Goldman Hunts for 'Muppets' in Emails

A week after the very public and controversial resignation of former employee Greg Smith, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is reportedly scanning for the word ‘muppet’ in internal emails to try to find evidence that its employees use derogatory statements when referring to clients.

Chief executive Lloyd Blankfein told partners in a conference call last week that Goldman is taking Smith’s claims seriously and conducting a review, sources familiar with the call told Reuters.

This is all in reaction to Smith’s op-ed in The New York Times  last week that chastised the Wall Street bank for taking advantage of customers and using derogatory statements like ‘muppets’ when referring to how easily they can take advantage of them.

In his op-ed titled ‘Why I am Leaving Goldman Sachs,’ Smith said he could cite at least five examples of managing directors using the term in email. He criticized Blankfein and chief operating officer Gary Cohn of losing a hold on the firm’s culture.

The bank did not immediately respond to FOXBusiness.com regarding a request for comment.

In a memo to employees last week, Blankfein said Smith’s comments do not reflect Goldman’s values, culture or the way a majority of employees feel about the bank.

It is not clear what else Goldman plans to do as part of its review or what course of action it would take if its search finds evidence of derogatory comments.