Goldman Execs Sold $700M of Stock: Report

Goldman Sachs (GS) executives sold almost $700 million worth of stock following the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September, the Financial Times reports.

Most of the sales occurred during the period in which Goldman received $10 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the newspaper reports, citing filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Goldman repaid the U.S. government preferred equity stakes bought through TARP in June.

For the eight months for which figures are available, starting in September 2008, Goldman partners sold more than $691 million, higher than the $438 million that was sold from September 2007 to April 2008, when the average share price was substantially higher, according to the Financial Times.

A spokesman for the investment bank declined to comment on the sales for the newspaper.

A big wave of selling took place from December 2008, after Goldman reported its first quarterly loss as a public company, and mid-February. During those two months, when Goldman's share price sunk close to all-time lows, partners sold more than $280 million worth of company stock, the Financial Times reports.

Goldman reports second-quarter earnings Tuesday before the opening bell and profits are expected to get a big contribution from its various trading businesses.

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