Goldman Sachs (GS Quick QuoteGS - Free Report) has agreed to pay $36.3 million over allegations that its former employees gained access and used confidential documents from the Federal Reserve.  The Fed claims that GS employees used the confidential information in order to gain the business of clients.  The Reserve has ordered the bank to enact a program which insures that violations like this don’t happen again.

The Fed is also attempting to fine and place a permanent banking ban against former management director Joseph Jiampietro, who allegedly disclosed Fed secrets when he worked for Goldman Sachs in 2014. 

The Fed believes that Jiampietro got the Fed documents from a Goldman Sachs banker who previously worked as an employee at the New York Fed.  That banker, Rohit Bansal, was barred from banking and the securities industry last year.  The Fed has been taking a tougher stance against crimes commited within the industry in recent history. 

6 bankers were banned from banking in 2015, and this represents a 100% increase compared to the number of bankers barred from practice in 2014, according to expressnews.  Goldman Sachs had to pay a $50 million penalty to New York state regulators last year because of this incident, so some may think that the Fed’s decision to pursue Goldman Sachs now is unusual. Goldman Sachs stock is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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