Executives of US investment bank Goldman Sachs are due to take their Indian charm offensive to the capital, New Delhi, on Friday, sources said, after courting business leaders and holding their first annual board meeting in the country.
The Goldman board held the meeting in Mumbai on Thursday against a deteriorating economic and political backdrop in India, where business is slow, economic growth has cooled and regulation has become a minefield for foreign investors.
Still smarting from knocks to its own reputation, the Wall Street firm's director closeted themselves on an upper floor of Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel, which was heavily damaged in a 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Goldman showed the adverse publicity has not weakened its pulling power, as the board used the event to host a lunch meeting for prominent Indian business leaders.
Industrialists including Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries; and Ratan Tata, head of the Tata group, were also due to have met the executives, sources said.
Both companies, as well as Goldman, declined to comment.
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Goldman Chief Executive and Chairman Lloyd Blankfein, Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn and the rest of the Goldman entourage were due to travel on Friday to New Delhi, the sources added.
Board meetings rarely generate this much attention, but for Goldman, the India event comes amid a flurry of news, and media were kept at a distance.
Goldman, long Wall Street's dominant investment bank, has become a lightning rod for criticism of the financial industry in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
The unwelcome spotlight was trained on it again this month when a mid-level executive resigned and fired off a blistering attack on the firm in a New York Times op-ed on March 14, describing a "toxic and destructive" culture motivated by greed.
Greg Smith's scathing remarks, in which he said he'd heard executives refer to clients as "muppets", have prompted an outpouring of criticism, ridicule and defence of Goldman.
Earlier this month, it was accused of conflict of interest for advising El Paso Corp on its sale to Kinder Morgan, while being a significant shareholder in Kinder.
Blankfein responded to Smith's letter by urging Goldman employees to reach out to clients to reassure them, saying the firm had support from CEOs all over the world.
Also fuelling speculation around the meeting is a possible plan to separate Blankfein's CEO and chairman roles, a move long sought by outside investor groups who believe separating those positions enables better corporate governance.
However, pressure for such a move eased after one of the largest US labour unions said on Tuesday it had withdrawn a shareholder proposal to split the chairman and CEO jobs after Goldman agreed to alter its board structure.