The Wall Street giant is coming off one of its best years on record, its share price is through the roof, and its executives are downright giddy over its swelling deal pipeline. Equity trading is booming, and dealmaking is thriving ahead of what could be one of the biggest years for IPOs of all time, big boons for Goldman's bottom line.
Atkins noted that the number of publicly registered companies has fallen over the past 30 years as mergers and bankruptcies have outpaced new listings. His goal, he said, is to "make it cool to be a public company" again-something he believes has "taken a hit over time." Atkins outlined three obstacles he believes are holding issuers back. The first is what he described as expensive, overly long disclosures that impose an unnecessary burden on issuers.