Goldman Sachs probed on hiring, high-speed trade

Goldman Sachs Friday said that regulators have initiated probes into its international hiring practices and its high-speed trading operations. Goldman said the hiring probe was tied to the bank's compliance with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars firms from bribing foreign officials. The disclosure, contained in a quarterly securities filing, is the latest indication regulators have expanded their investigation of whether JPMorgan Chase and other big banks employed the sons and daughters of prominent foreign officials to win business in China and elsewhere. The query on Goldman's high-speed trading operation comes as the Department of Justice and others step up scrutiny of whether the tech-fueled practice enables illegal insider trading. The bank said it is cooperating with "all such regulatory investigations and reviews." Goldman also said it is a defendant in a class-action suit filed in April 2014 that alleges that it and other defendants engaged in market manipulation and insider trading with their high-frequency trading.