Goldman's Cohn spending more time with clients

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc President Gary Cohn said he's working overtime these days to stay in touch with clients as the firm weathers its battle with regulators.

Cohn told Reuters he planned to head to Europe to meet clients after spending Wednesday in Washington D.C. squaring off with a congressionally-appointed panel that is investigating the origins of the financial crisis.

"Clients are my number one focus," Cohn said after testifying for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. "I'm leaving here and going to Europe to see clients."

Goldman executives including Cohn and Chief Lloyd Blankfein have boosted client outreach since the firm was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 16 with civil fraud stemming from its marketing and packaging of the Abacus collateralized debt obligation.

"I always have tried to spend a lot of time with clients," Cohn said, adding that he's spending " a little more time today than in the past."

Still, there are signs that some clients are finding other advisers.

Reuters reported last week that Goldman did not make the cut as a lead underwriter on a $300 million initial public offering for consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton because of concerns about the public perception of Goldman leading an IPO for a company with close ties to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Goldman also lost out on a chance to serve as a real estate investment adviser to Calpers, the largest U.S. public pension fund, because of concerns about how did not disclose the SEC's investigation during the bid process.

(Reporting by Steve Eder; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

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