Criticism of Goldman Sachs has been pouring in these past 3 days.  Expressing its displeasure was one of Europe's largest asset managers, Dutch investment adviser APG, that runs €300 billion of assets for more than 4.5 million people in the Netherlands. APG's beef with Goldman was that the firm did not communicate quickly enough with clients after ex-banker Greg Smith publicly condemned the way the bank treats clients.  Surprisingly, it took Goldman more than a day to offer APG any reassurance on points raised in Greg Smith's resignation letter - and when it did, it was a copy of the staff memo and telephone explanation of its message.  APG was underwhelmed, describing the gesture as "too little, too late." If further added:

"We would have expected that a company that faces such a big media backlash over something so core to their business such as client trust would have instantly reached out to those clients to say something."

The comments are the latest embarrassment for Goldman, prompting a world-wide outpouring of criticism, ridicule - and defense - of Goldman.  It has also stirred up anti-bank sentiment. Goldman Management Respond. After the piece appeared, Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein and COO Gary Cohn issued a memo to staff describing the views and observations of the ex-VP Greg Smith as being "foreign" to most of his 12,000 peers.  Blankfein also sent Goldman Sachs employees a voicemail on Wednesday urging them to reach out to clients and saying they had support from CEOs all over the world, a person familiar with the situation said.  On his voicemail, Blankfein reportedly read out 2 examples of support from clients. Goldman Sachs made no immediate comment when asked how it was communicating with clients. Support for Goldman. At least one client using Goldman's investment banking advisory services said it respected the firm's knowledge and experience.  United Technologies CFO Greg Hayes told reporters on Thursday: "We've had a love-hate relationship with Goldman for a number of years.  For us it's about what these banks bring to the table. I think Goldman has the intellectual capital, they've got the know-how to do these transactions. There's other banks out there, but Goldman is still the preeminent investment bank and they give solid advice." However, among investment managers, faith in Goldman's reputation appeared more tattered. The lack of quick, direct communication with APG underlined how much work Goldman needs to do to prove it puts its customers first, the Dutch group said.  He also said that 'perception is reality and a service provider lives or dies by whether they have happy clients." One London-based former hedge fund client of the bank, who declined to be named, said some asset managers and family offices were thinking twice about doing business with the bank before Greg Smith's remarks.  "We took them off our system some months back... I used to know a few guys there, there were a few good ones in that bunch and I have noticed that just about all of them have left in the last year," the manager said. "They used to tell me that they loved the firm; that it looked after its people and that it had a really good 'code.' And now those people are leaving, so it reflects what (Smith) is saying," he said. Congressman Barney Frank, ... an architect of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law, said Smith's piece would have "a big impact" on the banking industry's efforts to push back against financial reform.  "It puts the burden on Goldman Sachs and others to show us how what they do benefits the clients and therefore the broader economy." Click for Referenced Story:   [Reuters via CNBC, 3/16/12].