Not a GS employee, but I work in the industry. Fixed-income securities (like the bonds in question) went from being the most profitable division for investment

Not a GS employee, but I work in the industry. Fixed-income securities (like the bonds in question) went from being the most profitable division for investment banks to one of the least. Major banks around the world and shutting down or significantly shrinking their investment banking divisions (Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse) and specifically closing fixed-income desks. The reaction from those of us in the industry is that there was a problem, and we corrected it.