Technically you&#x27;re right. But a banker&#x27;s role is really to provide advice on the deal and work in the best interests of the client. Sophisticated clients don&#x27;t need bankers so don&#x27;t pay them much (PE firms sometimes pay as little as a few hundred grand). And it&#x27;s fairly justified because short of leveraging their sales force and&#x2F;or balance sheet, bankers add little value in standard processes like M&amp;A or capital raises. Definitely dropped the ball. If Goldman was a no name shop their argument that they were let off the hook in a court of law would not help them win clients.<p>Cash flow fraud is extremely easy to follow if you look for it; more so if you have monthly&#x2F;weekly invoices and reconcile that with the cash flows. You&#x27;d have noticed the loan treatment of factored receivables quite quickly.<p>On the hedge (and the whole lawsuit); looks like a he said she said really. Goldman says the all-stock deal was approved without their presence; Baker says they didn&#x27;t show up.