us to incur significant costs associated with changing our business practices, restructuring our businesses, moving all or certain of our businesses and our employees to other locations or complying with applicable capital requirements, including reducing dividends or share repurchases, liquidating assets or raising capital in a manner that adversely increases our funding costs or otherwise adversely affects our shareholders and creditors. Legal and RegulatoryOur businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.As a participant in the financial services industry and a systemically important financial institution, we are subject to extensive regulation in jurisdictions around the world. We face the risk of significant intervention by law enforcement, regulatory and taxing authorities, as well as private litigation, in all jurisdictions in which we conduct our businesses. In many cases, our activities have been and may continue to be subject to overlapping and divergent regulation in different jurisdictions. Among other things, as a result of law enforcement authorities, regulators or private parties challenging our compliance with existing laws and regulations, we or our employees have been, and could be, fined, criminally charged or sanctioned; prohibited from engaging in some of our business activities; subjected to limitations or conditions on our business activities, including higher capital requirements; or subjected to new or substantially higher taxes or other governmental charges in connection with the conduct of our businesses or with respect to our employees. These limitations or conditions may limit our business activities and negatively impact our profitability. In addition to the impact on the scope and profitability of our business activities, day-to-day compliance with existing laws and regulations has involved and will continue to involve significant amounts of time, including that of our senior leaders and that of a large number of dedicated compliance and other reporting and operational personnel, in connection with which we expect to continue to add personnel, all of which may negatively impact our profitability.Our revenues and profitability and those of our competitors have been and will continue to be impacted by requirements relating to capital, leverage, liquidity and long-term funding levels, requirements related to resolution and recovery planning, derivatives clearing and margin rules and levels of regulatory oversight, as well as limitations on which and, if permitted, how certain business activities may be carried out by financial institutions. The laws, regulations and accounting standards, that apply to our businesses are often complex and, in many cases, we must make interpretive decisions regarding the application of those laws, regulations and accounting standards to our business activities. Changes in interpretations, whether in response to regulatory guidance, industry conventions, our own reassessments or otherwise, could adversely affect our businesses, results of operations or ability to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, such as capital or liquidity requirements." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our investment banking, client intermediation, asset management and wealth management businesses have been adversely affected and may in the future be adversely affected by market uncertainty or lack of confidence among investors and CEOs due to declines in economic activity and other unfavorable economic, geopolitical or market conditions.", "prior_title": "Our investment banking, client intermediation, asset management and wealth management businesses have been adversely affected and may in the future be adversely affected by market uncertainty or lack of confidence among investors and CEOs due to declines in economic activity and other unfavorable economic, geopolitical or market conditions.", "current_body": "Our investment banking business has been and may in the future be adversely affected by market conditions. Poor economic conditions and other uncertain geopolitical conditions may adversely affect and have in the past adversely affected investor and CEO confidence, resulting in significant industry-wide declines in the size and number of underwritings and of advisory transactions, which would likely have and have in the past had an adverse effect on our revenues and our profit margins. In particular, because a significant portion of our investment banking revenues is derived from our participation in large transactions, a decline in the number of large transactions has in the past and would in the future adversely affect our investment banking business. Similarly, in recent years, cross-border initial public offerings and other securities offerings have accounted for a significant proportion of new issuance activity. Legislative, regulatory or other changes that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities outside the issuers’ domestic markets, that result in or could result in the delisting or removal of securities from exchanges or indices, have in the past adversely affected and would in the future adversely affect our underwriting and client intermediation businesses. Furthermore, changes, or proposed changes, to international trade and investment policies of the U.S. and other countries could negatively affect market activity levels and our revenues. In certain circumstances, market uncertainty or general declines in market or economic activity may adversely affect our client intermediation businesses by decreasing levels of overall activity or by decreasing volatility. Market uncertainty, volatility and adverse economic conditions, as well as declines in asset values, may cause our clients to transfer their assets out of our funds or other products or their brokerage accounts and result in reduced net revenues, principally in our asset management and wealth management businesses. Even if clients do not withdraw their funds, they may invest them in products that generate less fee income. We post collateral to support our obligations and receive collateral that supports the obligations of our clients and counterparties. When the value of the assets posted as collateral or the credit ratings of the party posting collateral decline, the party posting the collateral may need to provide additional collateral or, if possible, reduce its trading position. An example of such a situation is a “margin call” in connection with a brokerage account. Therefore, declines in the value of asset classes used as collateral mean that either the cost of funding positions is increased or the size of positions is decreased. If we are the party providing collateral, this can increase our costs and reduce our profitability and if we are the party receiving collateral, this can also reduce our profitability by reducing the level of business done with our clients and counterparties.In addition, volatile or less liquid markets increase the difficulty of valuing assets, which can lead to costly and time-consuming disputes over asset values and the level of required collateral, as well as increased credit risk to the recipient of the collateral due to delays in receiving adequate collateral. In cases where we foreclose on collateral, sudden declines in the value or liquidity of the collateral have in the past resulted in, and may in the future result in, significant losses to us, especially where there is a single type of collateral supporting the obligation. In addition, we have been and may in the future be subject to claims that the foreclosure was not permitted under the legal documents, was conducted in an improper manner, including in violation of law, or caused a client or counterparty to go out of business.Our market-making activities have been and may in the future be affected by changes in the levels of market volatility.Certain of our market-making activities depend on market volatility to provide trading and arbitrage opportunities to our clients, and decreases in volatility have reduced and may in the future reduce these opportunities and the level of client activity associated with them and have adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect the results of these activities. Increased volatility, while it can increase trading volumes and spreads, also increases risk as measured by Value-at-Risk (VaR) and increases risks in connection with our market-making activities and can cause us to reduce our inventory. Limiting the size of our market-making positions can adversely affect our profitability. In periods when volatility is increasing, but asset values are declining significantly, it may not be possible to sell assets at all or it may only be possible to do so at steep discounts. In those circumstances, we have been and may in the future be forced to either take on additional risk or to realize losses in order to decrease our VaR. In addition, increases in volatility increase the level of our RWAs, which increases the amount of capital that we are required to hold, and this can reduce our profitability and reduce our ability to distribute capital to our shareholders. We post collateral to support our obligations and receive collateral that supports the obligations of our clients and counterparties. When the value of the assets posted as collateral or the credit ratings of the party posting collateral decline, the party posting the collateral may need to provide additional collateral or, if possible, reduce its trading position. An example of such a situation is a “margin call” in connection with a brokerage account. Therefore, declines in the value of asset classes used as collateral mean that either the cost of funding positions is increased or the size of positions is decreased. If we are the party providing collateral, this can increase our costs and reduce our profitability and if we are the party receiving collateral, this can also reduce our profitability by reducing the level of business done with our clients and counterparties. In addition, volatile or less liquid markets increase the difficulty of valuing assets, which can lead to costly and time-consuming disputes over asset values and the level of required collateral, as well as increased credit risk to the recipient of the collateral due to delays in receiving adequate collateral. In cases where we foreclose on collateral, sudden declines in the value or liquidity of the collateral have in the past resulted in, and may in the future result in, significant losses to us, especially where there is a single type of collateral supporting the obligation. In addition, we have been and may in the future be subject to claims that the foreclosure was not permitted under the legal documents, was conducted in an improper manner, including in violation of law, or caused a client or counterparty to go out of business." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.", "prior_title": "A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.", "current_body": "Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of that client or another client, as well as situations where one or more of our businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our other businesses and situations where we may be a creditor of an entity with which we also have an advisory or other relationship. In addition, our status as a BHC subjects us to heightened regulation and increased regulatory scrutiny by the FRB with respect to transactions between GS Bank USA and its subsidiaries and entities that are or could be viewed as affiliates of ours and, under the Volcker Rule, transactions between us and covered funds. We have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest, including those designed to prevent the improper sharing of information among our businesses. However, appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation, which is one of our most important assets, could be damaged and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions with us may be adversely affected if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and deal appropriately with conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative, as well as the alignment of our businesses, aim to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing. Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate. Not only are these regulations extensive, but they involve types of regulations and supervision, as well as regulatory compliance risks, that have not historically applied to us. The level of regulatory scrutiny and the scope of regulations affecting financial interactions with consumers is often much greater than that associated with doing business with institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Complying with these regulations is time-consuming, costly and presents new and increased risks.Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities resulted in a change to GS Bank USA’s CRA requirements in 2023, such that GS Bank USA is no longer assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, is assessed pursuant to a strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA’s CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities.Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime financing, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences.For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate. Not only are these regulations extensive, but they involve types of regulations and supervision, as well as regulatory compliance risks, that have not historically applied to us. The level of regulatory scrutiny and the scope of regulations affecting financial interactions with consumers is often much greater than that associated with doing business with institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Complying with these regulations is time-consuming, costly and presents new and increased risks. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities resulted in a change to GS Bank USA’s CRA requirements in 2023, such that GS Bank USA is no longer assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, is assessed pursuant to a strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA’s CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities. Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime financing, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences. For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. Our consumer-oriented deposit-taking and credit card businesses subject us to numerous additional regulations in the jurisdictions in which these businesses operate. Not only are these regulations extensive, but they involve types of regulations and supervision, as well as regulatory compliance risks, that have not historically applied to us. The level of regulatory scrutiny and the scope of regulations affecting financial interactions with consumers is often much greater than that associated with doing business with institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Complying with these regulations is time-consuming, costly and presents new and increased risks. Our expansion into consumer-oriented activities resulted in a change to GS Bank USA’s CRA requirements in 2023, such that GS Bank USA is no longer assessed as a “wholesale bank” for CRA compliance purposes and, instead, is assessed pursuant to a strategic plan. Any failure to comply with different or expanded CRA requirements as a result of this change in assessment methods could negatively impact GS Bank USA’s CRA ratings, cause reputational harm and result in limits on our ability to make future acquisitions or engage in certain new activities. Increasingly, regulators and courts have sought to hold financial institutions liable for the misconduct of their clients where they have determined that the financial institution should have detected that the client was engaged in wrongdoing, even though the financial institution had no direct knowledge of the activities engaged in by its client. Regulators and courts have also increasingly found liability as a “control person” for activities of entities in which financial institutions or funds controlled by financial institutions have an investment, but which they do not actively manage. In addition, regulators and courts continue to seek to establish “fiduciary” obligations to counterparties to which no such duty had been thought to exist. To the extent that such efforts are successful, the cost of, and liabilities associated with, engaging in brokerage, clearing, market-making, prime financing, investing and other similar activities could increase significantly. To the extent that we have fiduciary obligations in connection with acting as a financial adviser or investment adviser or in other roles for individual, institutional, sovereign or investment fund clients, any breach, or even an alleged breach, of such obligations could have materially negative legal, regulatory and reputational consequences. For information about the extensive regulation to which our businesses are subject, see “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K. A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses.Due to the broad scope of our businesses and our client base, we regularly address potential conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or our own investments or other interests conflict, or are perceived to conflict, with the interests of that client or another client, as well as situations where one or more of our businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our other businesses and situations where we may be a creditor of an entity with which we also have an advisory or other relationship.In addition, our status as a BHC subjects us to heightened regulation and increased regulatory scrutiny by the FRB with respect to transactions between GS Bank USA and its subsidiaries and entities that are or could be viewed as affiliates of ours and, under the Volcker Rule, transactions between us and covered funds.We have extensive procedures and controls that are designed to identify and address conflicts of interest, including those designed to prevent the improper sharing of information among our businesses. However, appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and our reputation, which is one of our most important assets, could be damaged and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions with us may be adversely affected if we fail, or appear to fail, to identify, disclose and deal appropriately with conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Additionally, our One Goldman Sachs initiative, as well as the alignment of our businesses, aim to increase collaboration among our businesses, which may increase the potential for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and improper information sharing." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.", "prior_title": "Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.", "current_body": "As a participant in the financial services industry and a systemically important financial institution, we are subject to extensive regulation in jurisdictions around the world. We face the risk of significant intervention by law enforcement, regulatory and taxing authorities, as well as private litigation, in all jurisdictions in which we conduct our businesses. In many cases, our activities have been and may continue to be subject to overlapping and divergent regulation in different jurisdictions. Among other things, as a result of law enforcement authorities, regulators or private parties challenging our compliance with existing laws and regulations, we or our employees have been, and could be, fined, criminally charged or sanctioned; prohibited from engaging in some of our business activities; subjected to limitations or conditions on our business activities, including higher capital requirements; or subjected to new or substantially higher taxes or other governmental charges in connection with the conduct of our businesses or with respect to our employees. These limitations or conditions may limit our business activities and negatively impact our profitability. In addition to the impact on the scope and profitability of our business activities, day-to-day compliance with existing laws and regulations has involved and will continue to involve significant amounts of time, including that of our senior leaders and that of a large number of dedicated compliance and other reporting and operational personnel, in connection with which we expect to continue to add personnel, all of which may negatively impact our profitability. Our revenues and profitability and those of our competitors have been and will continue to be impacted by requirements relating to capital, leverage, liquidity and long-term funding levels, requirements related to resolution and recovery planning, derivatives clearing and margin rules and levels of regulatory oversight, as well as limitations on which and, if permitted, how certain business activities may be carried out by financial institutions. The laws, regulations and accounting standards, that apply to our businesses are often complex and, in many cases, we must make interpretive decisions regarding the application of those laws, regulations and accounting standards to our business activities. Changes in interpretations, whether in response to regulatory guidance, industry conventions, our own reassessments or otherwise, could adversely affect our businesses, results of operations or ability to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, such as capital or liquidity requirements. If there are new laws or regulations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws or regulations applicable to our businesses or those of our clients, including capital, liquidity, leverage, long-term debt, total loss-absorbing capacity and margin requirements, restrictions on leveraged lending or other business practices, reporting requirements, requirements relating to recovery and resolution planning, tax burdens and compensation restrictions, that are imposed on a limited subset of financial institutions (whether based on size, method of funding, activities, geography or other criteria), compliance with these new laws or regulations, or changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations, could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively with other institutions that are not affected in the same way. In addition, regulation imposed on financial institutions or market participants generally, such as taxes on stock transfers, share repurchases and other financial transactions, could adversely impact levels of market activity more broadly, and thus impact our businesses. Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where or how we provide these services. These developments could impact our profitability in the affected jurisdictions, or even make it uneconomic for us to continue to conduct all or certain of our businesses in those jurisdictions, or could cause us to incur significant costs associated with changing our business practices, restructuring our businesses, moving all or certain of our businesses and our employees to other locations or complying with applicable capital requirements, including reducing dividends or share repurchases, liquidating assets or raising capital in a manner that adversely increases our funding costs or otherwise adversely affects our shareholders and creditors. If there are new laws or regulations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws or regulations applicable to our businesses or those of our clients, including capital, liquidity, leverage, long-term debt, total loss-absorbing capacity and margin requirements, restrictions on leveraged lending or other business practices, reporting requirements, requirements relating to recovery and resolution planning, tax burdens and compensation restrictions, that are imposed on a limited subset of financial institutions (whether based on size, method of funding, activities, geography or other criteria), compliance with these new laws or regulations, or changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations, could adversely affect our ability to compete effectively with other institutions that are not affected in the same way. In addition, regulation imposed on financial institutions or market participants generally, such as taxes on stock transfers, share repurchases and other financial transactions, could adversely impact levels of market activity more broadly, and thus impact our businesses. Changes to laws or regulations, such as tax laws, could also have a disproportionate impact on us, based on the way those laws or regulations are applied to financial services and financial firms or due to our corporate structure or where or how we provide these services. These developments could impact our profitability in the affected jurisdictions, or even make it uneconomic for us to continue to conduct all or certain of our businesses in those jurisdictions, or could cause us to incur significant costs associated with changing our business practices, restructuring our businesses, moving all or certain of our businesses and our employees to other locations or complying with applicable capital requirements, including reducing dividends or share repurchases, liquidating assets or raising capital in a manner that adversely increases our funding costs or otherwise adversely affects our shareholders and creditors. Legal and RegulatoryOur businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world.As a participant in the financial services industry and a systemically important financial institution, we are subject to extensive regulation in jurisdictions around the world. We face the risk of significant intervention by law enforcement, regulatory and taxing authorities, as well as private litigation, in all jurisdictions in which we conduct our businesses. In many cases, our activities have been and may continue to be subject to overlapping and divergent regulation in different jurisdictions. Among other things, as a result of law enforcement authorities, regulators or private parties challenging our compliance with existing laws and regulations, we or our employees have been, and could be, fined, criminally charged or sanctioned; prohibited from engaging in some of our business activities; subjected to limitations or conditions on our business activities, including higher capital requirements; or subjected to new or substantially higher taxes or other governmental charges in connection with the conduct of our businesses or with respect to our employees. These limitations or conditions may limit our business activities and negatively impact our profitability. In addition to the impact on the scope and profitability of our business activities, day-to-day compliance with existing laws and regulations has involved and will continue to involve significant amounts of time, including that of our senior leaders and that of a large number of dedicated compliance and other reporting and operational personnel, in connection with which we expect to continue to add personnel, all of which may negatively impact our profitability.Our revenues and profitability and those of our competitors have been and will continue to be impacted by requirements relating to capital, leverage, liquidity and long-term funding levels, requirements related to resolution and recovery planning, derivatives clearing and margin rules and levels of regulatory oversight, as well as limitations on which and, if permitted, how certain business activities may be carried out by financial institutions. The laws, regulations and accounting standards, that apply to our businesses are often complex and, in many cases, we must make interpretive decisions regarding the application of those laws, regulations and accounting standards to our business activities. Changes in interpretations, whether in response to regulatory guidance, industry conventions, our own reassessments or otherwise, could adversely affect our businesses, results of operations or ability to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, such as capital or liquidity requirements." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Inflation has had, and could continue to have, a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.", "prior_title": "Inflation has had, and could continue to have, a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.", "current_body": "Inflationary pressures have affected economies, financial markets and market participants worldwide. Inflationary pressures have increased certain of our operating expenses, and have adversely affected consumer sentiment and CEO confidence. Central bank responses to inflationary pressures have also resulted in higher market interest rates, which, in turn, have contributed to lower activity levels across financial markets, in particular for debt underwriting transactions and mortgage originations, and resulted in lower values for certain financial assets which have adversely affected our equity and debt investments. Higher interest rates increase our borrowing costs and have required us to increase interest paid on our deposits. If inflationary pressures persist, our expenses may increase further; we may be unable to achieve our efficiency ratio target; activity levels for certain of our businesses, in particular debt underwriting and mortgages, may decline; our interest expense could increase faster than our interest income, reducing our net interest income and net interest margin; certain of our investments could continue to incur losses or generally low levels of returns; AUS could decline, or the composition of our AUS could shift to lower fee products, reducing management and other fees; economies worldwide could experience recessions; and we could continue to operate in a generally unfavorable economic and market environment. LiquidityOur liquidity, profitability and businesses may be adversely affected by an inability to access the debt capital markets or to sell assets.Liquidity is essential to our businesses. It is of critical importance to us, as most of the failures of financial institutions have occurred in large part due to insufficient liquidity. Our liquidity may be impaired by an inability to access secured and/or unsecured debt markets, an inability to raise or retain deposits, an inability to access funds from our subsidiaries or otherwise allocate liquidity optimally, an inability to sell assets or redeem our investments, lack of timely settlement of transactions, unusual deposit outflows, or other unforeseen outflows of cash or collateral, such as in March 2020, when corporate clients drew on revolving credit facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation may arise due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as a general market or economic disruption or an operational problem that affects third parties or us, or even by the perception among market participants that we, or other market participants, are experiencing greater liquidity risk.We employ structured products to benefit our clients and hedge our own risks. The financial instruments that we hold and the contracts to which we are a party are often complex, and these complex structured products often do not have readily available markets to access in times of liquidity stress. Our investing and financing activities may lead to situations where the holdings from these activities represent a significant portion of specific markets, which could restrict liquidity for our positions. Further, our ability to sell assets may be impaired if there is not generally a liquid market for such assets, as well as in circumstances where other market participants are seeking to sell similar otherwise generally liquid assets at the same time, as is likely to occur in a liquidity or other market crisis or in response to changes to rules or regulations. For example, in 2021, an investment management firm with large positions with several financial institutions defaulted, resulting in rapidly declining prices in the securities underlying those positions. In addition, clearinghouses, exchanges and other financial institutions with which we interact may exercise set-off rights or the right to require additional collateral, including in difficult market conditions, which could further impair our liquidity.Numerous regulations have been adopted that impose more stringent liquidity requirements on large financial institutions, including us. These regulations require us to hold large amounts of highly liquid assets and reduce our flexibility to source and deploy funding. In addition, our need to manage our operations in light of certain regulatory requirements when applicable thresholds are met has in the past limited and may in the future limit our ability to raise deposits in GSIB or other funding, which could adversely affect our liquidity or ability to respond efficiently to liquidity stress. Liquidity" }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our market-making activities have been and may in the future be affected by changes in the levels of market volatility.", "prior_title": "Our market-making activities have been and may in the future be affected by changes in the levels of market volatility.", "current_body": "Certain of our market-making activities depend on market volatility to provide trading and arbitrage opportunities to our clients, and decreases in volatility have reduced and may in the future reduce these opportunities and the level of client activity associated with them and have adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect the results of these activities. Increased volatility, while it can increase trading volumes and spreads, also increases risk as measured by Value-at-Risk (VaR) and increases risks in connection with our market-making activities and can cause us to reduce our inventory. Limiting the size of our market-making positions can adversely affect our profitability. In periods when volatility is increasing, but asset values are declining significantly, it may not be possible to sell assets at all or it may only be possible to do so at steep discounts. In those circumstances, we have been and may in the future be forced to either take on additional risk or to realize losses in order to decrease our VaR. In addition, increases in volatility increase the level of our RWAs, which increases the amount of capital that we are required to hold, and this can reduce our profitability and reduce our ability to distribute capital to our shareholders. Our investment banking, client intermediation, asset management and wealth management businesses have been adversely affected and may in the future be adversely affected by market uncertainty or lack of confidence among investors and CEOs due to declines in economic activity and other unfavorable economic, geopolitical or market conditions.Our investment banking business has been and may in the future be adversely affected by market conditions. Poor economic conditions and other uncertain geopolitical conditions may adversely affect and have in the past adversely affected investor and CEO confidence, resulting in significant industry-wide declines in the size and number of underwritings and of advisory transactions, which would likely have and have in the past had an adverse effect on our revenues and our profit margins. In particular, because a significant portion of our investment banking revenues is derived from our participation in large transactions, a decline in the number of large transactions has in the past and would in the future adversely affect our investment banking business. Similarly, in recent years, cross-border initial public offerings and other securities offerings have accounted for a significant proportion of new issuance activity. Legislative, regulatory or other changes that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities outside the issuers’ domestic markets, that result in or could result in the delisting or removal of securities from exchanges or indices, have in the past adversely affected and would in the future adversely affect our underwriting and client intermediation businesses. Furthermore, changes, or proposed changes, to international trade and investment policies of the U.S. and other countries could negatively affect market activity levels and our revenues.In certain circumstances, market uncertainty or general declines in market or economic activity may adversely affect our client intermediation businesses by decreasing levels of overall activity or by decreasing volatility.Market uncertainty, volatility and adverse economic conditions, as well as declines in asset values, may cause our clients to transfer their assets out of our funds or other products or their brokerage accounts and result in reduced net revenues, principally in our asset management and wealth management businesses. Even if clients do not withdraw their funds, they may invest them in products that generate less fee income." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our market-making activities have been and may in the future be affected by changes in the levels of market volatility.", "prior_title": "Our market-making activities have been and may in the future be affected by changes in the levels of market volatility.", "current_body": "Certain of our market-making activities depend on market volatility to provide trading and arbitrage opportunities to our clients, and decreases in volatility have reduced and may in the future reduce these opportunities and the level of client activity associated with them and have adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect the results of these activities. Increased volatility, while it can increase trading volumes and spreads, also increases risk as measured by Value-at-Risk (VaR) and increases risks in connection with our market-making activities and can cause us to reduce our inventory. Limiting the size of our market-making positions can adversely affect our profitability. In periods when volatility is increasing, but asset values are declining significantly, it may not be possible to sell assets at all or it may only be possible to do so at steep discounts. In those circumstances, we have been and may in the future be forced to either take on additional risk or to realize losses in order to decrease our VaR. In addition, increases in volatility increase the level of our RWAs, which increases the amount of capital that we are required to hold, and this can reduce our profitability and reduce our ability to distribute capital to our shareholders. Our investment banking, client intermediation, asset management and wealth management businesses have been adversely affected and may in the future be adversely affected by market uncertainty or lack of confidence among investors and CEOs due to declines in economic activity and other unfavorable economic, geopolitical or market conditions.Our investment banking business has been and may in the future be adversely affected by market conditions. Poor economic conditions and other uncertain geopolitical conditions may adversely affect and have in the past adversely affected investor and CEO confidence, resulting in significant industry-wide declines in the size and number of underwritings and of advisory transactions, which would likely have and have in the past had an adverse effect on our revenues and our profit margins. In particular, because a significant portion of our investment banking revenues is derived from our participation in large transactions, a decline in the number of large transactions has in the past and would in the future adversely affect our investment banking business. Similarly, in recent years, cross-border initial public offerings and other securities offerings have accounted for a significant proportion of new issuance activity. Legislative, regulatory or other changes that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities outside the issuers’ domestic markets, that result in or could result in the delisting or removal of securities from exchanges or indices, have in the past adversely affected and would in the future adversely affect our underwriting and client intermediation businesses. Furthermore, changes, or proposed changes, to international trade and investment policies of the U.S. and other countries could negatively affect market activity levels and our revenues.In certain circumstances, market uncertainty or general declines in market or economic activity may adversely affect our client intermediation businesses by decreasing levels of overall activity or by decreasing volatility.Market uncertainty, volatility and adverse economic conditions, as well as declines in asset values, may cause our clients to transfer their assets out of our funds or other products or their brokerage accounts and result in reduced net revenues, principally in our asset management and wealth management businesses. Even if clients do not withdraw their funds, they may invest them in products that generate less fee income." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Legal and Regulatory", "prior_title": "Legal and Regulatory", "current_body": "•Our businesses and those of our clients are subject to extensive and pervasive regulation around the world. •A failure to appropriately identify and address potential conflicts of interest could adversely affect our businesses. •We may be adversely affected by increased governmental and regulatory scrutiny or negative publicity. •Substantial civil or criminal liability or significant regulatory action against us could have material adverse financial effects or cause us significant reputational harm, which in turn could seriously harm our business prospects. •In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries. •The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders. •The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.•Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs.Competition•Our results have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the composition of our client base.•The financial services industry is highly competitive.•The growth of electronic trading and the introduction of new products and technologies, including trading and distributed ledger technologies, including cryptocurrencies, has increased competition.•Our businesses would be adversely affected if we are unable to hire and retain qualified employees.Market Developments and General Business Environment•Our businesses, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been and may in the future be adversely affected by unforeseen or catastrophic events, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, wars, extreme weather events or other natural disasters.•Climate change could disrupt our businesses and adversely affect client activity levels and the creditworthiness of our clients and counterparties, and our actual or perceived action or inaction relating to climate change could result in damage to our reputation. •Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations have been adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by conflicts, and related sanctions and other developments.•Certain of our businesses and our funding instruments may be adversely affected by changes in reference rates, currencies, indexes, baskets or ETFs to which products we offer or funding that we raise are linked.•Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.•We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.•We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all. •The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders. •Our commodities activities, particularly our physical commodities activities, subject us to extensive regulation and involve certain potential risks, including environmental, reputational and other risks that may expose us to significant liabilities and costs." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Group Inc. is a holding company and its liquidity depends on payments and loans from its subsidiaries, many of which are subject to legal, regulatory and other restrictions on providing funds or assets to Group Inc.", "prior_title": "Group Inc. is a holding company and its liquidity depends on payments and loans from its subsidiaries, many of which are subject to legal, regulatory and other restrictions on providing funds or assets to Group Inc.", "current_body": "Group Inc. is a holding company and, therefore, depends on dividends, distributions, loans and other payments from its subsidiaries to fund share repurchases and dividend payments and to fund payments on its obligations, including debt obligations. Many of our subsidiaries, including our broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries, are subject to laws that restrict dividend payments or authorize regulatory bodies to block or reduce the flow of funds from those subsidiaries to Group Inc. In addition, our broker-dealer and bank entities and their subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on their ability to lend or transact with affiliates and to minimum regulatory capital and other requirements, as well as restrictions on their ability to use funds deposited with them in brokerage or bank accounts to fund their businesses. Additional restrictions on related-party transactions, increased capital and liquidity requirements and additional limitations on the use of funds on deposit in bank or brokerage accounts, as well as lower earnings, can reduce the amount of funds available to meet the obligations of Group Inc., including under the FRB’s source of strength requirement, and even require Group Inc. to provide additional funding to such subsidiaries. Restrictions or regulatory action of that kind could impede access to funds that Group Inc. needs to make payments on its obligations, including debt obligations, or dividend payments. In addition, Group Inc.’s right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors. There has been a trend towards increased regulation and supervision of our subsidiaries by the governments and regulators in the countries in which those subsidiaries are located or do business. Concerns about protecting clients and creditors of financial institutions that are controlled by persons or entities located outside of the country in which such entities are located or do business have caused or may cause a number of governments and regulators to take additional steps to “ring fence” or require internal total loss-absorbing capacity (which may also be subject to “bail-in” powers, as described below) at those entities in order to protect clients and creditors of those entities in the event of financial difficulties involving those entities. The result has been and may continue to be additional limitations on our ability to efficiently move capital and liquidity among our affiliated entities, or to Group Inc., including in times of stress, thereby increasing the overall level of capital and liquidity required by us on a consolidated basis. Furthermore, Group Inc. has guaranteed the payment obligations of certain of its subsidiaries, including GS&Co. and GS Bank USA, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, Group Inc. guarantees many of the obligations of its other consolidated subsidiaries on a transaction-by-transaction basis, as negotiated with counterparties. These guarantees may require Group Inc. to provide substantial funds or assets to its subsidiaries or their creditors or counterparties at a time when Group Inc. is in need of liquidity to fund its own obligations. The requirements for us and certain of our subsidiaries to develop and submit recovery and resolution plans to regulators, and the incorporation of feedback received from regulators, may require us to increase capital or liquidity levels or issue additional long-term debt at Group Inc. or particular subsidiaries or otherwise incur additional or duplicative operational or other costs at multiple entities, and may reduce our ability to provide Group Inc. guarantees of the obligations of our subsidiaries or raise debt at Group Inc. Resolution planning may also impair our ability to structure our intercompany and external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Furthermore, arrangements to facilitate our resolution planning may cause us to be subject to additional taxes. Any such limitations or requirements would be in addition to the legal and regulatory restrictions described above on our ability to engage in capital actions or make intercompany dividends or payments. See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about regulatory restrictions.CreditOur businesses, profitability and liquidity may be adversely affected by deterioration in the credit quality of or defaults by third parties.We are exposed to the risk that third parties that owe us money, securities or other assets will not perform their obligations. These parties may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other reasons. A failure of a significant market participant, or even concerns about a default by such an institution, has in the past and could in the future lead to significant liquidity problems, losses or defaults by other institutions, which in turn could adversely affect us. We are also exposed to the risk of a special assessment, including under the FDIA or OLA in the event of the failure of a bank or non-bank financial institution, which have in the past, and may in the future, adversely affect our results of operations. Furthermore, Group Inc. has guaranteed the payment obligations of certain of its subsidiaries, including GS&Co. and GS Bank USA, subject to certain exceptions. In addition, Group Inc. guarantees many of the obligations of its other consolidated subsidiaries on a transaction-by-transaction basis, as negotiated with counterparties. These guarantees may require Group Inc. to provide substantial funds or assets to its subsidiaries or their creditors or counterparties at a time when Group Inc. is in need of liquidity to fund its own obligations. The requirements for us and certain of our subsidiaries to develop and submit recovery and resolution plans to regulators, and the incorporation of feedback received from regulators, may require us to increase capital or liquidity levels or issue additional long-term debt at Group Inc. or particular subsidiaries or otherwise incur additional or duplicative operational or other costs at multiple entities, and may reduce our ability to provide Group Inc. guarantees of the obligations of our subsidiaries or raise debt at Group Inc. Resolution planning may also impair our ability to structure our intercompany and external activities in a manner that we may otherwise deem most operationally efficient. Furthermore, arrangements to facilitate our resolution planning may cause us to be subject to additional taxes. Any such limitations or requirements would be in addition to the legal and regulatory restrictions described above on our ability to engage in capital actions or make intercompany dividends or payments. See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about regulatory restrictions. Credit" }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our market-making activities have been and may in the future be affected by changes in the levels of market volatility.", "prior_title": "Our market-making activities have been and may in the future be affected by changes in the levels of market volatility.", "current_body": "Certain of our market-making activities depend on market volatility to provide trading and arbitrage opportunities to our clients, and decreases in volatility have reduced and may in the future reduce these opportunities and the level of client activity associated with them and have adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect the results of these activities. Increased volatility, while it can increase trading volumes and spreads, also increases risk as measured by Value-at-Risk (VaR) and increases risks in connection with our market-making activities and can cause us to reduce our inventory. Limiting the size of our market-making positions can adversely affect our profitability. In periods when volatility is increasing, but asset values are declining significantly, it may not be possible to sell assets at all or it may only be possible to do so at steep discounts. In those circumstances, we have been and may in the future be forced to either take on additional risk or to realize losses in order to decrease our VaR. In addition, increases in volatility increase the level of our RWAs, which increases the amount of capital that we are required to hold, and this can reduce our profitability and reduce our ability to distribute capital to our shareholders. Our investment banking, client intermediation, asset management and wealth management businesses have been adversely affected and may in the future be adversely affected by market uncertainty or lack of confidence among investors and CEOs due to declines in economic activity and other unfavorable economic, geopolitical or market conditions.Our investment banking business has been and may in the future be adversely affected by market conditions. Poor economic conditions and other uncertain geopolitical conditions may adversely affect and have in the past adversely affected investor and CEO confidence, resulting in significant industry-wide declines in the size and number of underwritings and of advisory transactions, which would likely have and have in the past had an adverse effect on our revenues and our profit margins. In particular, because a significant portion of our investment banking revenues is derived from our participation in large transactions, a decline in the number of large transactions has in the past and would in the future adversely affect our investment banking business. Similarly, in recent years, cross-border initial public offerings and other securities offerings have accounted for a significant proportion of new issuance activity. Legislative, regulatory or other changes that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities outside the issuers’ domestic markets, that result in or could result in the delisting or removal of securities from exchanges or indices, have in the past adversely affected and would in the future adversely affect our underwriting and client intermediation businesses. Furthermore, changes, or proposed changes, to international trade and investment policies of the U.S. and other countries could negatively affect market activity levels and our revenues.In certain circumstances, market uncertainty or general declines in market or economic activity may adversely affect our client intermediation businesses by decreasing levels of overall activity or by decreasing volatility.Market uncertainty, volatility and adverse economic conditions, as well as declines in asset values, may cause our clients to transfer their assets out of our funds or other products or their brokerage accounts and result in reduced net revenues, principally in our asset management and wealth management businesses. Even if clients do not withdraw their funds, they may invest them in products that generate less fee income." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by declining asset values, particularly where we have net “long” positions, receive fees based on the value of assets managed, or receive or post collateral.", "prior_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by declining asset values, particularly where we have net “long” positions, receive fees based on the value of assets managed, or receive or post collateral.", "current_body": "Many of our businesses have net “long” positions in debt securities, loans, derivatives, mortgages, equities (including private equity and real estate) and most other asset classes. These include positions we take when we act as a principal to facilitate our clients’ activities, including our exchange-based market-making activities, or commit large amounts of capital to maintain positions in interest rate and credit products, as well as through our currencies, commodities, equities and mortgage-related activities. In addition, we invest in similar asset classes. Substantially all of our investing and market-making positions and a portion of our loans are marked-to-market on a daily or other periodic basis and declines in asset values directly and promptly impact our earnings, unless we have effectively “hedged” our exposures to those declines. In certain circumstances (particularly in the case of credit products, including leveraged loans, and private equities or other securities that are not freely tradable or lack established and liquid trading markets), it may not be possible or economic to hedge our exposures and, to the extent that we do so, the hedge may be ineffective or may greatly reduce our ability to profit from increases in the values of the assets. Sudden declines and significant volatility in the prices of assets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for certain assets, which may make it difficult to sell, hedge or value such assets. We may incur losses from time to time as trading markets deteriorate or cease to function, including with respect to loan commitments we have made or securities offerings we have underwritten. The inability to sell or effectively hedge assets reduces our ability to limit losses in such positions and the difficulty in valuing assets has in the past negatively affected, and may in the future negatively affect, our capital, liquidity or leverage ratios, our funding costs and our ability to deploy capital. In our exchange-based market-making activities, we are obligated by stock exchange rules to maintain an orderly market, including by purchasing securities in a declining market. In markets where asset values are declining and in volatile markets, this results in losses and an increased need for liquidity. We receive asset-based management fees based on the value of our clients’ portfolios or investment in funds managed by us and, in some cases, we also receive incentive fees based on increases in the value of such investments. Declines in asset values would ordinarily reduce the value of our clients’ portfolios or fund assets, which in turn would typically reduce the fees we earn for managing such assets. In June 2023, the U.S. federal government suspended the federal debt limit until 2025. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling prior to 2025, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the U.S. federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. An increasing frequency of government shutdowns, or near shutdowns, in the U.S. could also lead to uncertainty as to the continued funding of the U.S. government, which could, in turn, adversely affect the credit ratings of the U.S. and the market for U.S. Treasury or agency obligations.In 2024, numerous elections will be held globally. As a result, there may be significant market uncertainty in the periods leading up to and/or following the elections and this could cause higher volatility, lower levels of market activity and other adverse conditions for our businesses. The outcomes of the elections could also result in changes in policy, which could also have adverse effects on us or the business environment in which we operate more generally. In June 2023, the U.S. federal government suspended the federal debt limit until 2025. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling prior to 2025, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the U.S. federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. An increasing frequency of government shutdowns, or near shutdowns, in the U.S. could also lead to uncertainty as to the continued funding of the U.S. government, which could, in turn, adversely affect the credit ratings of the U.S. and the market for U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. In 2024, numerous elections will be held globally. As a result, there may be significant market uncertainty in the periods leading up to and/or following the elections and this could cause higher volatility, lower levels of market activity and other adverse conditions for our businesses. The outcomes of the elections could also result in changes in policy, which could also have adverse effects on us or the business environment in which we operate more generally. In June 2023, the U.S. federal government suspended the federal debt limit until 2025. If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling prior to 2025, the U.S. could default on its obligations, including Treasury securities that play an integral role in financial markets. A default by the U.S. could result in unprecedented market volatility and illiquidity, heightened operational risks relating to the clearance and settlement of transactions, margin and other disputes with clients and counterparties, an adverse impact to investors including money market funds that invest in U.S. Treasuries, downgrades in the U.S. credit rating, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and a recession in the U.S. or other economies. Continued uncertainty relating to the debt ceiling could result in downgrades of the U.S. credit rating, which could adversely affect market conditions, lead to margin disputes, further increases in interest rates and borrowing costs and necessitate significant operational changes among market participants, including us. A downgrade of the U.S. federal government’s credit rating could also materially and adversely affect the market for repurchase agreements, securities borrowing and lending, and other financings typically collateralized by U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. Further, the fair value, liquidity and credit ratings of securities issued by, or other obligations of, agencies of the U.S. government or related to the U.S. government or its agencies, as well as municipal bonds could be similarly adversely affected. An increasing frequency of government shutdowns, or near shutdowns, in the U.S. could also lead to uncertainty as to the continued funding of the U.S. government, which could, in turn, adversely affect the credit ratings of the U.S. and the market for U.S. Treasury or agency obligations. In 2024, numerous elections will be held globally. As a result, there may be significant market uncertainty in the periods leading up to and/or following the elections and this could cause higher volatility, lower levels of market activity and other adverse conditions for our businesses. The outcomes of the elections could also result in changes in policy, which could also have adverse effects on us or the business environment in which we operate more generally. Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by declining asset values, particularly where we have net “long” positions, receive fees based on the value of assets managed, or receive or post collateral.Many of our businesses have net “long” positions in debt securities, loans, derivatives, mortgages, equities (including private equity and real estate) and most other asset classes. These include positions we take when we act as a principal to facilitate our clients’ activities, including our exchange-based market-making activities, or commit large amounts of capital to maintain positions in interest rate and credit products, as well as through our currencies, commodities, equities and mortgage-related activities. In addition, we invest in similar asset classes. Substantially all of our investing and market-making positions and a portion of our loans are marked-to-market on a daily or other periodic basis and declines in asset values directly and promptly impact our earnings, unless we have effectively “hedged” our exposures to those declines. In certain circumstances (particularly in the case of credit products, including leveraged loans, and private equities or other securities that are not freely tradable or lack established and liquid trading markets), it may not be possible or economic to hedge our exposures and, to the extent that we do so, the hedge may be ineffective or may greatly reduce our ability to profit from increases in the values of the assets. Sudden declines and significant volatility in the prices of assets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for certain assets, which may make it difficult to sell, hedge or value such assets. We may incur losses from time to time as trading markets deteriorate or cease to function, including with respect to loan commitments we have made or securities offerings we have underwritten. The inability to sell or effectively hedge assets reduces our ability to limit losses in such positions and the difficulty in valuing assets has in the past negatively affected, and may in the future negatively affect, our capital, liquidity or leverage ratios, our funding costs and our ability to deploy capital.In our exchange-based market-making activities, we are obligated by stock exchange rules to maintain an orderly market, including by purchasing securities in a declining market. In markets where asset values are declining and in volatile markets, this results in losses and an increased need for liquidity.We receive asset-based management fees based on the value of our clients’ portfolios or investment in funds managed by us and, in some cases, we also receive incentive fees based on increases in the value of such investments. Declines in asset values would ordinarily reduce the value of our clients’ portfolios or fund assets, which in turn would typically reduce the fees we earn for managing such assets." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "prior_title": "The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "current_body": "As described in “Business — Regulation — Banking Supervision and Regulation — Insolvency of an IDI or a BHC,” if the FDIC is appointed as receiver under OLA, the rights of Group Inc.’s creditors would be determined under OLA, and substantial differences exist in the rights of creditors between OLA and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the right of the FDIC under OLA to disregard the strict priority of creditor claims in some circumstances, which could have a material adverse effect on our debtholders. The FDIC has announced that a single point of entry strategy may be a desirable strategy under OLA to resolve a large financial institution in a manner that would, among other things, impose losses on shareholders, debtholders and other creditors of the top-tier BHC (in our case, Group Inc.), while the BHC’s subsidiaries may continue to operate. It is possible that the application of the single point of entry strategy under OLA, in which Group Inc. would be the only entity to enter resolution proceedings (and its material broker-dealer, bank and other operating entities would not enter resolution proceedings), would result in greater losses to Group Inc.’s security holders (including holders of our fixed rate, floating rate and indexed debt securities), than the losses that would result from the application of a bankruptcy proceeding or a different resolution strategy, such as a multiple point of entry resolution strategy for Group Inc. and certain of its material subsidiaries. Assuming Group Inc. entered resolution proceedings and support from Group Inc. or other resources available to its subsidiaries was sufficient to enable the subsidiaries to remain solvent, losses at the subsidiary level would be transferred to Group Inc. and ultimately borne by Group Inc.’s security holders, third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, and Group Inc.’s security holders (including our shareholders, debtholders and other unsecured creditors) could face significant and possibly complete losses. In that case, Group Inc.’s security holders would face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would incur no losses because the subsidiaries would continue to operate and would not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities could face losses ahead of its other similarly situated creditors in a resolution under OLA if the FDIC exercised its right, described above, to disregard the priority of creditor claims.OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S. government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors.In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred. If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged. While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible. Assuming Group Inc. entered resolution proceedings and support from Group Inc. or other resources available to its subsidiaries was sufficient to enable the subsidiaries to remain solvent, losses at the subsidiary level would be transferred to Group Inc. and ultimately borne by Group Inc.’s security holders, third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, and Group Inc.’s security holders (including our shareholders, debtholders and other unsecured creditors) could face significant and possibly complete losses. In that case, Group Inc.’s security holders would face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s subsidiaries would incur no losses because the subsidiaries would continue to operate and would not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities could face losses ahead of its other similarly situated creditors in a resolution under OLA if the FDIC exercised its right, described above, to disregard the priority of creditor claims. OLA also provides the FDIC with authority to cause creditors and shareholders of the financial company in receivership to bear losses before taxpayers are exposed to such losses, and amounts owed to the U.S. government would generally receive a statutory payment priority over the claims of private creditors, including senior creditors. In addition, under OLA, claims of creditors (including debtholders) could be satisfied through the issuance of equity or other securities in a bridge entity to which Group Inc.’s assets are transferred. If such a securities-for-claims exchange were implemented, there can be no assurance that the value of the securities of the bridge entity would be sufficient to repay or satisfy all or any part of the creditor claims for which the securities were exchanged. While the FDIC has issued regulations to implement OLA, not all aspects of how the FDIC might exercise this authority are known and additional rulemaking is possible. In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct. This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software. It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB.The application of regulatory strategies and requirements in the U.S. and in non-U.S. jurisdictions to facilitate the orderly resolution of large financial institutions could create greater risk of loss for Group Inc.’s security holders.As described in “Business — Regulation — Banking Supervision and Regulation — Insolvency of an IDI or a BHC,” if the FDIC is appointed as receiver under OLA, the rights of Group Inc.’s creditors would be determined under OLA, and substantial differences exist in the rights of creditors between OLA and the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, including the right of the FDIC under OLA to disregard the strict priority of creditor claims in some circumstances, which could have a material adverse effect on our debtholders.The FDIC has announced that a single point of entry strategy may be a desirable strategy under OLA to resolve a large financial institution in a manner that would, among other things, impose losses on shareholders, debtholders and other creditors of the top-tier BHC (in our case, Group Inc.), while the BHC’s subsidiaries may continue to operate. It is possible that the application of the single point of entry strategy under OLA, in which Group Inc. would be the only entity to enter resolution proceedings (and its material broker-dealer, bank and other operating entities would not enter resolution proceedings), would result in greater losses to Group Inc.’s security holders (including holders of our fixed rate, floating rate and indexed debt securities), than the losses that would result from the application of a bankruptcy proceeding or a different resolution strategy, such as a multiple point of entry resolution strategy for Group Inc. and certain of its material subsidiaries. In addition, there have been a number of highly publicized cases around the world, involving actual or alleged fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry, and we have had and may in the future have employee misconduct. This misconduct has included and may also in the future include intentional efforts to ignore or circumvent applicable policies, rules or procedures or misappropriation of funds and the theft of proprietary information, including proprietary software. It is not always possible to deter or prevent employee misconduct and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases, as reflected by the settlements relating to 1MDB." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "prior_title": "A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "current_body": "Our businesses are highly dependent on our ability to process and monitor, on a daily basis, a very large number of transactions, many of which are highly complex and occur at high volumes and frequencies, across numerous and diverse markets in many currencies. These transactions, as well as the information technology services we provide to clients, often must adhere to client-specific guidelines, as well as legal and regulatory standards. Many rules and regulations worldwide govern our obligations to execute transactions and report such transactions and other information to regulators, exchanges and investors. Compliance with these legal and reporting requirements can be challenging, and we have been and may in the future be subject to regulatory fines and penalties for failing to follow these rules or to report timely, accurate and complete information in accordance with these rules. As the volume, speed, frequency and complexity of transactions, especially electronic transactions (as well as the requirements to report such transactions on a real-time basis to clients, regulators and exchanges) increase, developing and maintaining our operational systems and infrastructure has become more challenging, and the risk of systems or human error in connection with such transactions has increased, as have the potential consequences of such errors due to the speed and volume of transactions involved and the potential difficulty associated with discovering errors quickly enough to limit the resulting consequences. For example, the transition to a T+1 settlement timeframe in the U.S. in 2024 subjects us to increased operational risks with respect to reporting and timely settlement of transactions. These risks are exacerbated in times of increased volatility. As with other similarly situated institutions, we utilize credit underwriting models in connection with our businesses, including our consumer-oriented activities. Allegations or publicity, whether or not accurate, that our underwriting decisions do not treat consumers or clients fairly, or comply with the applicable law or regulation, have in the past resulted and may in the future result in negative publicity, reputational damage and governmental and regulatory scrutiny, investigations and enforcement actions. Derivative transactions and delayed documentation or settlements may expose us to credit risk, unexpected risks and potential losses.We are party to a large number of derivative transactions, including credit derivatives. Many of these derivative instruments are individually negotiated and non-standardized, which can make exiting, transferring or settling positions difficult. Many credit derivatives require that we deliver to the counterparty the underlying security, loan or other obligation in order to receive payment. In a number of cases, we do not hold the underlying security, loan or other obligation and may not be able to obtain the underlying security, loan or other obligation. This could cause us to forfeit the payments due to us under these contracts or result in settlement delays with the attendant credit and operational risk, as well as increased costs to us. Derivative transactions also involve the risk that documentation has not been properly executed, that executed agreements may not be enforceable against the counterparty, or that obligations under such agreements may not be able to be “netted” against other obligations with such counterparty. In addition, counterparties may claim that such transactions were not appropriate or authorized.As a signatory to the ISDA Universal Protocol or U.S. ISDA Protocol (ISDA Protocols) and being subject to the FRB’s and FDIC’s rules on QFCs and similar rules in other jurisdictions, we may not be able to exercise remedies against counterparties and, as this regime has not yet been tested, we may suffer risks or losses that we would not have expected to suffer if we could immediately close out transactions upon a termination event. The ISDA Protocols and these rules and regulations extend to repurchase agreements and other instruments that are not derivative contracts.Derivative contracts and other transactions, including secondary bank loan purchases and sales, entered into with third parties are not always confirmed by the counterparties or settled on a timely basis. While the transaction remains unconfirmed or during any delay in settlement, we are subject to heightened credit and operational risk and in the event of a default may find it more difficult to enforce our rights.In addition, as new complex derivative products are created, covering a wider array of underlying credit and other instruments, disputes about the terms of the underlying contracts could arise, which could impair our ability to effectively manage our risk exposures from these products and subject us to increased costs. The provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act requiring central clearing of credit derivatives and other OTC derivatives, or a market shift toward standardized derivatives, could reduce the risk associated with these transactions, but under certain circumstances could also limit our ability to develop derivatives that best suit the needs of our clients and to hedge our own risks, and could adversely affect our profitability. In addition, these provisions have increased our credit exposure to central clearing platforms." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our investment banking, client intermediation, asset management and wealth management businesses have been adversely affected and may in the future be adversely affected by market uncertainty or lack of confidence among investors and CEOs due to declines in economic activity and other unfavorable economic, geopolitical or market conditions.", "prior_title": "Our investment banking, client intermediation, asset management and wealth management businesses have been adversely affected and may in the future be adversely affected by market uncertainty or lack of confidence among investors and CEOs due to declines in economic activity and other unfavorable economic, geopolitical or market conditions.", "current_body": "Our investment banking business has been and may in the future be adversely affected by market conditions. Poor economic conditions and other uncertain geopolitical conditions may adversely affect and have in the past adversely affected investor and CEO confidence, resulting in significant industry-wide declines in the size and number of underwritings and of advisory transactions, which would likely have and have in the past had an adverse effect on our revenues and our profit margins. In particular, because a significant portion of our investment banking revenues is derived from our participation in large transactions, a decline in the number of large transactions has in the past and would in the future adversely affect our investment banking business. Similarly, in recent years, cross-border initial public offerings and other securities offerings have accounted for a significant proportion of new issuance activity. Legislative, regulatory or other changes that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities outside the issuers’ domestic markets, that result in or could result in the delisting or removal of securities from exchanges or indices, have in the past adversely affected and would in the future adversely affect our underwriting and client intermediation businesses. Furthermore, changes, or proposed changes, to international trade and investment policies of the U.S. and other countries could negatively affect market activity levels and our revenues. In certain circumstances, market uncertainty or general declines in market or economic activity may adversely affect our client intermediation businesses by decreasing levels of overall activity or by decreasing volatility. Market uncertainty, volatility and adverse economic conditions, as well as declines in asset values, may cause our clients to transfer their assets out of our funds or other products or their brokerage accounts and result in reduced net revenues, principally in our asset management and wealth management businesses. Even if clients do not withdraw their funds, they may invest them in products that generate less fee income. We post collateral to support our obligations and receive collateral that supports the obligations of our clients and counterparties. When the value of the assets posted as collateral or the credit ratings of the party posting collateral decline, the party posting the collateral may need to provide additional collateral or, if possible, reduce its trading position. An example of such a situation is a “margin call” in connection with a brokerage account. Therefore, declines in the value of asset classes used as collateral mean that either the cost of funding positions is increased or the size of positions is decreased. If we are the party providing collateral, this can increase our costs and reduce our profitability and if we are the party receiving collateral, this can also reduce our profitability by reducing the level of business done with our clients and counterparties.In addition, volatile or less liquid markets increase the difficulty of valuing assets, which can lead to costly and time-consuming disputes over asset values and the level of required collateral, as well as increased credit risk to the recipient of the collateral due to delays in receiving adequate collateral. In cases where we foreclose on collateral, sudden declines in the value or liquidity of the collateral have in the past resulted in, and may in the future result in, significant losses to us, especially where there is a single type of collateral supporting the obligation. In addition, we have been and may in the future be subject to claims that the foreclosure was not permitted under the legal documents, was conducted in an improper manner, including in violation of law, or caused a client or counterparty to go out of business.Our market-making activities have been and may in the future be affected by changes in the levels of market volatility.Certain of our market-making activities depend on market volatility to provide trading and arbitrage opportunities to our clients, and decreases in volatility have reduced and may in the future reduce these opportunities and the level of client activity associated with them and have adversely affected and may in the future adversely affect the results of these activities. Increased volatility, while it can increase trading volumes and spreads, also increases risk as measured by Value-at-Risk (VaR) and increases risks in connection with our market-making activities and can cause us to reduce our inventory. Limiting the size of our market-making positions can adversely affect our profitability. In periods when volatility is increasing, but asset values are declining significantly, it may not be possible to sell assets at all or it may only be possible to do so at steep discounts. In those circumstances, we have been and may in the future be forced to either take on additional risk or to realize losses in order to decrease our VaR. In addition, increases in volatility increase the level of our RWAs, which increases the amount of capital that we are required to hold, and this can reduce our profitability and reduce our ability to distribute capital to our shareholders. We post collateral to support our obligations and receive collateral that supports the obligations of our clients and counterparties. When the value of the assets posted as collateral or the credit ratings of the party posting collateral decline, the party posting the collateral may need to provide additional collateral or, if possible, reduce its trading position. An example of such a situation is a “margin call” in connection with a brokerage account. Therefore, declines in the value of asset classes used as collateral mean that either the cost of funding positions is increased or the size of positions is decreased. If we are the party providing collateral, this can increase our costs and reduce our profitability and if we are the party receiving collateral, this can also reduce our profitability by reducing the level of business done with our clients and counterparties. In addition, volatile or less liquid markets increase the difficulty of valuing assets, which can lead to costly and time-consuming disputes over asset values and the level of required collateral, as well as increased credit risk to the recipient of the collateral due to delays in receiving adequate collateral. In cases where we foreclose on collateral, sudden declines in the value or liquidity of the collateral have in the past resulted in, and may in the future result in, significant losses to us, especially where there is a single type of collateral supporting the obligation. In addition, we have been and may in the future be subject to claims that the foreclosure was not permitted under the legal documents, was conducted in an improper manner, including in violation of law, or caused a client or counterparty to go out of business." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Reductions in our credit ratings or an increase in our credit spreads may adversely affect our liquidity and cost of funding.", "prior_title": "Reductions in our credit ratings or an increase in our credit spreads may adversely affect our liquidity and cost of funding.", "current_body": "Our credit ratings are important to our liquidity. A reduction in our credit ratings could adversely affect our liquidity and competitive position, increase our borrowing costs, limit our access to the capital markets or trigger our obligations under certain provisions in some of our trading and collateralized financing contracts. Under these provisions, counterparties could be permitted to terminate contracts with us or require us to post additional collateral. Termination of our trading and collateralized financing contracts could cause us to sustain losses and impair our liquidity by requiring us to find other sources of financing or to make significant cash payments or securities movements. As of December 2023, our counterparties could have called for additional collateral or termination payments related to our net derivative liabilities under bilateral agreements in an aggregate amount of $271 million in the event of a one-notch downgrade of our credit ratings and $1.58 billion in the event of a two-notch downgrade of our credit ratings. A downgrade by any one rating agency, depending on the agency’s relative ratings of us at the time of the downgrade, may have an impact which is comparable to the impact of a downgrade by all rating agencies. For further information about our credit ratings, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management — Liquidity Risk Management — Credit Ratings” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. Our cost of obtaining long-term unsecured funding is directly related to our credit spreads (the amount in excess of the interest rate of benchmark securities that we need to pay). Increases in our credit spreads can significantly increase our cost of this funding. Changes in credit spreads are continuous, market-driven, and subject at times to unpredictable and highly volatile movements. Our credit spreads are also influenced by market perceptions of our creditworthiness and movements in the costs to purchasers of credit default swaps referenced to our long-term debt. The market for credit default swaps has proven to be extremely volatile and at times has lacked a high degree of transparency or liquidity. Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by disruptions or lack of liquidity in the credit markets, including reduced access to credit and higher costs of obtaining credit.Widening credit spreads, as well as significant declines in the availability of credit, have in the past adversely affected our ability to borrow on a secured and unsecured basis and may do so in the future. We fund ourselves on an unsecured basis by issuing long-term debt and commercial paper, by raising deposits at our bank subsidiaries, by issuing hybrid financial instruments and by obtaining loans or lines of credit from commercial or other banking entities. We seek to finance many of our assets on a secured basis. Any disruptions in the credit markets may make it harder and more expensive to obtain funding for our businesses. If our available funding is limited or we are forced to fund our operations at a higher cost, these conditions may require us to curtail our business activities and increase our cost of funding, both of which could reduce our profitability, particularly in our businesses that involve investing, lending and market making.Our clients engaging in mergers, acquisitions and other types of strategic transactions often rely on access to the secured and unsecured credit markets to finance their transactions. A lack of available credit or an increased cost of credit can adversely affect the size, volume and timing of our clients’ merger and acquisition transactions, particularly large transactions, and adversely affect our advisory and underwriting businesses.Our credit businesses have been and may in the future be negatively affected by a lack of liquidity in credit markets. A lack of liquidity reduces price transparency, increases price volatility and decreases transaction volumes and size, all of which can increase transaction risk or decrease the profitability of these businesses." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our liquidity, profitability and businesses may be adversely affected by an inability to access the debt capital markets or to sell assets.", "prior_title": "Our liquidity, profitability and businesses may be adversely affected by an inability to access the debt capital markets or to sell assets.", "current_body": "Liquidity is essential to our businesses. It is of critical importance to us, as most of the failures of financial institutions have occurred in large part due to insufficient liquidity. Our liquidity may be impaired by an inability to access secured and/or unsecured debt markets, an inability to raise or retain deposits, an inability to access funds from our subsidiaries or otherwise allocate liquidity optimally, an inability to sell assets or redeem our investments, lack of timely settlement of transactions, unusual deposit outflows, or other unforeseen outflows of cash or collateral, such as in March 2020, when corporate clients drew on revolving credit facilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation may arise due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as a general market or economic disruption or an operational problem that affects third parties or us, or even by the perception among market participants that we, or other market participants, are experiencing greater liquidity risk. We employ structured products to benefit our clients and hedge our own risks. The financial instruments that we hold and the contracts to which we are a party are often complex, and these complex structured products often do not have readily available markets to access in times of liquidity stress. Our investing and financing activities may lead to situations where the holdings from these activities represent a significant portion of specific markets, which could restrict liquidity for our positions. Further, our ability to sell assets may be impaired if there is not generally a liquid market for such assets, as well as in circumstances where other market participants are seeking to sell similar otherwise generally liquid assets at the same time, as is likely to occur in a liquidity or other market crisis or in response to changes to rules or regulations. For example, in 2021, an investment management firm with large positions with several financial institutions defaulted, resulting in rapidly declining prices in the securities underlying those positions. In addition, clearinghouses, exchanges and other financial institutions with which we interact may exercise set-off rights or the right to require additional collateral, including in difficult market conditions, which could further impair our liquidity. Numerous regulations have been adopted that impose more stringent liquidity requirements on large financial institutions, including us. These regulations require us to hold large amounts of highly liquid assets and reduce our flexibility to source and deploy funding. In addition, our need to manage our operations in light of certain regulatory requirements when applicable thresholds are met has in the past limited and may in the future limit our ability to raise deposits in GSIB or other funding, which could adversely affect our liquidity or ability to respond efficiently to liquidity stress. Our asset management and wealth management businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by the poor investment performance of our investment products or a client preference for products other than those which we offer or for products that generate lower fees.Poor investment returns in our asset management and wealth management businesses, due to either general market conditions or underperformance (relative to our competitors or to benchmarks) by funds or accounts that we manage or investment products that we design or sell, affect our ability to retain existing assets and to attract new clients or additional assets from existing clients. This could affect the management and incentive fees that we earn on AUS or the commissions and net spreads that we earn for selling other investment products, such as structured notes or derivatives. To the extent that our clients choose to invest in products that we do not currently offer, we will suffer outflows and a loss of management fees. Further, if, due to changes in investor sentiment or the relative performance of certain asset classes or otherwise, clients continue to invest in products that generate lower fees (e.g., passively managed or fixed income products), our average effective management fee will decline further and our asset management and wealth management businesses could be adversely affected.Inflation has had, and could continue to have, a negative effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.Inflationary pressures have affected economies, financial markets and market participants worldwide. Inflationary pressures have increased certain of our operating expenses, and have adversely affected consumer sentiment and CEO confidence. Central bank responses to inflationary pressures have also resulted in higher market interest rates, which, in turn, have contributed to lower activity levels across financial markets, in particular for debt underwriting transactions and mortgage originations, and resulted in lower values for certain financial assets which have adversely affected our equity and debt investments. Higher interest rates increase our borrowing costs and have required us to increase interest paid on our deposits. If inflationary pressures persist, our expenses may increase further; we may be unable to achieve our efficiency ratio target; activity levels for certain of our businesses, in particular debt underwriting and mortgages, may decline; our interest expense could increase faster than our interest income, reducing our net interest income and net interest margin; certain of our investments could continue to incur losses or generally low levels of returns; AUS could decline, or the composition of our AUS could shift to lower fee products, reducing management and other fees; economies worldwide could experience recessions; and we could continue to operate in a generally unfavorable economic and market environment." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.", "prior_title": "Our businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.", "current_body": "Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks or worsening of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors. The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a public health emergency, sovereign debt risk and its impact on the relevant sovereign banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity.General uncertainty about economic, political and market activities, and the scope, timing and impact of regulatory reform, as well as weak consumer, investor and CEO confidence resulting in large part from such uncertainty, has in the past negatively impacted client activity, which has in the past adversely affected and could in the future adversely affect many of our businesses. Periods of low volatility and periods of high volatility combined with a lack of liquidity have at times had an unfavorable impact on our market-making businesses.Changes, or proposed changes, to U.S. international trade and investment policies, particularly with important trading partners, have in recent years negatively impacted financial markets. Continued or escalating tensions may result in further actions taken by the U.S. or other countries that could disrupt international trade and investment and adversely affect financial markets. Those actions could include, among others, the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or other restrictions on cross-border trade, investment, or transfer of information or technology. Such developments have in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses.Financial institution returns may be negatively impacted by increased funding costs due in part to the lack of perceived government support of such institutions in the event of future financial crises relative to financial institutions in countries in which governmental support is maintained. In addition, liquidity in the financial markets has in the past been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted as market participants and market practices and structures adjust to evolving regulatory frameworks. The financial services industry and the securities and other financial markets have been materially and adversely affected in the past by significant declines in the values of nearly all asset classes, by a serious lack of liquidity and by high levels of borrower defaults. In addition, concerns about actual or potential increases in interest rates, inflation and other borrowing costs, a public health emergency, sovereign debt risk and its impact on the relevant sovereign banking system, and limitations on international trade, have, at times, negatively impacted the levels of client activity. General uncertainty about economic, political and market activities, and the scope, timing and impact of regulatory reform, as well as weak consumer, investor and CEO confidence resulting in large part from such uncertainty, has in the past negatively impacted client activity, which has in the past adversely affected and could in the future adversely affect many of our businesses. Periods of low volatility and periods of high volatility combined with a lack of liquidity have at times had an unfavorable impact on our market-making businesses. Changes, or proposed changes, to U.S. international trade and investment policies, particularly with important trading partners, have in recent years negatively impacted financial markets. Continued or escalating tensions may result in further actions taken by the U.S. or other countries that could disrupt international trade and investment and adversely affect financial markets. Those actions could include, among others, the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or other restrictions on cross-border trade, investment, or transfer of information or technology. Such developments have in the past affected and could in the future adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses. Financial institution returns may be negatively impacted by increased funding costs due in part to the lack of perceived government support of such institutions in the event of future financial crises relative to financial institutions in countries in which governmental support is maintained. In addition, liquidity in the financial markets has in the past been, and could in the future be, negatively impacted as market participants and market practices and structures adjust to evolving regulatory frameworks. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above:MarketOur businesses have been and may in the future be adversely affected by conditions in the global financial markets and broader economic conditions.Many of our businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of our businesses are materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions generally, both directly and through their impact on client activity levels and creditworthiness. These conditions can change suddenly and negatively. Our financial performance is highly dependent on the environment in which our businesses operate. A favorable business environment is generally characterized by, among other factors, high global gross domestic product growth, regulatory and market conditions that result in transparent, liquid and efficient capital markets, low inflation, business, consumer and investor confidence, stable geopolitical conditions and strong business earnings. Unfavorable or uncertain economic and market conditions can be caused by: low levels of or declines in economic growth, business activity or investor, business or consumer confidence; concerns over a potential recession; changes in consumer spending or borrowing patterns; pandemics; limitations on the availability or increases in the cost of credit and capital; illiquid markets; increases in inflation, interest rates, exchange rate or basic commodity price volatility or default rates; high levels of inflation or stagflation; concerns about sovereign defaults; uncertainty concerning fiscal or monetary policy, government shutdowns, debt ceilings or funding; the extent of and uncertainty about potential increases in tax rates and other regulatory changes; limitations on international trade and travel; laws and regulations that limit trading in, or the issuance of, securities of issuers outside their domestic markets; outbreaks or worsening of domestic or international tensions or hostilities, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, cybersecurity threats or attacks and other forms of disruption to or curtailment of global communication, energy transmission or transportation networks or other geopolitical instability or uncertainty; corporate, political or other scandals that reduce investor confidence in capital markets; extreme weather events or other natural disasters; or a combination of these or other factors. The following are detailed descriptions of our Risk Factors summarized above: Market" }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.", "prior_title": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.", "current_body": "Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions have in the past made, and may in the future make, it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which have in the past resulted, and may in the future result, in losses for us. Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, has in the past negatively affected and may in the future negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans.In the ordinary course of business, we are at times subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties. Rules adopted under the Dodd-Frank Act, and similar rules adopted in other jurisdictions, require issuers of certain asset-backed securities and any person who organizes and initiates certain asset-backed securities transactions to retain economic exposure to the asset, which has affected the cost of and structures used in connection with these securitization activities. Our inability to reduce our credit risk by selling, syndicating or securitizing these positions, including during periods of market stress, has in the past negatively affected and may in the future negatively affect our results of operations due to a decrease in the fair value of the positions, including due to the insolvency or bankruptcy of borrowers, as well as the loss of revenues associated with selling such securities or loans. In the ordinary course of business, we are at times subject to a concentration of credit risk to a particular counterparty, borrower, issuer (including sovereign issuers) or geographic area or group of related countries, such as the E.U., and a failure or downgrade of, or default by, such entity could negatively impact our businesses, perhaps materially, and the systems by which we set limits and monitor the level of our credit exposure to individual entities, industries, countries and regions may not function as we have anticipated. Regulatory reform, including the Dodd-Frank Act, has led to increased centralization of trading activity through particular clearinghouses, central agents or exchanges, which has significantly increased our concentration of risk with respect to these entities. While our activities expose us to many different industries, counterparties and countries, we routinely execute a high volume of transactions with counterparties engaged in financial services activities, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, clearinghouses, exchanges and investment funds. This has resulted in significant credit concentration with respect to these counterparties. We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime financing activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee.Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities.Concentration of risk increases the potential for significant losses in our market-making, underwriting, investing and financing activities. The number and size of these transactions has affected and may in the future affect our results of operations in a given period. Moreover, because of concentrated risk, we may suffer losses even when economic and market conditions are generally favorable for our competitors. Disruptions in the credit markets can make it difficult to hedge these credit exposures effectively or economically. In addition, we extend large commitments as part of our credit origination activities. Disruptions in the credit markets have in the past substantially curtailed or eliminated, and may in the future substantially curtail or eliminate, the trading markets for loans we originate. These disruptions have in the past made, and may in the future make, it difficult for us to sell or value such assets, which have in the past resulted, and may in the future result, in losses for us. We are also subject to the risk that our rights against third parties may not be enforceable in all circumstances. In addition, deterioration in the credit quality of third parties whose securities or obligations we hold, including a deterioration in the value of collateral posted by third parties to secure their obligations to us under derivative contracts and loan agreements, could result in losses and/or adversely affect our ability to rehypothecate or otherwise use those securities or obligations for liquidity purposes. A significant downgrade in the credit ratings of our counterparties could also have a negative impact on our results. While in many cases we are permitted to require additional collateral from counterparties that experience financial difficulty, disputes may arise as to the amount of collateral we are entitled to receive and the value of pledged assets. The termination of contracts and the foreclosure on collateral may subject us to claims for the improper exercise of our rights. Default rates, downgrades and disputes with counterparties as to the valuation of collateral typically increase significantly in times of market stress, increased volatility and illiquidity. As part of our clearing and prime financing activities, we finance our clients’ positions, and we could be held responsible for the defaults or misconduct of our clients. Default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Operational", "prior_title": "Operational", "current_body": "•A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses. •A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses. •The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business. •A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses. •We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "Operational", "prior_title": "Operational", "current_body": "•A failure in our operational systems or human error, malfeasance or other misconduct, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses. •A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses. •The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business. •A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses. •We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.", "prior_title": "We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.", "current_body": "We have engaged in selective acquisitions and may continue to do so in the future and these acquisitions may, individually or in the aggregate, be material to us. Any future acquisitions could involve the issuance of common stock and/or the payment of cash as consideration. The success of our acquisitions will depend, in part, on our ability to integrate the acquired businesses and realize anticipated synergies, cost savings and growth opportunities. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2023, we entered into an agreement to sell GreenSky and sold PFM, both of which we had previously acquired, and in connection with the GreenSky disposition incurred a write-down of intangible assets and goodwill. We may face numerous risks and uncertainties in combining and integrating the relevant businesses and systems, including the need to combine or separate accounting and data processing systems and management controls and to integrate relationships with clients, counterparties, regulators and others in connection with acquisitions. Integration of acquired businesses is time-consuming and could disrupt our ongoing businesses, produce unforeseen regulatory or operating difficulties, cause us to incur incremental expenses or require incremental financial, management and other resources. It is also possible that an acquisition, once announced, may not close due to the failure to satisfy applicable closing conditions, such as the receipt of necessary shareholder or regulatory approvals. There is no assurance that any of our acquisitions will be successfully integrated or yield all of the expected benefits and synergies in the time frames that we expect, or at all. If we are not able to integrate our acquisitions successfully, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions.We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and may continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions. We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and may continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses. New business initiatives expose us to new and enhanced risks, including risks associated with dealing with governmental entities, reputational concerns arising from dealing with different types of clients, business partners, counterparties and investors, greater regulatory scrutiny of these activities, increased credit-related, market, sovereign and operational risks, risks arising from accidents or acts of terrorism, and reputational concerns with the manner in which certain assets are being operated or held or in which we interact with these clients, business partners, counterparties and investors. Legal, regulatory and reputational risks may also exist in connection with activities and transactions involving new products or markets where there is regulatory uncertainty or where there are different or conflicting regulations depending on the regulator or the jurisdiction involved, particularly where transactions in such products may involve multiple jurisdictions. We have developed and pursued new business and strategic initiatives, including acquisitions, and may continue to do so. If and to the extent we are unable to successfully execute those initiatives, we may incur unanticipated costs and losses, and face other adverse consequences, such as negative reputational effects. In addition, the actual effects of pursuing those initiatives may differ, possibly materially, from the benefits that we expect to realize from them, such as generating additional revenues, achieving expense savings, reducing operational risk exposures or using capital and funding more efficiently. Engaging in new activities exposes us to a variety of risks, including that we may be unable to successfully develop new, competitive, efficient and effective systems and processes, and hire and retain the necessary personnel. Due to our lack of historical experience with unsecured consumer lending, our loan loss assumptions may prove to be incorrect and we may incur losses significantly above those which we originally anticipated in entering the business or in expanding the product offerings for the business. In recent years, we have invested, and may continue to invest, more in businesses that we expect will generate a higher level of more consistent revenues. Such investments and acquisitions may not be successful or have returns similar to our other businesses. We may not be able to fully realize the expected benefits or synergies from acquisitions or other business initiatives in the time frames we expect, or at all.We have engaged in selective acquisitions and may continue to do so in the future and these acquisitions may, individually or in the aggregate, be material to us. Any future acquisitions could involve the issuance of common stock and/or the payment of cash as consideration. The success of our acquisitions will depend, in part, on our ability to integrate the acquired businesses and realize anticipated synergies, cost savings and growth opportunities. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2023, we entered into an agreement to sell GreenSky and sold PFM, both of which we had previously acquired, and in connection with the GreenSky disposition incurred a write-down of intangible assets and goodwill. We may face numerous risks and uncertainties in combining and integrating the relevant businesses and systems, including the need to combine or separate accounting and data processing systems and management controls and to integrate relationships with clients, counterparties, regulators and others in connection with acquisitions. Integration of acquired businesses is time-consuming and could disrupt our ongoing businesses, produce unforeseen regulatory or operating difficulties, cause us to incur incremental expenses or require incremental financial, management and other resources. It is also possible that an acquisition, once announced, may not close due to the failure to satisfy applicable closing conditions, such as the receipt of necessary shareholder or regulatory approvals.There is no assurance that any of our acquisitions will be successfully integrated or yield all of the expected benefits and synergies in the time frames that we expect, or at all. If we are not able to integrate our acquisitions successfully, our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.", "prior_title": "We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.", "current_body": "We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. Our risk management process seeks to balance our ability to profit from market-making, investing or lending positions, and underwriting activities, with our exposure to potential losses. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Thus, in the course of our activities, we have incurred and may in the future incur losses. Market conditions in recent years have involved unprecedented dislocations and highlight the limitations inherent in using historical data to manage risk. The models that we use to assess and control our risk exposures reflect assumptions about the degrees of correlation or lack thereof among prices of various asset classes or other market indicators. In times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances, previously uncorrelated indicators may become correlated, or conversely previously correlated indicators may move in different directions. These types of market movements have at times limited the effectiveness of our hedging strategies and have caused us to incur significant losses, and they may do so in the future. These changes in correlation have been and may in the future be exacerbated where other market participants are using risk or trading models with assumptions or algorithms that are similar to ours. In these and other cases, it may be difficult to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of other market participants or widespread market dislocations, including circumstances where asset values are declining significantly or no market exists for certain assets. In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs. To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments. Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities.Our consumer offerings present us with different risks, and we have needed and continue to need to expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities. A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us.For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. To the extent that we have positions through our market-making or origination activities or we make investments directly through our investing activities, including private equity, that do not have an established liquid trading market or are otherwise subject to restrictions on sale or hedging, we may not be able to reduce our positions and therefore reduce our risk associated with those positions. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and regulation, we invest our own capital in private equity, credit, real estate and hedge funds that we manage and limitations on our ability to withdraw some or all of our investments in these funds, whether for legal, reputational or other reasons, may make it more difficult for us to control the risk exposures relating to these investments. Prudent risk management, as well as regulatory restrictions, may cause us to limit our exposure to counterparties, geographic areas or markets, which may limit our business opportunities and increase the cost of our funding or hedging activities. Our consumer offerings present us with different risks, and we have needed and continue to need to expand and adapt our risk monitoring and mitigation activities to account for these business activities. A failure to adequately assess and control such risk exposures could result in losses to us. For further information about our risk management policies and procedures, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Risk Management” in Part II, Item 7 of this Form 10-K. We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. Our risk management process seeks to balance our ability to profit from market-making, investing or lending positions, and underwriting activities, with our exposure to potential losses. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. Thus, in the course of our activities, we have incurred and may in the future incur losses. Market conditions in recent years have involved unprecedented dislocations and highlight the limitations inherent in using historical data to manage risk.The models that we use to assess and control our risk exposures reflect assumptions about the degrees of correlation or lack thereof among prices of various asset classes or other market indicators. In times of market stress or other unforeseen circumstances, previously uncorrelated indicators may become correlated, or conversely previously correlated indicators may move in different directions. These types of market movements have at times limited the effectiveness of our hedging strategies and have caused us to incur significant losses, and they may do so in the future. These changes in correlation have been and may in the future be exacerbated where other market participants are using risk or trading models with assumptions or algorithms that are similar to ours. In these and other cases, it may be difficult to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of other market participants or widespread market dislocations, including circumstances where asset values are declining significantly or no market exists for certain assets. In addition, the use of models in connection with risk management and numerous other critical activities presents risks that the models may be ineffective, either because of poor design, ineffective testing, or improper or flawed inputs, as well as unpermitted access to the models resulting in unapproved or malicious changes to the model or its inputs." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "prior_title": "A failure to protect our computer systems, networks and information, and our clients’ information, against cyber attacks and similar threats could impair our ability to conduct our businesses, result in the disclosure, theft or destruction of confidential information, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "current_body": "Our operations rely on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in our computer systems and networks and those of our vendors. There have been a number of highly publicized cases involving financial services companies, consumer-based companies, software and information technology service providers, governmental agencies and other organizations reporting the unauthorized access or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber attacks involving the dissemination, theft and destruction of corporate information or other assets, as a result of inadequate procedures or the failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by foreign governments. There have also been a number of highly publicized cases where hackers have requested “ransom” payments in exchange for not disclosing customer information or for restoring access to information or systems. We are regularly the target of attempted cyber attacks, including denial-of-service attacks, and must continuously monitor and develop our systems to protect the integrity and functionality of our technology infrastructure and access to and the security of our data. We have faced a high volume of cyber attacks as we expand our mobile- and other internet-based products and services, as well as our usage of mobile and cloud technologies, and as we provide these services to individual consumers. Further, the use of AI by cybercriminals may increase the frequency and severity of cybersecurity attacks against us or our third-party vendors and clients. The migration of our communication from devices we provide to employee-owned devices presents additional risks of cyber attacks, as do hybrid work arrangements. In addition, due to our interconnectivity with third-party vendors (and their respective service providers), central agents, exchanges, clearinghouses and other financial institutions, we could be adversely impacted if any of them is subject to a successful cyber attack or other information security event. These impacts could include the loss of access to information or services from the third party subject to the cyber attack or other information security event or could result in unauthorized access to or disclosure of client, customer or other confidential information, which could, in turn, interrupt certain of our businesses or adversely affect our results of operations and reputation. The development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) present risks and challenges that may adversely impact our business.We or our third-party vendors, clients or counterparties may develop or incorporate AI technology in certain business processes, services or products. The development and use of AI present a number of risks and challenges to our business. The legal and regulatory environment relating to AI is uncertain and rapidly evolving, both in the U.S. and internationally, and includes regulation targeted specifically at AI as well as provisions in intellectual property, privacy, consumer protection, employment and other laws applicable to the use of AI. These evolving laws and regulations could require changes in our implementation of AI technology and increase our compliance costs and the risk of non-compliance. AI models, particularly generative AI models, may produce output or take action that is incorrect, that result in the release of private, confidential or proprietary information, that reflect biases included in the data on which they are trained, infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, or that is otherwise harmful. In addition, the complexity of many AI models makes it challenging to understand why they are generating particular outputs. This limited transparency increases the challenges associated with assessing the proper operation of AI models, understanding and monitoring the capabilities of the AI models, reducing erroneous output, eliminating bias and complying with regulations that require documentation or explanation of the basis on which decisions are made. Further, we may rely on AI models developed by third parties, and, to that extent, would be dependent in part on the manner in which those third parties develop and train their models, including risks arising from the inclusion of any unauthorized material in the training data for their models, and the effectiveness of the steps these third parties have taken to limit the risks associated with the output of their models, matters over which we may have limited visibility. Any of these risks could expose us to liability or adverse legal or regulatory consequences and harm our reputation and the public perception of our business or the effectiveness of our security measures.In addition to our use of AI technologies, we are exposed to risks arising from the use of AI technologies by bad actors to commit fraud and misappropriate funds and to facilitate cyberattacks. Generative AI, if used to perpetrate fraud or launch cyberattacks, could result in losses, liquidity outflows or other adverse effects at a particular financial institution or exchange." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.", "prior_title": "In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.", "current_body": "In conducting our businesses and supporting our global operations, we are subject to risks of possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls, capital controls, exchange controls, communications and other content restrictions, and other restrictive governmental actions. For example, sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the E.U. on certain individuals and companies in Russia and Venezuela. In many countries, the laws and regulations applicable to the securities and financial services industries and many of the transactions in which we are involved are uncertain and evolving, and it may be difficult for us to determine the exact requirements of local laws in every market. We have been in some cases subject to divergent and conflicting laws and regulations across markets, and we are increasingly subject to the risk that the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented or may implement laws and regulations that directly conflict with those of another jurisdiction. Any determination by local regulators that we have not acted in compliance with the application of local laws in a particular market or our failure to develop effective working relationships with local regulators could have a significant and negative effect not only on our businesses in that market, but also on our reputation generally. Further, in some jurisdictions a failure, or alleged failure, to comply with laws and regulations has subjected and may in the future subject us and our personnel not only to civil actions, but also criminal actions and other sanctions. We are also subject to the enhanced risk that transactions we structure might not be legally enforceable in all cases. While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future.We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation.Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities. Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future. We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation. Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities. Significant settlements by large financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, with governmental entities have become common. The trend of large settlements with governmental entities may adversely affect the outcomes for other financial institutions, including, in some cases, us, in similar actions, especially where governmental officials have announced that the large settlements will be used as the basis or a template for other settlements. The uncertain regulatory enforcement environment makes it difficult to estimate probable losses, which can lead to substantial disparities between legal reserves and subsequent actual settlements or penalties. Claims of collusion or anti-competitive conduct have become more common. Financial institutions (including us) have been subject to civil cases and investigatory demands relating to alleged bid-rigging, group boycotts or other anti-competitive practices. Antitrust laws generally provide for joint and several liability and treble damages. These claims have resulted in significant settlements and fines in the past and may do so in the future. We are subject to laws and regulations worldwide, including the FCPA and the U.K. Bribery Act, relating to corrupt and illegal payments to, and hiring practices with regard to, government officials and others. Violation of these or similar laws and regulations have in the past resulted in and could in the future result in significant monetary penalties. Such violations could also result in severe restrictions on our activities and damage to our reputation. Certain law enforcement authorities have recently required admissions of wrongdoing, and, in some cases, criminal pleas, as part of the resolutions of matters brought against financial institutions or their employees. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. Any such resolution of a criminal matter involving us or our employees could lead to increased exposure to civil litigation, could adversely affect our reputation, could result in penalties or limitations on our ability to conduct our activities generally or in certain circumstances and could have other negative effects. Further, as a result of this type of settlement, we are no longer a “well-known seasoned issuer,” which places limitations on the manner in which we can market our securities. In conducting our businesses around the world, we are subject to political, legal, regulatory and other risks that are inherent in operating in many countries.In conducting our businesses and supporting our global operations, we are subject to risks of possible nationalization, expropriation, price controls, capital controls, exchange controls, communications and other content restrictions, and other restrictive governmental actions. For example, sanctions have been imposed by the U.S. and the E.U. on certain individuals and companies in Russia and Venezuela. In many countries, the laws and regulations applicable to the securities and financial services industries and many of the transactions in which we are involved are uncertain and evolving, and it may be difficult for us to determine the exact requirements of local laws in every market. We have been in some cases subject to divergent and conflicting laws and regulations across markets, and we are increasingly subject to the risk that the jurisdictions in which we operate have implemented or may implement laws and regulations that directly conflict with those of another jurisdiction. Any determination by local regulators that we have not acted in compliance with the application of local laws in a particular market or our failure to develop effective working relationships with local regulators could have a significant and negative effect not only on our businesses in that market, but also on our reputation generally. Further, in some jurisdictions a failure, or alleged failure, to comply with laws and regulations has subjected and may in the future subject us and our personnel not only to civil actions, but also criminal actions and other sanctions. We are also subject to the enhanced risk that transactions we structure might not be legally enforceable in all cases. While business and other practices throughout the world differ, our principal entities are subject in their operations worldwide to rules and regulations relating to corrupt and illegal payments, hiring practices and money laundering, as well as laws relating to doing business with certain individuals, groups and countries, such as the FCPA, the BSA and the U.K. Bribery Act. While we have invested and continue to invest significant resources in training and in compliance monitoring, the geographical diversity of our operations, employees, clients and consumers, as well as the vendors and other third parties that we deal with, greatly increases the risk that we may be found in violation of such rules or regulations and any such violation could subject us to significant penalties or adversely affect our reputation. See for example, “1MDB-Related Matters” in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "prior_title": "A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.", "current_body": "We face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of any of the clearing agents, exchanges, clearinghouses or other financial intermediaries we use to facilitate our securities and derivatives transactions, and as our interconnectivity with our clients grows, we increasingly face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay with respect to our clients’ systems. There has been significant consolidation among clearing agents, exchanges and clearinghouses and an increasing number of derivative transactions are cleared on exchanges, which has increased our exposure to operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of the particular financial intermediaries that we use and could affect our ability to find adequate and cost-effective alternatives in the event of any such failure, delay, termination or constraint. Industry consolidation, whether among market participants or financial intermediaries, increases the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay as disparate complex systems need to be integrated, often on an accelerated basis. The interconnectivity of multiple financial institutions with central agents, exchanges and clearinghouses, and the increased centrality of these entities, increases the risk that an operational failure at one institution or entity may cause an industry-wide operational failure that could materially impact our ability to conduct business. Interconnectivity of financial institutions with other companies through, among other things, application programming interfaces or APIs presents similar risks. Any such failure, termination or constraint could adversely affect our ability to effect transactions, service our clients, manage our exposure to risk or expand our businesses or result in financial loss or liability to our clients, impairment of our liquidity, disruption of our businesses, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Despite our resiliency plans and facilities, our ability to conduct business may be adversely impacted by a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses and the communities where we are located. This may include a disruption involving electrical, satellite, undersea cable or other communications, internet, transportation or other facilities used by us, our employees or third parties with which we conduct business, including cloud service providers. These disruptions may occur as a result of events that affect only our buildings or systems or those of third parties, or as a result of events with a broader impact globally, regionally or in the cities where those buildings or systems are located, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, economic or political developments, pandemics and weather events. In addition, although we seek to diversify our third-party vendors to increase our resiliency, we are exposed to risks if our vendors operate in the same area and are also exposed to the risk that a disruption or other information technology event at a common service provider to our vendors could impede their ability to provide products or services to us. We may not be able to effectively monitor or mitigate operational risks relating to our vendors’ use of common service providers.Additionally, although the prevalence and scope of applications of distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency and similar technologies is growing, the technology is nascent and may be vulnerable to cyber attacks or have other inherent weaknesses. We are exposed to risks, and may become exposed to additional risks, related to distributed ledger technology, including through our facilitation of clients’ activities involving financial products that use distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies or other digital assets, our investments in companies that seek to develop platforms based on distributed ledger technology, the use of distributed ledger technology by third-party vendors, clients, counterparties, clearinghouses and other financial intermediaries, and the receipt of cryptocurrencies or other digital assets as collateral. Market volatility of financial products using distributed ledger technology may increase these risks. In addition, although we seek to diversify our third-party vendors to increase our resiliency, we are exposed to risks if our vendors operate in the same area and are also exposed to the risk that a disruption or other information technology event at a common service provider to our vendors could impede their ability to provide products or services to us. We may not be able to effectively monitor or mitigate operational risks relating to our vendors’ use of common service providers. Additionally, although the prevalence and scope of applications of distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency and similar technologies is growing, the technology is nascent and may be vulnerable to cyber attacks or have other inherent weaknesses. We are exposed to risks, and may become exposed to additional risks, related to distributed ledger technology, including through our facilitation of clients’ activities involving financial products that use distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies or other digital assets, our investments in companies that seek to develop platforms based on distributed ledger technology, the use of distributed ledger technology by third-party vendors, clients, counterparties, clearinghouses and other financial intermediaries, and the receipt of cryptocurrencies or other digital assets as collateral. Market volatility of financial products using distributed ledger technology may increase these risks. A failure or disruption in our infrastructure, or in the operational systems or infrastructure of third parties, could impair our liquidity, disrupt our businesses, damage our reputation and cause losses.We face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of any of the clearing agents, exchanges, clearinghouses or other financial intermediaries we use to facilitate our securities and derivatives transactions, and as our interconnectivity with our clients grows, we increasingly face the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay with respect to our clients’ systems. There has been significant consolidation among clearing agents, exchanges and clearinghouses and an increasing number of derivative transactions are cleared on exchanges, which has increased our exposure to operational failure or significant operational delay, termination or capacity constraints of the particular financial intermediaries that we use and could affect our ability to find adequate and cost-effective alternatives in the event of any such failure, delay, termination or constraint. Industry consolidation, whether among market participants or financial intermediaries, increases the risk of operational failure or significant operational delay as disparate complex systems need to be integrated, often on an accelerated basis.The interconnectivity of multiple financial institutions with central agents, exchanges and clearinghouses, and the increased centrality of these entities, increases the risk that an operational failure at one institution or entity may cause an industry-wide operational failure that could materially impact our ability to conduct business. Interconnectivity of financial institutions with other companies through, among other things, application programming interfaces or APIs presents similar risks. Any such failure, termination or constraint could adversely affect our ability to effect transactions, service our clients, manage our exposure to risk or expand our businesses or result in financial loss or liability to our clients, impairment of our liquidity, disruption of our businesses, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Despite our resiliency plans and facilities, our ability to conduct business may be adversely impacted by a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our businesses and the communities where we are located. This may include a disruption involving electrical, satellite, undersea cable or other communications, internet, transportation or other facilities used by us, our employees or third parties with which we conduct business, including cloud service providers. These disruptions may occur as a result of events that affect only our buildings or systems or those of third parties, or as a result of events with a broader impact globally, regionally or in the cities where those buildings or systems are located, including, but not limited to, natural disasters, war, civil unrest, terrorism, economic or political developments, pandemics and weather events." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "prior_title": "The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.", "current_body": "In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds. We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented.If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the strategy, Group Inc. could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations. It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented. In all cases, any payments to debtholders are dependent on our ability to make such payments and are therefore subject to our credit risk. We also put in place a Capital and Liquidity Support Agreement (CLSA) among Group Inc., Funding IHC and our major subsidiaries. Under the CLSA, Funding IHC has provided Group Inc. with a committed line of credit that allows Group Inc. to draw sufficient funds to meet its cash needs during the ordinary course of business. In addition, if our financial resources deteriorate so severely that resolution may be imminent, (i) the committed line of credit will automatically terminate and the unsecured subordinated funding note will automatically be forgiven, (ii) all intercompany receivables owed by the major subsidiaries to Group Inc. will be transferred to Funding IHC or their maturities will be extended to five years, (iii) Group Inc. will be obligated to transfer substantially all of its remaining intercompany receivables and GCLA (other than an amount to fund anticipated bankruptcy expenses) to Funding IHC, and (iv) Funding IHC will be obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to the major subsidiaries. Group Inc.’s and Funding IHC’s obligations under the CLSA are secured pursuant to a related security agreement. Such actions would materially and adversely affect Group Inc.’s liquidity. As a result, during a period of severe stress, Group Inc. might commence bankruptcy proceedings at an earlier time than it otherwise would if the CLSA and related security agreement had not been implemented. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were successful, Group Inc.’s security holders could face losses while the third-party creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would incur no losses because those subsidiaries would continue to operate and not enter resolution or bankruptcy proceedings. As part of the strategy, Group Inc. could also seek to elevate the priority of its guarantee obligations relating to its major subsidiaries’ derivative contracts or transfer them to another entity so that cross-default and early termination rights would be stayed under the ISDA Protocols, as applicable, which would result in holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and holders of Group Inc.’s other debt securities incurring losses ahead of the beneficiaries of those guarantee obligations. It is also possible that holders of Group Inc.’s eligible long-term debt and other debt securities could incur losses ahead of other similarly situated creditors of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries. If Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy were not successful, Group Inc.’s financial condition would be adversely impacted and Group Inc.’s security holders, including debtholders, may as a consequence be in a worse position than if the strategy had not been implemented. In all cases, any payments to debtholders are dependent on our ability to make such payments and are therefore subject to our credit risk. In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the E.U., have implemented resolution regimes to provide resolution authorities with the ability to recapitalize a failing entity by writing down its unsecured debt or converting its unsecured debt into equity. Such “bail-in” powers are intended to enable the recapitalization of a failing institution by allocating losses to its shareholders and unsecured debtholders. For example, the Bank of England requires a certain amount of intercompany funding that we provide to our material U.K. subsidiaries to contain a contractual trigger to expressly permit the Bank of England to exercise such “bail-in” powers in certain circumstances. If the intercompany funding we provide to our subsidiaries is “bailed in,” Group Inc.’s claims on its subsidiaries would be subordinated to the claims of the subsidiaries’ third-party creditors or written down. U.S. regulators are considering and non-U.S. authorities have adopted requirements that certain subsidiaries of large financial institutions maintain minimum amounts of total loss-absorbing capacity that would pass losses up from the subsidiaries to the top-tier BHC and, ultimately, to security holders of the top-tier BHC in the event of failure.The application of Group Inc.’s proposed resolution strategy could result in greater losses for Group Inc.’s security holders.In our resolution plan, Group Inc. would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The strategy described in our resolution plan is a variant of the single point of entry strategy: Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC), a wholly-owned, direct subsidiary of Group Inc., would recapitalize and provide liquidity to certain major subsidiaries, including through the forgiveness of intercompany indebtedness, the extension of the maturities of intercompany indebtedness and the extension of additional intercompany loans. If this strategy were successful, creditors of some or all of Group Inc.’s major subsidiaries would receive full recoveries on their claims, while Group Inc.’s security holders could face significant and possibly complete losses. To facilitate the execution of our resolution plan, we formed Funding IHC. In exchange for an unsecured subordinated funding note and equity interest, Group Inc. transferred certain intercompany receivables and substantially all of its GCLA to Funding IHC, and agreed to transfer additional GCLA above prescribed thresholds. In addition, certain jurisdictions, including the U.K. and the E.U., have implemented resolution regimes to provide resolution authorities with the ability to recapitalize a failing entity by writing down its unsecured debt or converting its unsecured debt into equity. Such “bail-in” powers are intended to enable the recapitalization of a failing institution by allocating losses to its shareholders and unsecured debtholders. For example, the Bank of England requires a certain amount of intercompany funding that we provide to our material U.K. subsidiaries to contain a contractual trigger to expressly permit the Bank of England to exercise such “bail-in” powers in certain circumstances. If the intercompany funding we provide to our subsidiaries is “bailed in,” Group Inc.’s claims on its subsidiaries would be subordinated to the claims of the subsidiaries’ third-party creditors or written down. U.S. regulators are considering and non-U.S. authorities have adopted requirements that certain subsidiaries of large financial institutions maintain minimum amounts of total loss-absorbing capacity that would pass losses up from the subsidiaries to the top-tier BHC and, ultimately, to security holders of the top-tier BHC in the event of failure." }, { "status": "UNCHANGED", "current_title": "We face enhanced risks as we operate in new locations and transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties.", "prior_title": "We face enhanced risks as new business initiatives and acquisitions lead us to engage in new activities, operate in new locations, transact with a broader array of clients and counterparties and expose us to new asset classes and new markets.", "current_body": "Our businesses, have in the past, and may in the future, bring us into contact, directly or indirectly, with individuals and entities that are not within our traditional client and counterparty base, expose us to new asset classes and new markets, and present us with integration challenges. For example, we continue to transact business and invest in new regions, including a wide range of emerging and growth markets, and we expect this trend to continue. Various emerging and growth market countries have experienced severe economic and financial disruptions, including significant devaluations of their currencies, defaults or threatened defaults on sovereign debt, capital and currency exchange controls, and low or negative growth rates in their economies. The possible effects of any of these conditions include an adverse impact on our businesses and increased volatility in financial markets generally. Furthermore, in a number of our businesses, including where we make markets, invest and lend, we own interests in, or otherwise become affiliated with the ownership and operation of, public services, such as airports, toll roads and shipping ports, as well as physical commodities and commodities infrastructure components, both within and outside the U.S. In our consumer-oriented activities, we have faced and continue to face, additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, increased reputational risk and increased operational risk due to, among other things, higher transaction volumes and significantly increased retention and transmission of consumer and client information. We are also subject to additional legal requirements, including with respect to suitability and consumer protection (for example, Regulation Best Interest, fair lending laws and regulations and privacy laws and regulations). Further, identity fraud may increase and credit reporting practices may change in a manner that makes it more difficult for financial institutions, such as us, to evaluate the creditworthiness of consumers. We have increased and intend to further increase our transaction banking activities. As a result, we face additional compliance, legal and regulatory risk, including with respect to know-your-customer, anti-money laundering and reporting requirements and prohibitions on transfers of property belonging to countries, entities and individuals subject to sanctions by U.S. or other governmental authorities. We are making significant enhancements to existing controls, systems and procedures to manage these risks. Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by escalating tensions between the U.S. and China.Continued or escalating tensions between the U.S. and China have resulted in and may result in additional changes to U.S. international trade and investment policies, which could disrupt international trade and investment, adversely affect financial markets, including market activity levels, and adversely impact our revenues. Continued or escalating tensions may also lead to the U.S., China or other countries taking other actions, which could include the implementation of sanctions, tariffs or foreign exchange measures, the large-scale sale of U.S. Treasury securities or restrictions on cross-border trade, investment or transfer of information or technology. Any such developments could adversely affect our or our clients’ businesses, as well as our financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially.A conflict, or concerns about a potential conflict, involving China and Taiwan, the U.S. or other countries could negatively impact financial markets and our or our clients’ businesses. Trade restrictions by the U.S. or other countries in response to a conflict or potential conflict involving China, including financial and economic sanctions and export controls against certain organizations or individuals, or actions taken by China in response to trade restrictions, could negatively impact our or our clients’ ability to conduct business in certain countries or with certain counterparties and could negatively impact regional and global financial markets and economic conditions. Any of the foregoing could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations, possibly materially." } ] }