Before it became the lightning rod for public fury over the banking crisis, Goldman always seemed to pride itself on doing things differently. It held itself rather aloof from the rest of Wall Street – an exclusive club to which only the crème de la crème de la crème were invited.
At its London headquarters this air of exclusivity extended to the front entrance of its Fleet Street office: a single entrance was not enough for Goldman – it had to have two. The precise delineation of the two entrances – which sit next to each other on adjacent buildings – has never been entirely clear.
Could it be simply to confuse unwary journalists? Or to prevent Goldman employees from actually having to come into contact with the outside world?
Following the SEC lawsuit that came to light in April another suggestion has been made as to the thinking behind the two entrances: is one for clients going long and the other for clients going short?