How Goldman Sachs' vampire squid became a flattened slug (ARE THE BANKS NOW "RESTRAINED"??)

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The last quarter's results might have been depressed by temporary geopolitical woes, such as business uncertainty about Brexit, the American elections, oil prices and the Chinese economy. Once this angst fades away later this year, returns may rebound; analysts expect the Goldman ROE, for example, to move towards 10 per cent later this year... a decade ago, an ROE of 10 per cent was considered a disaster, not a relief, at Goldman Sachs. So perhaps the most important lesson from this week is this: if American regulators had hoped to make the banks look truly dull -- not dazzling -- in this post-crisis era, they are now succeeding better than anyone might have thought.

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Nevertheless, if financiers or angry politicians want to find thrills in finance today, they should look at asset managers, particularly the shadow banks. That is where some financiers are still reaping returns of 40 per cent. In today's boring world, few want to shout about that; least of all if they used to work at Goldman Sachs.