The Bank, SCUSA, GS&Co. and our or their respective affiliates regularly provide services to, or otherwise have business relationships with, a broad client base, which has included and may include us and the reference asset constituent stock issuers and the market activities by the Bank, GS&Co. or our or their respective affiliates for our or their own respective accounts or for our or their respective clients could negatively impact investors in the notes
We, GS&Co. and our or their respective affiliates regularly provide a wide range of financial services, including financial advisory, investment advisory and transactional services to a substantial and diversified client base. As such, we each may act as an investor, investment banker, research provider, investment manager, investment advisor, market maker, trader, prime broker or lender. In those and other capacities, we, GS&Co. and/or our or their respective affiliates purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments, actively trade securities (including the notes or other securities that we have issued), the reference asset constituent stocks, derivatives, loans, credit default swaps, indices, baskets and other financial instruments and products for our or their own respective accounts or for the accounts of our or their respective customers, and we will have other direct or indirect interests, in those securities and in other markets that may not be consistent with your interests and may adversely affect the level of a reference asset and/or the value of the notes. You should assume that we or they will, at present or in the future, provide such services or otherwise engage in transactions with, among others, us and the issuers of the reference asset constituent stocks, or transact in securities or instruments or with parties that are directly or indirectly related to these entities. These services could include making loans to or equity investments in those companies, providing financial advisory or other investment banking services, or issuing research reports. Any of these financial market activities may, individually or in the aggregate, have an adverse effect on the level of a reference asset, including the initial level of a reference asset, and the market for your notes, and you should expect that our interests and those of GS&Co. and/or our or their respective affiliates, clients or counterparties, will at times be adverse to those of investors in the notes.
You should expect that we, GS&Co. and our or their respective affiliates, in providing these services, engaging in such transactions, or acting for our or their own respective accounts, may take actions that have direct or indirect effects on the notes or other securities that we may issue, the equity reference asset, the reference asset constituent stocks or other securities or instruments similar to or linked to the foregoing, and that such actions could be adverse to the interests of investors in the notes. In addition, in connection with these activities, certain personnel within the Bank, GS&Co. or our or their respective affiliates may have access to confidential material non-public information about these parties that would not be disclosed to investors in the notes.
We, GS&Co. and our or their respective affiliates regularly offer a wide array of securities, financial instruments and other products into the marketplace, including existing or new products that are similar to the notes or other securities that we may issue, the equity reference asset, the reference asset constituent stocks or other securities or instruments similar to or linked to the foregoing. Investors in the notes should expect that the Bank, GS&Co. and our or their respective affiliates offer securities, financial instruments, and other products that may compete with the notes for liquidity or otherwise.
Other investors in the notes may not have the same interests as you
The interests of other investors may, in some circumstances, be adverse to your interests. Other investors may make requests or recommendations to us, SCUSA, GS&Co. or our or their respective affiliates regarding the establishment of transactions on terms that are adverse to your interests, and investors in the notes are not required to take into account the interests of any other investor in exercising remedies, voting or other rights in their capacity as noteholders. Further, other investors may enter into market transactions with respect to the notes, assets that are the same or similar to the notes, assets referenced by the notes (such as stocks or stock indices) or other similar assets or securities which may adversely impact the market for or value of your notes. For example, an investor could take a short position (directly or indirectly through derivative transactions) in respect of securities similar to your notes or in respect of the reference assets.
There is no affiliation between any reference asset constituent stock issuers, the sponsor of the index reference asset or reference asset index or the investment adviser of the equity reference asset and us, SCUSA or GS&Co.
The Bank, SCUSA, GS&Co. and our or their respective affiliates may currently, or from time to time in the future, engage in business with the reference asset constituent stock issuers, the sponsor of the index reference asset or reference asset index or the investment adviser of the equity reference asset. None of the Bank, SCUSA or any of our other affiliates, or GS&Co. or its affiliates, is affiliated with any of the foregoing entities or has participated in the preparation of any publicly available information or made any “due diligence” investigation or inquiry with respect to the reference assets or their reference asset constituent stocks. You should make your own investigation into the reference assets and the reference asset constituent stock issuers. See the section below entitled “Information Regarding the Reference Assets” in this pricing supplement for additional information about the reference assets.