Goldman Sachs CEO says bank does not support Trump travel ban

[January 30, 2017]  By Olivia Oran

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc CEO Lloyd Blankfein told employees that President Donald Trump's order to halt arrivals from seven Muslim-majority countries was not a policy the bank endorsed, according to a source familiar with the matter.

A view of the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 16, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

"This is not a policy we support, and I would note that it has already been challenged in federal court, and some of the order has been enjoined at least temporarily," Blankfein told employees in a voicemail on Sunday.

Blankfein said Goldman Sachs would work to minimize potential disruptions to employees and their families caused by Trump's order, according to a transcript seen by Reuters.

Most U.S. corporate bosses have stayed silent on Trump's immigration curbs, underscoring the sensitivities around opposing policies that could provoke a backlash from the White House.

While Apple Inc <APPL.O>, Alphabet Inc's Google <GOOGL.O> and Facebook Inc <FB.O> emailed their staff to denounce the order, many of their counterparts in other industries either declined to comment or responded with company statements reiterating their commitment to diversity.

(Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York; additional reporting by Richa Naidu in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.