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Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)
Registration Statement No. 333-198735

 

 

GS Finance Corp.

$19,037,370

Trigger Autocallable Contingent Yield Notes due 2018

guaranteed by

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

 

 

The notes do not pay a fixed coupon and may pay no coupon on a payment date. The amount that you will be paid on your notes is based on the performance of the SPDR ®  S&P 500 ® ETF Trust (which we refer to as the underlier). The notes will mature on the stated maturity date (June 29, 2018) unless they are automatically called on any determination date commencing in September 2016. Your notes will be called if the closing price of the underlier on any determination date commencing in September 2016 is greater than or equal to the initial underlier price of $203.22 (set on the trade date, June 28, 2016), resulting in a payment on the applicable payment date (the second business day after the determination date except in the case of the final determination date, when the payment date will be the stated maturity date) equal to the face amount of your notes plus the contingent coupon (described below) then due. The notes cannot be called if the closing price of the underlier is less than the initial underlier price on a determination date.

 

The return on your notes is linked to the performance of the underlier, and not to that of the S&P 500 ®  Index (which we refer to as the underlying index) on which the underlier is based. The performance of the underlier may significantly diverge from that of the underlying index.

 

On each determination date (the dates in March, June, September and December specified on page S-5 of this prospectus supplement), unless previously called , if the closing price of the underlier is greater than or equal to 80.00% of the initial underlier price (set on the trade date), you will receive on the applicable payment date a contingent coupon of $0.20 for each $10 face amount of your notes. If the closing price of the underlier on any determination date is less than 80.00% of the initial underlier price, you will not receive a contingent coupon payment on the applicable payment date.

 

If your notes are outstanding at maturity, we will calculate the underlier return, which is the percentage increase or decrease in the closing price of the underlier on the final determination date from the initial underlier price.

 

At maturity, for each $10 face amount of your notes outstanding, you will receive an amount in cash equal to:

 

·                   if the underlier return is greater than or equal to – 20.00% (the final underlier price is greater than or equal to the downside threshold of 80.00% of the initial underlier price), $10 plus the final contingent coupon; or

 

·                   if the underlier return is less than -20.00% (the final underlier price is less than the downside threshold of 80.00% of its initial underlier price ), the sum of (i) $10 plus (ii) the product of (a) the underlier return times (b) $10. You will receive less than 80.00% of the face amount of your notes and you will not receive a final contingent coupon.

 

The maximum return on your notes is 2.00% quarterly (or 8.00% per annum), regardless of how much the underlier appreciates.

 

Any sale prior to maturity could result in a loss even if the price of the underlier at the time of such sale is greater than or equal to 80.00% of the initial underlier price.

 

You should read the disclosure herein to better understand the terms and risks of your investment, including the credit risk of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. See page S-11. The estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date is equal to approximately $9.75 per $10 face amount. For a discussion of the estimated value and the price at which Goldman, Sachs & Co. would initially buy or sell your notes, if it makes a market in the notes, see the following page.

 

Original issue date:

June 30, 2016

Original issue price:

100.00% of the face amount

Underwriting discount:

1.65% of the face amount

Net proceeds to the issuer:

98.35% of the face amount

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.  The notes are not bank deposits and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, nor are they obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank.

 

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Prospectus Supplement No. 464 dated June 28, 2016.

 


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The issue price, underwriting discount and net proceeds listed above relate to the notes we sell initially.  We may decide to sell additional notes after the date of this prospectus supplement, at issue prices and with underwriting discounts and net proceeds that differ from the amounts set forth above. The return (whether positive or negative) on your investment in notes will depend in part on the issue price you pay for such notes.

 

GS Finance Corp. may use this prospectus in the initial sale of the notes. In addition, Goldman, Sachs & Co., or any other affiliate of GS Finance Corp. may use this prospectus in a market-making transaction in a note after its initial sale. Unless GS Finance Corp . or its agent informs the purchaser otherwise in the confirmation of sale, this prospectus is being used in a market-making transaction.

 

Estimated Value of Your Notes

 

The estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date (as determined by reference to pricing models used by Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS&Co.) and taking into account our credit spreads) is equal to approximately $9.75 per $10 face amount, which is less than the original issue price.  The value of your notes at any time will reflect many factors and cannot be predicted; however, the price (not including GS&Co. s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co. would initially buy or sell notes (if it makes a market, which it is not obligated to do) and the value that GS&Co. will initially use for account statements and otherwise is equal to approximately $9.95 per $10 face amount, which exceeds the estimated value of your notes as determined by reference to these models. The amount of the excess will decline on a straight line basis over the period from the trade date through September 28, 2016.

 

 

About Your Prospectus

 

The notes are part of the Medium-Term Notes, Series E program of GS Finance Corp., and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.  This prospectus includes this prospectus supplement and the accompanying documents listed below. This prospectus supplement constitutes a supplement to the documents listed below and should be read in conjunction with such documents:

 

·              Prospectus supplement dated December 22, 2015

 

·              Prospectus dated December 22, 2015

 

The information in this prospectus supplement supersedes any conflicting information in the documents listed above. In addition, some of the terms or features described in the listed documents may not apply to your notes.

 

 

 

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SUMMARY INFORMATION

 

 

We refer to the notes we are offering by this prospectus supplement as the “offered notes” or the “notes”. Each of the offered notes has the terms described below and under “Specific Terms of Your Notes” on page S-23 . . Please note that in this prospectus supplement, references to “GS Finance Corp.”, “we”, “our” and “us” mean only GS Finance Corp. and do not include its subsidiaries or affiliates, references to “The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.”, our parent company, mean only The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and do not include its subsidiaries or affiliates and references to “Goldman Sachs” mean The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. together with its consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates, including us. Also, references to the “accompanying prospectus” mean the accompanying prospectus, dated December 22, 2015, and  references to the “accompanying prospectus supplement” mean the accompanying prospectus supplement, dated December 22, 2015, for Medium-Term Notes, Series E, in each case of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. References to the “indenture” in this prospectus supplement mean the senior debt indenture, dated as of October 10, 2008, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of February 20, 2015, each among us, as issuer, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor, and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee. This indenture is referred to as the “GSFC 2008 indenture” in the accompanying prospectus supplement.

 

 

 

Key Terms

 

Issuer:  GS Finance Corp.

 

Guarantor: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

 

Underlier:  the SPDR ®  S&P 500 ® ETF Trust (Bloomberg symbol, “SPY”), see “The Underlier” on page S-32

 

Underlying index:  the S&P 500® Index (Bloomberg symbol, “SPX Index”), as published by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“S&P”)

 

Specified currency:   U.S. dollars (“$”)

 

Face amount:   each note will have a face amount equal to $10; $19,037,370 in the aggregate for all the offered notes; the aggregate face amount of the offered notes may be increased if the issuer, at its sole option, decides to sell an additional amount of the offered notes on a date subsequent to the date of this prospectus supplement

 

Denominations:  $10 and integral multiples of $10 in excess thereof

 

Minimum purchase amount:   In connection with the initial offering of the notes, the minimum principal amount of notes that may be purchased by any investor is $1,000

 

Supplemental plan of distribution:   GS Finance Corp. has agreed to sell to Goldman, Sachs & Co. (“GS&Co.”), and GS&Co. has agreed to purchase from GS Finance Corp., the aggregate face amount of the offered notes specified on the front cover of this prospectus supplement. GS&Co. proposes initially to offer the notes to the public at the original issue price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement, and to certain securities dealers at such price less a concession not in excess of 1.50% of the face amount.  See “Supplemental Plan of Distribution” on page S-46

 

Purchase at amount other than face amount: the amount we will pay you for your notes on a call payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be, will not be adjusted based on the issue price you pay for your notes, so if you acquire notes at a premium (or discount) to face amount and hold them to a call payment date or the stated maturity date, it could affect your investment in a number of ways. The return on your investment in such notes will be lower (or higher) than it would have been had you purchased the notes at face amount. See “Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes — If You Purchase Your Notes at a Premium to Face Amount, the Return on Your Investment Will Be Lower Than the Return on Notes Purchased at Face Amount and the Impact of Certain Key Terms of the Notes Will Be Negatively Affected” on page S-14 of this prospectus supplement

 

Supplemental discussion of U.S. federal income tax consequences: you will be obligated pursuant to the terms of the notes — in the absence of a change in law, an administrative determination or a judicial ruling to the contrary — to characterize each note for all tax purposes as an income-bearing pre-paid derivative contract in respect of the underlier, as described under “Supplemental Discussion of Federal Income Tax Consequences” herein.  Pursuant to this approach, it is the opinion of Sidley Austin LLP that it is

 

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likely that any contingent coupon payment will be taxed as ordinary income in accordance with your regular method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes.  If you are a United States alien holder of the notes, we intend to withhold on contingent coupon payments made to you at a 30% rate or at a lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty.  In addition, upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes, it would be reasonable for you to recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference, if any, between the amount of cash you receive at such time (excluding amounts attributable to any contingent coupon payment) and your tax basis in your notes.

 

Cash settlement amount (on any call payment date):   if your notes are automatically called on a call observation date because the closing price of the underlier is greater than or equal to the initial underlier price, for each $10 face amount of your notes, on the related call payment date, we will pay you an amount in cash equal to the sum of (i) $10 plus (ii) the contingent coupon then due

 

Cash settlement amount (on the stated maturity date):   if your notes are not automatically called, for each $10 face amount of your notes, we will pay you on the stated maturity date an amount in cash equal to:

 

·                   if the underlier return is greater than or equal to -20.00% (the final underlier price is greater than or equal to the downside threshold), $10 plus the final contingent coupon; or

 

·                   if the underlier return is less than -20.00% (the final underlier price is less than the downside threshold ), the sum of (i) $10 plus (ii) the product of (a) the underlier return times (b) $10.

 

Downside threshold: $162.58, which is 80.00% of the initial underlier price (rounded to the nearest one-hundredth)

 

Autocall feature:   if, as measured on any call observation date, the closing price of the underlier is greater than or equal to the initial underlier price, your notes will be automatically called; if your notes are automatically called on any call observation date, on the corresponding call payment date, in addition to the contingent coupon then due, you will receive an amount in cash equal to $10 for each $10 face amount of your notes, and no further payments will be made since your notes will no longer be outstanding. If the closing price of the underlier is below the initial underlier price on a call observation date, the notes cannot be called.

 

Contingent coupon:   subject to the autocall feature, on each coupon payment date, for each $10 face amount of your notes, we will pay you an amount in cash equal to:

 

·                   if the closing price of the underlier on the related coupon determination date is greater than or equal to the coupon barrier, $0.20 (i.e., equal to a return of 8.00% per annum) ; or

 

·                   if the closing price of the underlier on the related coupon determination date is less than the coupon barrier, $0.00

 

No contingent coupon payment or return of principal is guaranteed. As discussed above, we will not pay a contingent coupon with respect to any coupon determination date on which the closing price of the underlier is less than the coupon barrier. Higher contingent coupon payments are generally associated with higher volatility of the underlier and therefore a greater risk of loss. Also, although both the coupon determination dates and contingent coupon payment dates occur quarterly, there may not be an equal number of days between coupon determination dates or between coupon payment dates, respectively.  However, the way in which the contingent coupon is determined will not vary based on the actual number of days between coupon determination dates or between coupon payment dates.

 

Coupon barrier: $162.58, which is 80.00% of the initial underlier price (rounded to the nearest one-hundredth)

 

Initial underlier price : $203.22

 

Final underlier price: the closing price of the underlier on the determination date, subject to anti-dilution adjustments as described under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Anti-dilution Adjustments” on page S-27, except in the limited circumstances described under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Payment of Principal on Stated Maturity Date — Consequences of a Market Disruption Event or a Non-Trading Day” on page S-26 and subject to adjustment as provided under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Payment of Principal on Stated Maturity Date   — Discontinuance or Modification of the Underlier” on page S-26

 

Closing price:   the closing price of the underlier on any trading day, as further described under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Special Calculation Provisions — Closing Price” on page S-28

 

Underlier return:   the quotient of (i) the final underlier price minus the initial underlier price divided by (ii) the initial underlier price, expressed as a positive or negative percentage

 

Defeasance: not applicable

 

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No listing:  the offered notes will not be listed or displayed on any securities exchange or interdealer market quotation system

 

Business day:   as described on page S-28

 

Trading day:   as described on page S-28

 

Trade date:  June 28, 2016

 

Original issue date (settlement date): June 30, 2016

 

Determination date:   June 25, 2018, subject to adjustment as described under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Payment of Principal on Stated Maturity Date — Determination Date” on page S-25

 

Stated maturity date:   June 29, 2018, subject to adjustment as described under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Payment of Principal on Stated Maturity Date — Stated Maturity Date” on page S-25

 

Call observation date:  each coupon determination date specified in the table below, to the extent the notes are then outstanding , subject to adjustment as described under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Call Observation Dates” on page S-26.  Although the call observation dates occur quarterly after September 26, 2016 , there may not be an equal number of days between call observation dates.

 

Call payment dates:  the second business day after each call observation date ( except that the final call payment date will be the stated maturity date ), subject to adjustment as described under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Call Payment Dates” on page S-26

 

Coupon determination dates: the dates specified as such in the table under the section “Coupon payment dates” below, subject to adjustment as described under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Coupon Determination Dates” on page S-25. Although the coupon determination dates occur quarterly , there may not be an equal number of days between coupon determination dates.

 

Coupon payment dates:   the second business day after each coupon determination date ( except that the final coupon payment date will be the stated maturity date ) , which coupon payment dates are the dates specified in the table below, subject to adjustment as described under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Coupon and Coupon Payment Dates” on page S-25. Although the coupon payment dates occur quarterly , there may not be an equal number of days between coupon payment dates.

 

Coupon Determination Dates

 

Coupon Payment Dates

September 26, 2016

September 28, 2016

December 28, 2016

December 30, 2016

March 27, 2017

March 29, 2017

June 26, 2017

June 28, 2017

September 25, 2017

September 27, 2017

December 27, 2017

December 29, 2017

March 26, 2018

March 28, 2018

June 25, 2018

June 29, 2018

 

Regular record dates :   the scheduled business day immediately preceding the day on which payment is to be made (as such payment date may be adjusted)

 

Calculation agent:   GS&Co .

 

CUSIP no.:  36250Y338

 

ISIN no.: US36250Y3383

 

FDIC:   the notes are not bank deposits and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, nor are they obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank

 

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HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES

 

The following examples are provided for purposes of illustration only. They should not be taken as an indication or prediction of future investment results and are intended merely to illustrate (i) the impact that various hypothetical closing prices of the underlier on a coupon determination date could have on the coupon payable on the related coupon payment date and (ii) the impact that the various hypothetical closing prices of the underlier on the determination date could have on the cash settlement amount at maturity  assuming all other variables remain constant.

 

The examples below are based on a range of closing prices of the underlier that are entirely hypothetical; no one can predict what the closing price of the underlier will be on any day throughout the life of your notes, what the closing price of the underlier will be on any coupon determination date or call observation date, as the case may be, and what the final underlier price will be on the determination date . The underlier has been highly volatile in the past — meaning that the underlier prices have changed substantially in relatively short periods — and its performance cannot be predicted for any future period.

 

The information in the following examples reflects the hypothetical rates of return on the offered notes assuming that they are purchased on the original issue date at the face amount and held to a call payment date or the stated maturity date.  If you sell your notes in a secondary market prior to a call payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be, your return will depend upon the market value of your notes at the time of sale, which may be affected by a number of factors that are not reflected in the tables below such as interest rates, the volatility of the underlier, the creditworthiness of GS Finance Corp., as issuer, and the creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor.  In addition, the estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date (as determined by reference to pricing models used by GS&Co.) is less than the original issue price of your notes.  For more information on the estimated value of your notes, see “Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes — The Estimated Value of Your Notes At the Time the Terms of Your Notes Are Set On the Trade Date (as Determined By Reference to Pricing Models Used By GS&Co.) Is Less Than the Original Issue Price Of Your Notes” on page S-11 of this prospectus supplement.  The information in the tables also reflect the key terms and assumptions in the box below.

 

Key Terms and Assumptions

 

 

 

Face amount

 

$10

 

 

 

Initial underlier price of the SPDR ®  S&P 500 ® ETF Trust

 

$203.22

 

 

 

Downside threshold

 

$162.58 , which is equal to 80.00% of the initial underlier price (rounded to the nearest one-hundredth)

 

 

 

Coupon barrier

 

$ 162.58 , which is equal to 80.00% of the initial underlier price (rounded to the nearest one-hundredth)

 

 

 

Contingent coupon

 

$0.20 ( 8.00% per annum)

 

 

 

 

Neither a market disruption event nor a non-trading day occurs on any originally scheduled call observation date or the originally scheduled determination date

 

No change in or affecting the underlier, any of the underlier stocks or the policies of the underlier sponsor or the method by which the underlying index sponsor calculates the underlying index

 

Notes purchased on original issue date at the face amount and held to the stated maturity date

 

 

For these reasons, the actual performance of the underlier over the life of your notes, the actual underlier price on any call observation date or coupon determination date, as well as the contingent coupon payable, if any, on each coupon payment date, may bear little relation to the hypothetical examples shown below or to the historical underlier prices shown elsewhere in this prospectus supplement. For information about the underlier prices during recent periods, see “The Underlier — Historical Closing Prices of the

 

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Underlier” on page S-38. Before investing in the notes, you should consult publicly available information to determine the underlier prices between the date of this prospectus supplement and the date of your purchase of the notes.

 

Also, the hypothetical examples shown below do not take into account the effects of applicable taxes.  Because of the U.S. tax treatment applicable to your notes, tax liabilities could affect the after-tax rate of return on your notes to a comparatively greater extent than the after-tax return on the underlier stocks.

 

Hypothetical Contingent Coupon Payments

 

With respect to each $10 face amount of notes, the examples below show hypothetical contingent coupons, if any, that we would pay on a coupon payment date if the closing prices of the underlier on the applicable coupon determination date were the hypothetical closing prices shown.

 

Scenario 1

 

Hypothetical
Coupon
Determination Date

Hypothetical Closing Price of
the Underlier

Hypothetical
Contingent Coupon
Paid on Related
Coupon Payment
Date

First

$105

$0.00

Second

$100

$0.00

Third

$165

$0.20

Fourth

$120

$0.00

Fifth

$175

$0.20

Sixth

$130

$0.00

Seventh

$170

$0.20

Eighth

$115

$0.00

 

Total Hypothetical Contingent Coupons Paid

$0.60

 

In Scenario 1, the hypothetical closing price of the underlier decreases by varying amounts, compared to the initial underlier price, on the hypothetical coupon determination dates.  Because the hypothetical closing price of the underlier on the third, fifth and seventh hypothetical coupon determination dates is greater than or equal to the coupon barrier, contingent coupons are paid on the three related coupon payment dates and the total of the hypothetical contingent coupons paid in Scenario 1 is $0.60.  Because the hypothetical closing price of the underlier on all other hypothetical coupon determination dates is less than the coupon barrier, no contingent coupon is paid on any other coupon payment date, including at maturity.  In general, regardless of any contingent coupons paid during the term of the notes, the overall return on your notes may be zero or less.

 

Scenario 2

 

Hypothetical
Coupon
Determination Date

Hypothetical Closing Price of
the Underlier

Hypothetical
Contingent Coupon
Paid on Related
Coupon Payment
Date

First

$120

$0.00

Second

$125

$0.00

Third

$130

$0.00

Fourth

$135

$0.00

Fifth

$130

$0.00

Sixth

$115

$0.00

Seventh

$110

$0.00

Eighth

$125

$0.00

 

Total Hypothetical Contingent Coupons Paid

$0.00

 

In Scenario 2, the hypothetical closing price of the underlier decreases by varying amounts, compared to its initial underlier price, on the hypothetical coupon determination dates.  Because in each

 

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case the hypothetical closing price of the underlier is less than the coupon barrier, you will not receive a contingent coupon payment on any hypothetical coupon payment date.  Therefore, the total of the hypothetical contingent coupons paid in Scenario 2 is $0.00. The overall return on your notes will be less than zero.

 

Scenario 3

 

Hypothetical
Coupon
Determination Date

Hypothetical Closing Price of
the Underlier

Hypothetical
Contingent Coupon
Paid on Related
Coupon Payment
Date

First

$210

$0.20

 

Total Hypothetical Contingent Coupons Paid

$0.20

 

In Scenario 3, the hypothetical closing price of the underlier increases, compared to the initial underlier price, on the first hypothetical coupon determination date.  Because the hypothetical closing price of the underlier is greater than or equal to the initial underlier price on the first hypothetical coupon determination date (which is also the first hypothetical call observation date), your notes will be automatically called.  Therefore, on the corresponding hypothetical call payment date, in addition to the hypothetical contingent coupon of $0.20, you will receive an amount in cash equal to $10 for each $10 face amount of your notes.

 

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Hypothetical Cash Settlement Amount at Maturity

 

If the notes are not automatically called on any call observation date (i.e., on each call observation date the closing price of the underlier is less than the initial underlier price) the cash settlement amount we would deliver for each $10 face amount of your notes on the maturity date will depend on the closing price of the underlier on the determination date, as shown in the table below.  The table below assumes that the notes have not been automatically called on a call observation date and reflects hypothetical cash settlement amounts that you could receive on the stated maturity date.

 

The prices in the left column of the table below represent hypothetical final underlier prices and are expressed as percentages of the initial underlier price.  The amounts in the right column represent the hypothetical cash settlement amounts, based on the corresponding hypothetical final underlier price (expressed as a percentage of the initial underlier price), and are expressed as percentages of the face amount of a note (rounded to the nearest one-thousandth of a percent).  Thus, a hypothetical cash settlement amount of 100.000% means that the value of the cash payment that we would deliver for each $10 of the outstanding face amount of the offered notes on the stated maturity date would equal 100.000% of the face amount of a note, based on the corresponding hypothetical final underlier price (expressed as a percentage of the initial underlier price) and the assumptions noted above.

 

The Notes Have Not Been Automatically Called

 

Hypothetical Final Underlier Price

 

Hypothetical Cash Settlement Amount
at Maturity if the Notes Have Not Been
Automatically Called on a Call
Observation Date

(as Percentage of Initial Underlier Price)

 

(as Percentage of Face Amount)

99.999%

 

100.000%*

90.000%

 

100.000%*

80.000%

 

100.000%*

80.000%

 

100.000%*

79.999%

 

79.999%

60.000%

 

60.000%

50.000%

 

50.000%

40.000%

 

40.000%

35.000%

 

35.000%

25.000%

 

25.000%

10.000%

 

10.000%

0.000%

 

0.000%

*Does not include the final contingent coupon

 

 

 

If, for example, the notes have not been automatically called on a call observation date and the final underlier price were determined to be 25.000% of the initial underlier price, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be 25.000% of the face amount of your notes, as shown in the table above.  As a result, if you purchased your notes on the original issue date at the face amount and held them to the stated maturity date, you would lose 75.000% of your investment excluding any contingent coupons you may have received over the term of the notes (if you purchased your notes at a premium to face amount you would lose a correspondingly higher percentage of your investment).  In addition, if the final underlier price were determined to be 80.000% of the initial underlier price, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be 100.000% of the face amount of your notes, as shown in the table above.  Because the final underlier price is greater than or equal to the downside threshold, if you held your notes to the stated maturity date, you would receive $10 for each $10 face amount of your notes.

 

The cash settlement amounts shown above are entirely hypothetical; they are based on market prices for the underlier stocks that may not be achieved on the determination date and on assumptions that may prove to be erroneous.  The actual market value of your notes on the stated maturity date or at any other time, including any time you may wish to sell your notes, may bear little relation to the hypothetical cash settlement amounts shown above, and these amounts should not be viewed as an indication of the financial return on an investment in the offered notes.  The hypothetical cash settlement amounts on notes held to the stated maturity date in the examples above assume you purchased your notes at their face amount and have not been adjusted to reflect the actual issue price you pay for your notes. The return on your

 

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investment (whether positive or negative) in your notes will be affected by the amount you pay for your notes. If you purchase your notes for a price other than the face amount, the return on your investment will differ from, and may be significantly lower than, the hypothetical returns suggested by the above examples. Please read “Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes — The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” on page S-13.

 

Payments on the notes are economically equivalent to the amounts that would be paid on a combination of other instruments. For example, payments on the notes are economically equivalent to a combination of a bond bought by the holder and one or more options entered into between the holder and us. Therefore, the terms of the notes may be impacted by the various factors mentioned on page S-13 in the section “The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors”. The discussion in this paragraph does not modify or affect the terms of the notes or the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the notes, as described elsewhere in this prospectus supplement.

 

 

We cannot predict the actual closing price of the underlier on any day, the final underlier price or what the market value of your notes will be on any particular trading day, nor can we predict the relationship between the closing price of the underlier and the market value of your notes at any time prior to the stated maturity date. The actual contingent coupon payment, if any, that a holder of the notes will receive on each coupon payment date, the actual amount that you will receive at maturity, if any, and the rate of return on the offered notes will depend on whether or not the notes are called and the actual closing prices of the underlier and the actual final underlier prices determined by the calculation agent as described above. Moreover, the assumptions on which the hypothetical examples are based may turn out to be inaccurate. Consequently, the contingent coupon to be paid in respect of your notes, if any, and the cash amount to be paid in respect of your notes on the stated maturity date, if any, may be very different from the information reflected in the table and examples above.

 

 

 

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ADDITIONAL RISK FACTORS SPECIFIC TO YOUR NOTES

 

 

An investment in your notes is subject to the risks described below, as well as the risks and considerations described in the accompanying prospectus and in the accompanying prospectus supplement. You should carefully review these risks and considerations as well as the terms of the notes described herein and in the accompanying prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement. Your notes are a riskier investment than ordinary debt securities. Also, your notes are not equivalent to investing directly in the underlier stocks, i.e., the stocks comprising the underlier to which your notes are linked. You should carefully consider whether the offered notes are suited to your particular circumstances.

 

 

 

The Estimated Value of Your Notes At the Time the Terms of Your Notes Are Set On the Trade Date (as Determined By Reference to Pricing Models Used By GS&Co.) Is Less Than the Original Issue Price Of Your Notes

 

The original issue price for your notes exceeds the estimated value of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date, as determined by reference to GS&Co.’s pricing models and taking into account our credit spreads. Such estimated value on the trade date is set forth above under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”; after the trade date, the estimated value as determined by reference to these models will be affected by changes in market conditions, the creditworthiness of GS Finance Corp., as issuer, the creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor, and other relevant factors.   The price at which GS&Co. would initially buy or sell your notes (if GS&Co. makes a market, which it is not obligated to do), and the value that GS&Co. will initially use for account statements and otherwise, also exceeds the estimated value of your notes as determined by reference to these models.  As agreed by GS&Co. and the distribution participants, the amount of the excess will decline on a straight line basis over the period from the date hereof through the applicable date set forth above under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”.  Thereafter, if GS&Co. buys or sells your notes it will do so at prices that reflect the estimated value determined by reference to such pricing models at that time.  The price at which GS&Co. will buy or sell your notes at any time also will reflect its then current bid and ask spread for similar sized trades of structured notes.

 

In estimating the value of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date, as disclosed above under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”, GS&Co.’s pricing models consider certain variables, including principally our credit spreads, interest rates (forecasted, current and historical rates), volatility, price-sensitivity analysis and the time to maturity of the notes. These pricing models are proprietary and rely in part on certain assumptions about future events, which may prove to be incorrect. As a result, the actual value you would receive if you sold your notes in the secondary market, if any, to others may differ, perhaps materially, from the estimated value of your notes determined by reference to our models due to, among other things, any differences in pricing models or assumptions used by others. See “— The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” below.

 

The difference between the estimated value of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date and the original issue price is a result of certain factors, including principally the underwriting discount and commissions, the expenses incurred in creating, documenting and marketing the notes, and an estimate of the difference between the amounts we pay to GS&Co. and the amounts GS&Co. pays to us in connection with your notes. We pay to GS&Co. amounts based on what we would pay to holders of a non-structured note with a similar maturity.  In return for such payment, GS&Co. pays to us the amounts we owe under your notes.

 

In addition to the factors discussed above, the value and quoted price of your notes at any time will reflect many factors and cannot be predicted.  If GS&Co. makes a market in the notes, the price quoted by GS&Co. would reflect any changes in market conditions and other relevant factors, including any deterioration in our creditworthiness or perceived creditworthiness or the creditworthiness or perceived creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc . These changes may adversely affect the value of your notes, including the price you may receive for your notes in any market making transaction. To the extent that GS&Co. makes a market in the notes, the quoted price will reflect the estimated value determined by

 

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reference to GS&Co.’s pricing models at that time, plus or minus its then current bid and ask spread for similar sized trades of structured notes (and subject to the declining excess amount described above).

 

Furthermore, if you sell your notes, you will likely be charged a commission for secondary market transactions, or the price will likely reflect a dealer discount.  This commission or discount will further reduce the proceeds you would receive for your notes in a secondary market sale.

 

There is no assurance that GS&Co. or any other party will be willing to purchase your notes at any price and, in this regard, GS&Co. is not obligated to make a market in the notes.  See “— Your Notes May Not Have an Active Trading Market” below.

 

The Notes Are Subject to the Credit Risk of the Issuer and the Guarantor

 

Although the contingent coupons (if any) and return on the notes will be based on the performance of the underlier, the payment of any amount due on the notes is subject to the credit risk of GS Finance Corp., as issuer of the notes, and the credit risk of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor of the notes. The notes are our unsecured obligations.  Investors are dependent on our ability to pay all amounts due on the notes, and therefore investors are subject to our credit risk and to changes in the market’s view of our creditworthiness. Similarly, investors are dependent on the ability of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor of the notes, to pay all amounts due on the notes, and therefore are also subject to its credit risk and to changes in the market’s view of its creditworthiness.  See “Description of the Notes We May Offer — Information About Our Medium-Term Notes, Series E Program — How the Notes Rank Against Other Debt” on page S-4 of the accompanying prospectus supplement and “Description of Debt Securities We May Offer— Guarantee by the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.” on page 33 of the accompanying prospectus .

 

You May Lose Your Entire Investment in the Notes

 

You can lose your entire investment in the notes. Assuming your notes are not automatically called, the cash settlement amount on your notes, if any, on the stated maturity date will be based on the performance of the SPDR ®  S&P 500 ® ETF Trust as measured from the initial underlier price to the closing price of the underlier on the determination date. If the final underlier price for your notes is less than the downside threshold, you will have a loss for each $10 of the face amount of your notes equal to the product of the underlier return times $10. Thus, you may lose your entire investment in the notes, which would include any premium to face amount you paid when you purchased the notes.

 

Also, the application of the downside threshold applies only at maturity and the market price of your notes prior to a call payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be, may be significantly lower than the purchase price you pay for your notes.  Consequently, if you sell your notes before the stated maturity date, you may receive far less than the amount of your investment in the notes.

 

You May Not Receive a Contingent Coupon on Any Coupon Payment Date

 

You will be paid a contingent coupon on a coupon payment date only if the closing price of the underlier on the applicable coupon determination date is equal to or greater than the coupon barrier. If the closing price of the underlier on the related coupon determination date is less than the coupon barrier, you will not receive a contingent coupon payment on the applicable coupon payment date. If this occurs on every coupon determination date, the overall return you earn on your notes will be zero or less and such return will be less than you would have earned by investing in a note that bears interest at the prevailing market rate.

 

Higher Contingent Coupons and Lower Downside Thresholds Are Generally Associated With Higher Volatility of the Underlier and Therefore a Greater Risk of Loss

 

Volatility refers to the frequency and magnitude of changes in an underlier price. The contingent coupon and downside threshold for the notes are based, in part, on the expected volatility of the underlier as of the time the terms of the notes are set. For example, the downside threshold of this note should be lower than if we were to issue a note with the same terms (other than the downside threshold) and tenor, but linked to a less volatile underlier. In addition, the contingent coupon that you could receive on your notes should be higher than if we were to issue a note with the same terms (other than the contingent coupon) and tenor, but linked to a less volatile underlier.

 

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The fact that the underlier to which your notes are linked is more volatile (as determined by us) than other underliers means that, as of the trade date, the expected risk that the underlier to which your notes are linked will close below either (i) the coupon barrier on a coupon determination date (in which case you will not receive a contingent coupon on the corresponding coupon payment date) or (ii) the downside threshold on the determination date (in which case you will receive less than the face amount of your notes at maturity), is greater with respect to your notes than with respect to a note issued by us with the same terms and tenor, but linked to a less volatile underlier. However, there is no guarantee that the coupon barrier or downside threshold set for your notes adequately offsets this increased expected risk.  Furthermore, because the expected volatility of the underlier (among other factors) is reflected in the terms of the notes, a relatively lower downside threshold than on otherwise comparable notes issued by us may not necessarily indicate a lower risk of loss at maturity and a relatively higher contingent coupon than on otherwise comparable notes issued by us or than the return payable on our conventional debt securities with a similar maturity may indicate a greater risk of loss at maturity.

 

You should not take the historical volatility of the underlier as an indication of its future volatility. You should be willing to accept the downside market risk of the underlier and the potential to not receive some or all contingent coupons and to lose some or all of your investment at maturity.

 

Your Notes Are Subject to Automatic Redemption

 

We will automatically call and redeem all, but not part, of your notes on a call payment date, if, as measured on any call observation date, the closing price of the underlier is greater than or equal to the initial underlier price. Therefore, the term for your notes may be reduced to approximately three months after the original issue date and you will not receive any further payments on the notes since your notes will no longer be outstanding. You may not be able to reinvest the proceeds from an investment in the notes at a comparable return for a similar level of risk in the event the notes are called prior to maturity.

 

If the notes remain outstanding following any given call observation date, it means that the underlier has closed below the initial underlier price on each prior call observation date. The longer the notes are outstanding from the trade date, the less time remains during which the underlier will have an opportunity to increase to or above the initial underlier price to be automatically called.  The notes will not be automatically called in the event that the underlier does not increase to or beyond the initial underlier price.

 

The Contingent Coupon Does Not Reflect the Actual Performance of the Underlier from the Trade Date to Any Coupon Determination Date or from Coupon Determination Date to Coupon Determination Date

 

On any coupon payment date, you will receive a contingent coupon only if the closing price of the underlier is equal to or above the coupon barrier.  The contingent coupon for each quarterly coupon payment date is different from, and may be less than, a contingent coupon that is based on the performance of the underlier between the trade date and any coupon determination date or between two coupon determination dates.  You will not participate in any appreciation of the underlier.  Accordingly, the contingent coupons, if any, on the notes may be less than the return you could earn on another instrument linked to the underlier that pays contingent coupons based on the performance of such underlier from the trade date to any coupon determination date or from coupon determination date to coupon determination date.  In addition, although both the coupon determination dates and coupon payment dates occur quarterly, there may not be an equal number of days between coupon determination dates or between coupon payment dates, respectively.  However, the way in which the contingent coupon is determined will not vary based on the actual number of days between coupon determination dates or between coupon payment dates.

 

The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors

 

When we refer to the market value of your notes, we mean the value that you could receive for your notes if you chose to sell them in the open market before the stated maturity date. A number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, will influence the market value of your notes, including:

 

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·                   the closing prices of the underlier;

 

·                   the volatility — i.e., the frequency and magnitude of changes — in the closing prices of the underlier;

 

·                   the dividend rates of the underlier stocks;

 

·                   economic, financial, regulatory, political, military and other events that affect stock markets generally and the stocks underlying the underlier, and which may affect the closing prices of the underlier;

 

·                   interest rates and yield rates in the market;

 

·                   the time remaining until your notes mature; and

 

·                   our creditworthiness and the creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., whether actual or perceived, and including actual or anticipated upgrades or downgrades in our credit ratings or the credit ratings of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. or changes in other credit measures.

 

These factors, and many other factors, will influence the price you will receive if you sell your notes before maturity, including the price you may receive for your notes in any market making transaction. If you sell your notes before maturity, you may receive less than the face amount of your notes or the amount you may receive upon an automatic call or, if the notes are not automatically called, the amount you may receive at maturity.

 

You cannot predict the future performance of the underlier based on its historical performance. The actual performance of the underlier over the life of the offered notes, the cash settlement amount paid on a call payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be, as well as the contingent coupon payable, if any, on each coupon payment date, may bear little or no relation to the historical closing prices of the underlier or to the hypothetical examples shown elsewhere in this prospectus supplement.

 

Your Notes May Not Have an Active Trading Market

 

Your notes will not be listed or displayed on any securities exchange or included in any interdealer market quotation system, and there may be little or no secondary market for your notes. Even if a secondary market for your notes develops, it may not provide significant liquidity and we expect that transaction costs in any secondary market would be high. As a result, the difference between bid and asked prices for your notes in any secondary market could be substantial.

 

If You Purchase Your Notes at a Premium to Face Amount, the Return on Your Investment Will Be Lower Than the Return on Notes Purchased at Face Amount and the Impact of Certain Key Terms of the Notes Will Be Negatively Affected

 

The cash settlement amount you will be paid for your notes on the stated maturity date, if any, or the amount you will be paid on a call payment date will not be adjusted based on the issue price you pay for the notes. If you purchase notes at a price that differs from the face amount of the notes, then the return on your investment in such notes held to a call payment date or the stated maturity date will differ from, and may be substantially less than, the return on notes purchased at face amount. If you purchase your notes at a premium to face amount and hold them to a call payment date or the stated maturity date, the return on your investment in the notes will be lower than it would have been had you purchased the notes at face amount or a discount to face amount.

 

If the Closing Prices of the Underlier Change, the Market Value of Your Notes May Not Change in the Same Manner

 

The price of your notes may move differently than the performance of the underlier. Changes in the prices of the underlier may not result in a comparable change in the market value of your notes. Even if the closing price of the underlier is greater than or equal to the coupon barrier but less than 100% of the initial underlier price during some portion of the life of the notes, the market value of your notes may not reflect this. We discuss some of the reasons for this disparity under “— The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” above.

 

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Anticipated Hedging Activities by Goldman Sachs or Our Distributors May Negatively Impact Investors in the Notes and Cause Our Interests and Those of Our Clients and Counterparties to be Contrary to Those of Investors in the Notes

 

Goldman Sachs expects to hedge our obligations under the notes by purchasing futures and/or other instruments linked to the underlier.  Goldman Sachs also expects to adjust the hedge by, among other things, purchasing or selling any of the foregoing, and perhaps other instruments linked to the underlier or the stocks underlying the underlier, which we refer to as underlier stocks, at any time and from time to time, and to unwind the hedge by selling any of the foregoing on or before the determination date for your notes.  Alternatively, Goldman Sachs may hedge all or part of our obligations under the notes with unaffiliated distributors of the notes which we expect will undertake similar market activity.   Goldman Sachs may also enter into, adjust and unwind hedging transactions relating to other underlier-linked notes whose returns are linked to changes in the prices of the underlier or the underlier stocks, as applicable.

 

In addition to entering into such transactions itself, or distributors entering into such transactions, Goldman Sachs may structure such transactions for its clients or counterparties, or otherwise advise or assist clients or counterparties in entering into such transactions.  These activities may be undertaken to achieve a variety of objectives, including:  permitting other purchasers of the notes or other securities to hedge their investment in whole or in part; facilitating transactions for other clients or counterparties that may have business objectives or investment strategies that are inconsistent with or contrary to those of investors in the notes; hedging the exposure of Goldman Sachs to the notes including any interest in the notes that it reacquires or retains as part of the offering process, through its market-making activities or otherwise; enabling Goldman Sachs to comply with its internal risk limits or otherwise manage firmwide, business unit or product risk; and/or enabling Goldman Sachs to take directional views as to relevant markets on behalf of itself or its clients or counterparties that are inconsistent with or contrary to the views and objectives of the investors in the notes.

 

Any of these hedging or other activities may adversely affect the price of the underlier — directly or indirectly by affecting the price of the underlier stocks — and therefore the market value of your notes and the amount we will pay on your notes, if any, at maturity.  In addition, you should expect that these transactions will cause Goldman Sachs or its clients, counterparties or distributors to have economic interests and incentives that do not align with, and that may be directly contrary to, those of an investor in the notes.  Neither Goldman Sachs nor any distributor will have any obligation to take, refrain from taking or cease taking any action with respect to these transactions based on the potential effect on an investor in the notes, and may receive substantial returns on hedging or other activities while the value of your notes declines.  In addition, if the distributor from which you purchase notes is to conduct hedging activities in connection with the notes, that distributor may otherwise profit in connection with such hedging activities and such profit, if any, will be in addition to the compensation that the distributor receives for the sale of the notes to you.  You should be aware that the potential to earn fees in connection with hedging activities may create a further incentive for the distributor to sell the notes to you in addition to the compensation they would receive for the sale of the notes.

 

Goldman Sachs’ Trading and Investment Activities for its Own Account or for its Clients, Could Negatively Impact Investors in the Notes

 

Goldman Sachs is a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.  As such, it acts as an investor, investment banker, research provider, investment manager, investment advisor, market maker, trader, prime broker and lender.  In those and other capacities, Goldman Sachs purchases, sells or holds a broad array of investments, actively trades securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps, indices, baskets and other financial instruments and products for its own account or for the accounts of its customers, and will have other direct or indirect interests, in the global fixed income, currency, commodity, equity, bank loan and other markets.  Any of Goldman Sachs’ financial market activities may, individually or in the aggregate, have an adverse effect on the market for your notes, and you should expect that the interests of Goldman Sachs or its clients or counterparties will at times be adverse to those of investors in the notes.

 

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Goldman Sachs regularly offers a wide array of securities, financial instruments and other products into the marketplace, including existing or new products that are similar to your notes, or similar or linked to the underlier or underlier stocks.  Investors in the notes should expect that Goldman Sachs will offer securities, financial instruments, and other products that will compete with the notes for liquidity, research coverage or otherwise.

 

Goldman Sachs’ Market-Making Activities Could Negatively Impact Investors in the Notes

 

Goldman Sachs actively makes markets in and trades financial instruments for its own account and for the accounts of customers.  These financial instruments include debt and equity securities, currencies, commodities, bank loans, indices, baskets and other products.  Goldman Sachs’ activities include, among other things, executing large block trades and taking long and short positions directly and indirectly, through derivative instruments or otherwise.  The securities and instruments in which Goldman Sachs takes positions, or expects to take positions, include securities and instruments of an underlier or underlier stocks, securities and instruments similar to or linked to the foregoing or the currencies in which they are denominated.  Market making is an activity where Goldman Sachs buys and sells on behalf of customers, or for its own account, to satisfy the expected demand of customers.  By its nature, market making involves facilitating transactions among market participants that have differing views of securities and instruments.  As a result, you should expect that Goldman Sachs will take positions that are inconsistent with, or adverse to, the investment objectives of investors in the notes.

 

If Goldman Sachs becomes a holder of any securities of the underlier or underlier stocks in its capacity as a market-maker or otherwise, any actions that it takes in its capacity as securityholder, including voting or provision of consents, will not necessarily be aligned with, and may be inconsistent with, the interests of investors in the notes.

 

You Should Expect That Goldman Sachs Personnel Will Take Research Positions, or Otherwise Make Recommendations, Provide Investment Advice or Market Color or Encourage Trading Strategies That Might Negatively Impact Investors in the Notes

 

Goldman Sachs and its personnel, including its sales and trading, investment research and investment management personnel, regularly make investment recommendations, provide market color or trading ideas, or publish or express independent views in respect of a wide range of markets, issuers, securities and instruments.  They regularly implement, or recommend to clients that they implement, various investment strategies relating to these markets, issuers, securities and instruments.  These strategies include, for example, buying or selling credit protection against a default or other event involving an issuer or financial instrument.  Any of these recommendations and views may be negative with respect to the underlier or underlier stocks or other securities or instruments similar to or linked to the foregoing or result in trading strategies that have a negative impact on the market for any such securities or instruments, particularly in illiquid markets.  In addition, you should expect that personnel in the trading and investing businesses of Goldman Sachs will have or develop independent views of the underlier or underlier stocks, the relevant industry or other market trends, which may not be aligned with the views and objectives of investors in the notes.

 

Goldman Sachs Regularly Provides Services to, or Otherwise Has Business Relationships with, a Broad Client Base, Which May Include the Sponsors of an Underlier or the Issuers of the Underlier Stocks or Other Entities That Are Involved in the Transaction

 

Goldman Sachs regularly provides financial advisory, investment advisory and transactional services to a substantial and diversified client base, and you should assume that Goldman Sachs will, at present or in the future, provide such services or otherwise engage in transactions with, among others, the sponsors of the underlier or the issuers of the underlier stocks, or transact in securities or instruments or with parties that are directly or indirectly related to the foregoing.  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.  You should expect that Goldman Sachs, in providing such services, engaging in such transactions, or acting for its own account, may take actions that have direct or indirect effects on the underlier or underlier stocks, as applicable, and that such actions could be adverse to the interests of

 

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investors in the notes.  In addition, in connection with these activities, certain Goldman Sachs personnel may have access to confidential material non-public information about these parties that would not be disclosed to Goldman Sachs employees that were not working on such transactions as Goldman Sachs has established internal information barriers that are designed to preserve the confidentiality of non-public information.  Therefore, any such confidential material non-public information would not be shared with Goldman Sachs employees involved in structuring, selling or making markets in the notes or with investors in the notes.

 

In this offering, as well as in all other circumstances in which Goldman Sachs receives any fees or other compensation in any form relating to services provided to or transactions with any other party, no accounting, offset or payment in respect of the notes will be required or made; Goldman Sachs will be entitled to retain all such fees and other amounts, and no fees or other compensation payable by any party or indirectly by holders of the notes will be reduced by reason of receipt by Goldman Sachs of any such other fees or other amounts.

 

The Offering of the Notes May Reduce an Existing Exposure of Goldman Sachs or Facilitate a Transaction or Position That Serves the Objectives of Goldman Sachs or Other Parties

 

A completed offering may reduce Goldman Sachs’ existing exposure to the underlier or underlier stocks, securities and instruments similar to or linked to the foregoing or the currencies in which they are denominated, including exposure gained through hedging transactions in anticipation of this offering.  An offering of notes will effectively transfer a portion of Goldman Sachs’ exposure (and indirectly transfer the exposure of Goldman Sachs’ hedging or other counterparties) to investors in the notes.

 

The terms of the offering (including the selection of the underlier or underlier stocks, and the establishment of other transaction terms) may have been selected in order to serve the investment or other objectives of Goldman Sachs or another client or counterparty of Goldman Sachs.  In such a case, Goldman Sachs would typically receive the input of other parties that are involved in or otherwise have an interest in the offering, transactions hedged by the offering, or related transactions.  The incentives of these other parties would normally differ from and in many cases be contrary to those of investors in the notes.

 

Other Investors in the Notes May Not Have the Same Interests as You

 

Other investors in the notes are not required to take into account the interests of any other investor in exercising remedies or voting or other rights in their capacity as securityholders or in making requests or recommendations to Goldman Sachs as to the establishment of other transaction terms.  The interests of other investors may, in some circumstances, be adverse to your interests.  For example, certain investors may take short positions (directly or indirectly through derivative transactions) on assets that are the same or similar to your notes, underlier, underlier stocks or other similar securities, which may adversely impact the market for or value of your notes.

 

The Policies of the Underlier Sponsor and Changes that Affect the Underlier or the Underlier Stocks Comprising the Underlier, Could Affect the Contingent Coupons Payable on Your Notes, if Any, the Cash Settlement Amount If the Notes Are Called on any Call Observation Date or the Cash Settlement Amount on the Stated Maturity Date and the Market Value of Your Notes

 

The policies of the underlier sponsor concerning the calculation of the prices of the underlier, additions, deletions or substitutions of the underlier stocks comprising such underlier, and the manner in which changes affecting such underlier stocks or their issuers, such as stock dividends, reorganizations or mergers, are reflected in such underlier price, could affect the price of the underlier and, therefore, whether the notes are called, the contingent coupon payable on your notes, if any, on any coupon payment date and the market value of your notes before that date. Whether the notes are called, the contingent coupons payable on your notes, if any, and their market value could also be affected if an underlier sponsor changes these policies, for example, by changing the manner in which it calculates the underlier price, or if the underlier sponsor discontinues or suspends calculation or publication of the underlier price, in which case it may become difficult to determine the market value of your notes. If events such as these occur, the calculation agent — which initially will be GS&Co ., our affiliate — may determine the underlier prices on any such date — and thus the amount payable on any coupon payment date, if any, or the cash settlement amount if the notes are called on any call observation date or the cash settlement amount on the stated maturity date, as applicable — in a manner it considers appropriate, in its sole discretion. We describe the

 

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discretion that the calculation agent will have in determining the underlier prices on any trading day, a coupon determination date, a call observation date or the determination date and the contingent coupons payable on your notes, if any, or the cash settlement amount more fully under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Discontinuance or Modification of the Underlier” and “— Role of Calculation Agent” below.

 

The Return on Your Notes Will Not Reflect Any Dividends Paid on the Underlier Stocks

 

The underlier sponsor calculates the price of the underlier by reference to the prices of the stocks included in the underlier, which we refer to as underlier stocks, without taking account of the value of dividends paid on those stocks.  Therefore, the return on your notes will not reflect the return you would realize if you actually owned the stocks included in the underlier and received the dividends paid on those stocks.  In addition, the return on your notes will not reflect the return you would realize if you actually owned the underlier and received distributions paid on the shares of the underlier. You will not receive any dividends that may be paid on any of the underlier stocks by the underlier stock issuers or on the shares of the underlier.  See “—You Have No Shareholder Rights or Rights to Receive Any Shares of the Underlier or Any Underlier Stock” below for additional information.

 

The Policies of the Underlier Sponsor, and the Policies of the Sponsor of the Underlying Index Tracked by the Underlier, Could Affect the Amount Payable on Your Notes and Their Market Value

 

The underlier sponsor may from time to time be called upon to make certain policy decisions or judgments with respect to the implementation of policies of the underlier sponsor concerning the calculation of the net asset value of the underlier, additions, deletions or substitutions of securities in the underlier and the manner in which changes affecting the underlying index are reflected in the underlier that could affect the market price of the shares of the underlier, and therefore, the amount payable on your notes on the maturity date. The amount payable on your notes and their market value could also be affected if the underlier sponsor changes these policies, for example, by changing the manner in which it calculates the net asset value of the underlier, or if the underlier sponsor discontinues or suspends calculation or publication of the net asset value of the underlier, in which case it may become difficult or inappropriate to determine the market value of your notes.

 

If events such as these occur, the calculation agent — which initially will be Goldman, Sachs & Co. — may determine the closing price of the underlier on a coupon determination date or the determination date — and thus the amount payable on a coupon payment date or the stated maturity date, if any — in a manner, in its sole discretion, it considers appropriate. We describe the discretion that the calculation agent will have in determining the closing price of the underlier on a coupon determination date or the determination date and the amount payable on your notes more fully under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Discontinuance or Modification of the Underlier” and “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Anti-dilution Adjustments” on page S-27.

 

In addition, S&P (the “underlying index sponsor”) owns the underlying index and is responsible for the design and maintenance of the underlying index. The policies of the underlying index sponsor concerning the calculation of the underlying index, including decisions regarding the addition, deletion or substitution of the equity securities included in the underlying index, could affect the level of the underlying index and, consequently, could affect the market prices of shares of the underlier and, therefore, the amount payable on your notes and their market value.

 

There Are Risks Associated with the Underlier

 

Although the underlier’s shares are listed for trading on NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “NYSE Arca”) and a number of similar products have been traded on the NYSE Arca or other securities exchanges for varying periods of time, there is no assurance that an active trading market will continue for the shares of the underlier or that there will be liquidity in the trading market.

 

In addition, the underlier is subject to management risk, which is the risk that the underlier sponsor’s investment strategy, the implementation of which is subject to a number of constraints, may not produce the intended results. For example, the underlier sponsor may select a percentage of the underlier’s assets to be invested in shares of equity securities that are not included in the underlying index.  The underlier is also not actively managed and may be affected by a general decline in market segments relating to the underlying index.  The underlier sponsor invests in securities included in, or representative of,

 

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the underlying index regardless of their investment merits.  The underlier sponsor does not attempt to take defensive positions in declining markets.

 

The Underlier and the Underlying Index are Different and the Performance of the Underlier May Not Correlate with the Performance of the Underlying Index

 

The underlier may not hold all or substantially all of the equity securities included in the underlying index and may hold securities or assets not included in the underlying index. Therefore, while the performance of the underlier is generally linked to the performance of the underlying index, the performance of the underlier is also linked in part to shares of equity securities not included in the underlying index and to the performance of other assets, such as futures contracts, options and swaps, as well as cash and cash equivalents, including shares of money market funds affiliated with the underlier sponsor.

 

Imperfect correlation between the underlier’s portfolio securities and those in the underlying index, rounding of prices, changes to the underlying index and regulatory requirements may cause tracking error, the divergence of the underlier’s performance from that of the underlying index.

 

In addition, the performance of the underlier will reflect additional transaction costs and fees that are not included in the calculation of the underlying index and this may increase the tracking error of the underlier. Also, corporate actions with respect to the sample of equity securities (such as mergers and spin-offs) may impact the performance differential between the underlier and the underlying index. Finally, because the shares of the underlier are traded on the NYSE Arca and are subject to market supply and investor demand, the market value of one share of the underlier may differ from the net asset value per share of the underlier.

 

For all of the foregoing reasons, the performance of the underlier may not correlate with the performance of the underlying index. Consequently, the return on the notes will not be the same as investing directly in the underlier or in the underlying index or in the underlier stocks or in the underlying index stocks, and will not be the same as investing in a debt security with a payment at maturity linked to the performance of the underlying index.

 

Periods of Higher Market Volatility May Exacerbate Tracking Error

 

Tracking error is the difference between the performance of the underlier and the underlying index it tracks.  Although the underlier seeks to generally track the performance of the underlying index, the underlier’s return may not match or achieve a high degree of correlation with the return of the underlying index due to, among other things, transaction costs.  In addition, in periods of high market volatility, the underlier’s ability to manage the portfolio to closely track the underlying index may be adversely impacted given the rapid changes in the underlying index.  As a result, in periods of high market volatility, the underlier may not closely track the underlying index, which may have an adverse impact on your notes.

 

You Will Have Limited Anti-dilution Protection

 

GS&Co., as calculation agent for your notes, may adjust the closing price for certain events that may affect the underlier, but only in the situations we describe in “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Anti-dilution Adjustments”.  The calculation agent will not be required to make an adjustment for every event that may affect the underlier and will have broad discretion to determine whether and to what extent an adjustment is required.

 

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Except to the Extent The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is One of the 500 Companies Whose Common Stock Comprises the S&P 500 ®  Index, and GS&Co. and One or More of Our Other Affiliates Act as Authorized Participants in the Distribution of, and, at Any Time, May Hold, Shares of the Underlier, There Is No Affiliation Between the Underlier Sponsor or Underlying Index Sponsor and Us

 

The common stock of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is one of the 502 index stocks comprising the S&P 500 ®  Index and is one of the common stocks currently held by the underlier. In addition, GS&Co. and one or more of our other affiliates may act, from time to time, as authorized participants in the distribution of shares of the underlier, and, at any time, may hold shares of the underlier. Goldman Sachs is not otherwise affiliated with the underlier sponsor, underlying index sponsor or the underlier stock issuers. We or our affiliates may currently or from time to time in the future engage in business with the underlier sponsor, underlying index sponsor or the issuers of the underlier stocks. Neither we nor any of our affiliates have participated in the preparation of any publicly available information or made any “due diligence” investigation or inquiry with respect to the underlier, underlying index and the underlier stock issuers. You, as an investor in your notes, should make your own investigation into the underlier, underlying index and the underlier stock issuers.

 

Neither the underlying index sponsor nor any of the underlier stock issuers are involved in this offering of your notes in any way and none of them have any obligation of any sort with respect to your notes.  Thus, neither the underlying index sponsors nor any of the underlier stock issuers have any obligation to take your interests into consideration for any reason, including in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of your notes.

 

You Have No Shareholder Rights or Rights to Receive Any Shares of the Underlier or Any Underlier Stock

 

Investing in your notes will not make you a holder of any shares of the underlier or any underlier stock.  Neither you nor any other holder or owner of your notes will have any voting rights, any right to receive dividends or other distributions, any rights to make a claim against the underlier or the underlier stocks or any other rights with respect to the underlier or the underlier stocks.  Your notes will be paid in cash and you will have no right to receive delivery of any shares of the underlier or the underlier stocks.

 

Past Underlier Performance is No Guide to Future Performance

 

The actual performance of the underlier over the life of the notes, as well as the amount payable at maturity, if any, may bear little relation to the historical closing prices of the underlier or to the hypothetical return examples set forth elsewhere in this prospectus supplement. We cannot predict the future performance of the underlier.

 

As Calculation Agent, GS&Co. Will Have the Authority to Make Determinations that Could Affect the Value of Your Notes

 

As calculation agent for your notes, GS&Co . will have discretion in making certain determinations that affect your notes, including determining the closing prices of the underlier on any coupon determination date, which we will use to determine the contingent coupon , if any, we will pay on any applicable coupon payment date ; determining whether your notes will be automatically called; determining the final underlier price on the determination date, which we will use to determine the amount we must pay on the stated maturity date; determining whether to postpone a coupon determination date or the determination date because of a market disruption event or a non-trading day; the coupon determination dates; the coupon payment dates; the call observation dates; the call payment dates and the stated maturity date. The calculation agent also has discretion in making certain adjustments relating to a discontinuation or modification of the underlier.  See “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Discontinuance or Modification of the Underlier” below. The exercise of this discretion by GS&Co . could adversely affect the value of your notes and may present GS&Co . with a conflict of interest. We may change the calculation agent at any time without notice and GS&Co . may resign as calculation agent at any time upon 60 days’ written notice to us.

 

The Calculation Agent Can Postpone a Coupon Determination Date or the Determination Date, as the Case May Be, If a Market Disruption Event or a Non-Trading Day Occurs or is Continuing

 

If the calculation agent determines that, on a date that would otherwise be a coupon determination date or the determination date, a market disruption event has occurred or is continuing or that day is not a trading day, such coupon determination date or the determination date will be postponed until the first

 

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following trading day on which the calculation agent determines that a market disruption event does not occur and is not continuing. In no case, however, will the coupon determination date or the determination date be postponed to a date later than the corresponding originally scheduled coupon payment date or the originally scheduled stated maturity date, as applicable, or if the corresponding originally scheduled coupon payment date or the originally scheduled stated maturity date is not a business day, later than the first business day after the corresponding originally scheduled coupon payment date or the originally scheduled stated maturity date.  Moreover, if a coupon determination date or the determination date, as applicable, is postponed to the last possible day, but the market disruption event has not ceased by that day or that day is not a trading day, that day will nevertheless be the coupon determination date or the determination date, as applicable, for the corresponding coupon payment date or stated maturity date.  In such a case, the calculation agent will determine the applicable closing price or final underlier price for such coupon determination date or the determination date based on the procedures described under “Specific Terms of Your Notes — Consequences of a Market Disruption Event or a Non-Trading Day” below.

 

Certain Considerations for Insurance Companies and Employee Benefit Plans

 

Any insurance company or fiduciary of a pension plan or other employee benefit plan that is subject to the prohibited transaction rules of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, which we call “ERISA”, or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including an IRA or a Keogh plan (or a governmental plan to which similar prohibitions apply), and that is considering purchasing the offered notes with the assets of the insurance company or the assets of such a plan, should consult with its counsel regarding whether the purchase or holding of the offered notes could become a “prohibited transaction” under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any substantially similar prohibition in light of the representations a purchaser or holder in any of the above categories is deemed to make by purchasing and holding the offered notes. This is discussed in more detail under “Employee Retirement Income Security Act” below.

 

We May Sell an Additional Aggregate Face Amount of the Notes at a Different Issue Price

 

At our sole option, we may decide to sell an additional aggregate face amount of the notes subsequent to the date of this prospectus supplement. The issue price of the notes in the subsequent sale may differ substantially (higher or lower) from the issue price you paid as provided on the cover of this prospectus supplement.

 

Your Notes May Be Subject to an Adverse Change in Tax Treatment in the Future

 

The Internal Revenue Service announced on December 7, 2007 that it is considering issuing guidance regarding the proper U.S. federal income tax treatment of an instrument such as your notes that are currently characterized as pre-paid derivative contracts, and any such guidance could adversely affect the tax treatment and the value of your notes. Among other things, the Internal Revenue Service may decide to require the holders to accrue ordinary income on a current basis and recognize ordinary income on payment at maturity, and could subject non-U.S. investors to withholding tax.  Furthermore, in 2007,  legislation was introduced in Congress that, if enacted, would have required holders that acquired instruments such as your notes after the bill was enacted to accrue interest income over the term of such instruments even though there may be no interest payments over the term of such instruments.  It is not possible to predict whether a similar or identical bill will be enacted in the future, or whether any such bill would affect the tax treatment of your notes. We describe these developments in more detail under “Supplemental Discussion of Federal Income Tax Consequences — United States Holders — Possible Change in Law” below. You should consult your tax advisor about this matter. Except to the extent otherwise provided by law, GS Finance Corp. intends to continue treating the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes in accordance with the treatment described under “Supplemental Discussion of Federal Income Tax Consequences” on page S-40 below unless and until such time as Congress, the Treasury Department or the Internal Revenue Service determine that some other treatment is more appropriate.  Please also consult your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax and any other applicable tax consequences to you of owning your notes in your particular circumstances.

 

Your Notes May Be Subject to the Constructive Ownership Rules

 

There exists a risk that the constructive ownership rules of Section 1260 of the Internal Revenue Code could apply to your notes. If your notes were subject to the constructive ownership rules, then any

 

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long-term capital gain that you realize upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes would be re-characterized as ordinary income (and you would be subject to an interest charge on deferred tax liability with respect to such re-characterized capital gain) to the extent that such capital gain exceeds the amount of “net underlying long-term capital gain” (as defined in Section 1260 of the Internal Revenue Code). Because the application of the constructive ownership rules is unclear you are strongly urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the possible application of the constructive ownership rules to your investment in the notes.

 

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding May Apply to Payments on Your Notes, Including as a Result of the Failure of the Bank or Broker Through Which You Hold the Notes to Provide Information to Tax Authorities

 

Please see the discussion under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding” in the accompanying prospectus for a description of the applicability of FATCA to payments made on your notes.

 

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SPECIFIC TERMS OF YOUR NOTES

 

 

We refer to the notes we are offering by this prospectus supplement as the “offered notes” or the “notes”. Please note that in this prospectus supplement, references to “GS Finance Corp.”, “we”, “our” and “us” mean only GS Finance Corp. and do not include its subsidiaries or affiliates, references to “The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.”, our parent company, mean only The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and do not include its subsidiaries or affiliates and references to “Goldman Sachs” mean The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. together with its consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates, including us. Also, references to the “accompanying prospectus” mean the accompanying prospectus, dated December 22, 2015, and references to the “accompanying prospectus supplement” mean the accompanying prospectus supplement, dated December 22, 2015, for Medium-Term Notes, Series E, in each case of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.  Please note that in this section entitled “Specific Terms of Your Notes”, references to “holders” mean those who own notes registered in their own names, on the books that we or the trustee maintain for this purpose, and not those who own beneficial interests in notes registered in street name or in notes issued in book-entry form through The Depository Trust Company. Please review the special considerations that apply to owners of beneficial interests in the accompanying prospectus, under “Legal Ownership and Book-Entry Issuance”.

 

 

 

The offered notes are part of a series of debt securities, entitled “Medium-Term Notes, Series E”, that we may issue under the indenture from time to time as described in the accompanying prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus. The offered notes are also “indexed debt securities”, as defined in the accompanying prospectus.

 

This prospectus supplement summarizes specific financial and other terms that apply to the offered notes, including your notes; terms that apply generally to all Series E medium-term notes are described in “Description of Notes We May Offer” in the accompanying prospectus supplement. The terms described here supplement those described in the accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and, if the terms described here are inconsistent with those described there, the terms described here are controlling.

 

In addition to those terms described on the under “Summary Information” in this prospectus supplement, the following terms will apply to your notes:

 

Specified currency:

 

·                   U.S. dollars (“$”)

 

Form of note:

 

·                   global form only: yes, at DTC

 

·                   non-global form available: no

 

Denominations:   each note registered in the name of a holder must have a face amount of $10 or integral multiples of $10 in excess thereof

 

Defeasance applies as follows:

 

·                   full defeasance: no

 

·                   covenant defeasance: no

 

Other terms:

 

·                   the default amount will be payable on any acceleration of the maturity of your notes as described under “— Special Calculation Provisions” below

 

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·                   a business day for your notes will not be the same as a business day for our other Series E medium-term notes, as described under “— Special Calculation Provisions” below

 

·                   a trading day for your notes will be as described under “— Special Calculation Provisions” below

 

Please note that the information about the settlement or trade date, issue price, discount or commission and net proceeds to GS Finance Corp. on the front cover page or elsewhere in this prospectus supplement relates only to the initial issuance and sale of the offered notes. We may decide to sell additional notes on one or more dates after the date of this prospectus supplement, at issue prices and with underwriting discounts and net proceeds that differ from the amounts set forth on the front cover page or elsewhere in this prospectus supplement.  If you have purchased your notes in a market-making transaction after the initial issuance and sale of the offered notes, any such relevant information about the sale to you will be provided in a separate confirmation of sale.

 

We describe the terms of your notes in more detail below.

 

Underlier, Underlier Sponsor, Underlying Index, Underlying Index Sponsor and Underlier Stocks

 

In this prospectus supplement, when we refer to the underlier, we mean the underlier specified on the front cover page, or any successor underlier, as it may be modified, replaced or adjusted from time to time as described under “— Payment of Principal on Stated Maturity Date — Discontinuance or Modification of the Underlier” below.  When we refer to the underlier sponsor as of any time, we mean the entity, including any successor underlier sponsor, that manages the underlier.  When we refer to the underlying index, we mean the index underlying the underlier.  When we refer to an underlying index sponsor as of any time, we mean the entity, including any successor sponsor, that determines and publishes the underlying index as then in effect.  When we refer to the underlier stocks as of any time, we mean the stocks that comprise the underlier as then in effect, after giving effect to any additions, deletions or substitutions.

 

Autocall Feature

 

If, as measured on any call observation date, the closing price of the underlier is greater than or equal to the initial underlier price, your notes will be automatically called. If your notes are automatically called on any call observation date, on the corresponding call payment date, in addition to the contingent coupon then due, you will receive an amount in cash equal to $10 for each $10 face amount of your notes. No further payments will be made on the notes since your notes will no longer be outstanding. The notes cannot be called if the closing price of the underlier is less than the initial underlier price on a call observation date.

 

Payment of a Contingent Coupon

 

Subject to the autocall feature, on each coupon payment date, for each $10 face amount of your notes, we will pay you an amount in cash equal to:

 

·                   if the closing price of the underlier on the related coupon determination date is greater than or equal to the coupon barrier, $0.20 (i.e., equal to a return of 8.00% per annum) ; or

 

·                   if the closing price of the underlier on the related coupon determination date is less than the coupon barrier, $0.00

 

The coupon barrier is $ 162.58, which is equal to 80.00% of the initial underlier price (rounded to the nearest one-hundredth).

 

Payment of Principal on Stated Maturity Date

 

If your notes are not automatically called, for each $10 face amount of your notes, we will pay you on the stated maturity date an amount in cash equal to:

 

·                   if the final underlier price is greater than or equal to the downside threshold, $10 plus the final contingent coupon ; or

 

·                   if the final underlier price is less than the downside threshold, the sum of (1) $10 plus (2) the product of (i) $10 times (ii) the underlier return

 

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The downside threshold is $ 162.58, which is equal to 80.00% of the initial underlier price (rounded to the nearest one-hundredth).

 

The underlier return is calculated by subtracting the initial underlier price from the final underlier price and dividing the result by the initial underlier price, with the quotient expressed as a percentage.

 

The initial underlier price is $203.22 .  The calculation agent will determine the final underlier price, which will be the closing price of the underlier on the determination date.  However, the calculation agent will have discretion to adjust the closing price on any call observation date or the determination date or to determine it in a different manner as described under “ — Anti-dilution Adjustments”, “ — Consequences of a Market Disruption Event or a Non-Trading Day” and “— Discontinuance or Modification of the Underlier” below.

 

Stated Maturity Date

 

The stated maturity date is June 29, 2018, unless that day is not a business day, in which case the stated maturity date will be the next following business day. If the determination date is postponed as described under “— Determination Date” below, the stated maturity date will be postponed by the same number of business day(s) from but excluding the originally scheduled determination date to and including the actual determination date.

 

Determination Date

 

The determination date is June 25, 2018, unless the calculation agent determines that a market disruption event occurs or is continuing on that day or that day is not otherwise a trading day. In that event, the determination date will be the first following trading day on which the calculation agent determines that a market disruption event does not occur and is not continuing. In no event, however, will the determination date be postponed to a date later than the originally scheduled stated maturity date or, if the originally scheduled stated maturity date is not a business day, later than the first business day after the originally scheduled stated maturity date. On such last possible determination date, if a market disruption event occurs or is continuing or such day is not a trading day, that day will nevertheless be the determination date.

 

Contingent Coupon and Coupon Payment Dates

 

The contingent coupons will be calculated and paid as described in this prospectus supplement.

 

The contingent coupons on the offered notes will be paid on the coupon payment dates (the second business day after each coupon determination date, except that the final coupon payment date will be the stated maturity date , which coupon payment dates are the dates specified in the table under the section “—Coupon Determination Dates” below, subject to adjustment as described under “ Coupon Determination Dates” below).  Although the coupon payment dates occur quarterly , there may not be an equal number of days between coupon payment dates.

 

Coupon Determination Dates

 

The coupon determination dates are specified in the table below, commencing on September 26, 2016 and ending on June 25, 2018, unless the calculation agent determines that a market disruption event occurs or is continuing on that day or that day is not otherwise a trading day.  In that event, the coupon determination date will be the first following trading day on which the calculation agent determines that a market disruption event does not occur and is not continuing.  In no event, however, will the coupon determination date be postponed to a date later than the originally scheduled coupon payment date or, if the originally scheduled coupon payment date is not a business day, later than the first business day after the originally scheduled coupon payment date. On such last possible coupon determination date applicable to the relevant coupon payment date, if a market disruption event occurs or is continuing or such day is not a trading day, that day will nevertheless be the coupon determination date.

 

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Coupon Determination Dates

 

Coupon Payment Dates

 

September 26, 2016

September 28, 2016

December 28, 2016

December 30, 2016

March 27, 2017

March 29, 2017

June 26, 2017

June 28, 2017

September 25, 2017

September 27, 2017

December 27, 2017

December 29, 2017

March 26, 2018

March 28, 2018

June 25, 2018

June 29, 2018

 

Call Observation Dates

 

The call observation dates are each coupon determination date, to the extent the notes are then outstanding , subject to adjustment as described under “ Coupon Determination Dates” above.  Although the call observation dates occur quarterly , there may not be an equal number of days between call observation dates.

 

Call Payment Dates

 

If your notes are automatically called on any call observation date, on the corresponding call payment date (the second business day after each call observation date, except that the final call payment date will be the stated maturity date , subject to adjustment as described under “ Call Observation Dates” below) you will receive an amount in cash equal to $10 for each $10 face amount of your notes in addition to the contingent coupon then due, and no further payments will be made on the notes since your notes will no longer be outstanding.

 

Consequences of a Market Disruption Event or a Non-Trading Day

 

If a market disruption event occurs or is continuing on a day that would otherwise be a coupon determination date or the determination date, or such day is not a trading day, then such coupon determination date or the determination date will be postponed as described under “— Coupon Determination Dates” or “— Determination Date” above. If the calculation agent determines that the closing price of the underlier that must be used to determine the contingent coupon or the cash settlement amount, as applicable, is not available on the postponed coupon observation date or the postponed determination date, as applicable, because of a market disruption event, a non-trading day or for any other reason (except as described under “— Discontinuance or Modification of the Underlier” below), then the calculation agent will nevertheless determine the closing price of the underlier, based on its assessment, in good faith and in its sole discretion, of the price of the underlier on that day.

 

Discontinuance or Modification of the Underlier

 

If the underlier is delisted from the exchange on which the underlier has its primary listing and the underlier sponsor or anyone else publishes a substitute index fund that the calculation agent determines is comparable to the underlier, then the calculation agent will determine the contingent coupon payable, if any, on the relevant coupon payment date or the cash settlement amount on the call payment date or the stated maturity date, as applicable, by reference to the substitute underlier.  We refer to any substitute underlier approved by the calculation agent as a successor underlier.

 

If the calculation agent determines on a coupon determination date or the determination date, as applicable, that the underlier is delisted or withdrawn from the exchange on which the underlier has its primary listing and there is no successor underlier, the calculation agent will determine the applicable closing price of the underlier used to determine the contingent coupon or cash settlement amount, as applicable, on the related coupon payment date or the stated maturity date, as applicable, by a computation methodology that the calculation agent determines will as closely as reasonably possible replicate the underlier.

 

If the calculation agent determines that the underlier, the stocks comprising the underlier or the method of calculating the underlier is changed at any time in any respect — including any split or reverse

 

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split and any addition, deletion or substitution and any reweighting or rebalancing of the underlier or of the underlier stocks and whether the change is made by the underlier sponsor under its existing policies or following a modification of those policies, is due to the publication of a successor underlier, is due to events affecting one or more of the underlier stocks or their issuers or is due to any other reason — then the calculation agent will be permitted (but not required) to make such adjustments in the underlier or the method of its calculation as it believes are appropriate to ensure that the prices of the underlier used to determine the contingent coupon or cash settlement amount, as applicable, on the related coupon payment date or the stated maturity date, as applicable, is equitable.

 

All determinations and adjustments to be made by the calculation agent with respect to the underlier may be made by the calculation agent in its sole discretion.  The calculation agent is not obligated to make any such adjustments.

 

Anti-dilution Adjustments

 

The calculation agent, in good faith, will have discretion to adjust the closing price of the underlier if certain events occur.  Exchange traded funds are registered investment companies that are eligible for trading on the exchanges on which they are listed.  Generally, exchange traded funds are subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and are restricted in their activities and have dividend requirements.  In the event that any event other than a delisting or withdrawal from the relevant exchange occurs, the calculation agent shall determine whether and to what extent an adjustment should be made to the price of the underlier or any other term.  The calculation agent shall have no obligation to make an adjustment for any such event.

 

Default Amount on Acceleration

 

If an event of default occurs and the maturity of your notes is accelerated, we will pay the default amount in respect of the principal of your notes at the maturity, instead of the amount payable on the stated maturity date as described earlier. We describe the default amount under “— Special Calculation Provisions” below.

 

For the purpose of determining whether the holders of our Series E medium-term notes, which include your notes, are entitled to take any action under the indenture, we will treat the outstanding face amount of each of your note s as the outstanding principal amount of that note. Although the terms of your notes differ from those of the other Series E medium-term notes, holders of specified percentages in principal amount of all Series E medium-term notes, together in some cases with other series of our debt securities, will be able to take action affecting all the Series E medium-term notes, including your notes, except with respect to certain Series E medium-term notes if the terms of such notes specify that the holders of specified percentages in principal amount of all of such notes must also consent to such action. This action may involve changing some of the terms that apply to the Series E medium-term notes, accelerating the maturity of the Series E medium-term notes after a default or waiving some of our obligations under the indenture. In addition, certain changes to the indenture and the notes that only affect certain debt securities may be made with the approval of holders of a majority in principal amount of such affected debt securities. We discuss these matters in the accompanying prospectus under “Description of Debt Securities We May Offer — Default, Remedies and Waiver of Default” and “— Modification of the Debt Indentures and Waiver of Covenants .

 

Manner of Payment

 

Any payment or delivery on your note at maturity will be made to an account designated by the holder of your note and approved by us, or at the office of the trustee in New York City, but only when your note is surrendered to the trustee at that office. We also may make any payment or delivery in accordance with the applicable procedures of the depositary.

 

Modified Business Day

 

As described in the accompanying prospectus, any payment on your notes that would otherwise be due on a day that is not a business day may instead be paid on the next day that is a business day, with the same effect as if paid on the original due date. For your notes, however, the term business day may have a

 

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different meaning than it does for other Series E medium-term notes. We discuss this term under “— Special Calculation Provisions” below.

 

Role of Calculation Agent

 

The calculation agent in its sole discretion will make all determinations regarding the underlier, the coupon determination dates, the coupon payment dates, the regular record dates, the contingent coupon, if any, on each coupon payment date, the underlier return, the closing prices of the underlier on each coupon determination date, each final underlier price, the determination date, the call observation dates, call payment dates, business days, trading days, postponement of a coupon payment date, a call payment date or the stated maturity date and the amount of cash payable on your notes at maturity. Absent manifest error, all determinations of the calculation agent will be final and binding on you and us, without any liability on the part of the calculation agent.

 

Please note that GS&Co ., our affiliate, is currently serving as the calculation agent as of the date of this prospectus supplement. We may change the calculation agent for your notes at any time after the date of this prospectus supplement without notice and GS&Co . may resign as calculation agent at any time upon 60 days’ written notice to us.

 

Special Calculation Provisions

 

Business Day

 

When we refer to a business day with respect to your notes, we mean a day that is a New York business day as described under “Description of Debt Securities We May Offer — Calculations of Interest on Debt Securities — Business Days” on page 16 in the accompanying prospectus.

 

Trading Day

 

When we refer to a trading day with respect to your notes, we mean a day on which the exchange on which the underlier has its primary listing is open for trading and the price of one share of the underlier is quoted by the exchange on which such underlier has its primary listing.

 

Closing Price

 

When we refer to the closing price of the underlier on any trading day, we mean the closing sale price or last reported sale price, regular way, for the underlier, on a per-share or other unit basis:

 

·                   on the principal national securities exchange on which the underlier is listed for trading on that day, or

 

·                   if the underlier is not listed on any national securities exchange on that day, on any other U.S. national market system that is the primary market for the trading of that underlier

 

If the underlier is not listed or traded as described above, then the closing price for the underlier on any day will be the average, as determined by the calculation agent, of the bid prices for the underlier obtained from as many dealers in that underlier selected by the calculation agent as will make those bid prices available to the calculation agent. The number of dealers need not exceed three and may include the calculation agent or any of its or our affiliates.

 

Default Amount

 

The default amount for your notes on any day (except as provided in the last sentence under “—Default Quotation Period” below), will be an amount in the specified currency for the face amount of your notes, equal to the cost of having a qualified financial institution, of the kind and selected as described below, expressly assume all of our payment and other obligations with respect to your notes as of that day and as if no default or acceleration had occurred, or to undertake other obligations providing substantially equivalent economic value to you with respect to your notes. That cost will equal:

 

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·                   the lowest amount that a qualified financial institution would charge to effect this assumption or undertaking, plus

 

·                   the reasonable expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by the holder of your notes in preparing any documentation necessary for this assumption or undertaking.

 

During the default quotation period for your notes, which we describe below, the holder and/or we or the calculation agent may request a qualified financial institution to provide a quotation of the amount it would charge to effect this assumption or undertaking. If either party obtains a quotation, it must notify the other party in writing of the quotation. The amount referred to in the first bullet point above will equal the lowest — or, if there is only one, the only — quotation obtained, and as to which notice is so given, during the default quotation period. With respect to any quotation, however, the party not obtaining the quotation may object, on reasonable and significant grounds, to the assumption or undertaking by the qualified financial institution providing the quotation and notify the other party in writing of those grounds within two business days after the last day of the default quotation period, in which case that quotation will be disregarded in determining the default amount.

 

Default Quotation Period

 

The default quotation period is the period beginning on the day the default amount first becomes due and ending on the third business day after that day, unless:

 

·                   no quotation of the kind referred to above is obtained, or

 

·                   every quotation of that kind obtained is objected to within five business days after the day the default amount first becomes due.

 

If either of these two events occurs, the default quotation period will continue until the third business day after the first business day on which prompt notice of a quotation is given as described above. If that quotation is objected to as described above within five business days after that first business day, however, the default quotation period will continue as described in the prior sentence and this sentence.

 

In any event, if the default quotation period and the subsequent two business day objection period have not ended before the determination date, then the default amount will equal the principal amount of your notes.

 

Qualified Financial Institutions

 

For the purpose of determining the default amount at any time, a qualified financial institution must be a financial institution organized under the laws of any jurisdiction in the United States of America, Europe or Japan, which at that time has outstanding debt obligations with a stated maturity of one year or less from the date of issue and that is, or whose securities are, rated either:

 

·                   A-1 or higher by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services or any successor, or any other comparable rating then used by that rating agency, or

 

·                   P-1 or higher by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or any successor, or any other comparable rating then used by that rating agency.

 

Market Disruption Event

 

With respect to any given trading day, any of the following will be a market disruption event:

 

·                   a suspension, absence or material limitation of trading in the underlier on its primary market for more than two consecutive hours of trading or during the one half-hour before the close of trading in that market, as determined by the calculation agent in its sole discretion, or

 

·                   a suspension, absence or material limitation of trading in option or futures contracts relating to the underlier in the primary market for those contracts for more than two consecutive hours of trading or

 

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during the one-half hour before the close of trading in that market, as determined by the calculation agent in its sole discretion, or

 

·                   the underlier does not trade on what was the primary market for the underlier, as determined by the calculation agent in its sole discretion,

 

and , in the case of any of these events, the calculation agent determines in its sole discretion that the event could materially interfere with the ability of GS Finance Corp. or any of its affiliates or a similarly situated party to unwind all or a material portion of a hedge that could be effected with respect to the notes.  For more information about hedging by GS Finance Corp. and/or any of its affiliates, see “Use of Proceeds” and “Hedging” below.

 

The following events will not be market disruption events:

 

·                   a limitation on the hours or numbers of days of trading, but only if the limitation results from an announced change in the regular business hours of the relevant market, and

 

·                   a decision to permanently discontinue trading in option or futures contracts relating to the underlier.

 

For this purpose, an “absence of trading” in the primary securities market on which shares of the underlier are traded, or on which option or futures contracts, if available, relating to the underlier are traded, will not include any time when that market is itself closed for trading under ordinary circumstances. In contrast, a suspension or limitation of trading in shares of the underlier or in option or futures contracts, if available, relating to the underlier in the primary market for that underlier or those contracts, by reason of:

 

·                   a price change exceeding limits set by that market,

 

·                   an imbalance of orders relating to the shares of the underlier or those contracts, or

 

·                   a disparity in bid and ask quotes relating to the shares of the underlier or those contracts,

 

will constitute a suspension or material limitation of trading in shares of the underlier or those contracts in that market.

 

As is the case throughout this prospectus supplement, references to the underlier in this description of market disruption events includes any successor underlier as it may be modified, replaced or adjusted from time to time.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

 

We will lend the net proceeds from the sale of the offered notes to The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. or its affiliates. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will use the proceeds from such loans for the purposes we describe in the accompanying prospectus under “Use of Proceeds”. We or our affiliates may also use those proceeds in transactions intended to hedge our obligations under the offered notes as described below.

 

HEDGING

 

In anticipation of the sale of the offered notes, we and/or our affiliates have entered into or expect to enter into hedging transactions involving purchases of futures and other instruments linked to the underlier on or before the trade date.  In addition, from time to time after we issue the offered notes, we and/or our affiliates may enter into additional hedging transactions and to unwind those we have entered into, in connection with the offered notes and perhaps in connection with other underlier- linked notes we issue, some of which may have returns linked to the underlier or the underlier stocks .  Consequently, with regard to your notes, from time to time, we and/or our affiliates:

 

·                 expect to acquire, or dispose of positions in listed or over-the-counter options, futures or other instruments linked to the underlier or some or all of the underlier stocks ,

 

·                 may take or dispose of positions in the securities of the underlier stock issuers themselves,

 

·                 may take or dispose of positions in listed or over-the-counter options or other instruments based on indices designed to track the performance of the stock exchanges or other components of the equity markets, and /or

 

·                 may take short positions in the underlier stocks or other securities of the kind described above — i.e., we and/or our affiliates may sell securities of the kind that we do not own or that we borrow for delivery to purchaser.

 

We and/or our affiliates may acquire a long or short position in securities similar to your notes from time to time and may, in our or their sole discretion, hold or resell those securities.

 

In the future, we and/or our affiliates expect to close out hedge positions relating to the offered notes and perhaps relating to other notes with returns linked to the underlier or the underlier stocks .  We expect these steps to involve sales of instruments linked to the underlier on or shortly before the final coupon determination date.  These steps may also involve sales and/or purchases of some or all of the underlier stocks , or listed or over-the-counter options, futures or other instruments linked to the underlier , some or all of the underlier stocks or indices designed to track the performance of the U.S., European, Asian or other stock exchanges or other components of the U.S., European, Asian or other equity markets or other components of such markets.

 

 

The hedging activity discussed above may adversely affect the market value of your notes from time to time and the amount we will pay on your notes at maturity.  See “Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes” above for a discussion of these adverse effects.

 

 

 

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THE UNDERLIER

 

SPDR ®  S&P 500 ®  ETF Trust

 

The units of the SPDR ®  S&P 500 ® ETF Trust (the “units”) are issued by SPDR ®  S&P 500 ®  ETF Trust (the “underlier” or the “trust”), a unit investment trust that is a registered investment company.

 

·                   The trust is like a tracking ETF in that it seeks investment results which correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the index.

 

·                   The index it tracks is the S&P 500 ® Index (the “index”).

 

·                   The trust does not have an investment advisor. Its investments are adjusted by the trustee.

 

·                   Trustee:  State Street Bank and Trust Company.

 

·                   Trust sponsor:  PDR Services, LLC.

 

·                   The units trade on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol “SPY”.

 

·                   The trust’s SEC CIK Number is 0000884394.

 

·                   The inception date for purposes of the units was January 22, 1993.

 

·                   The trust’s units are issued or redeemed only in creation units of 50,000 units.

 

We obtained the following fee information from the trust’s publicly available information without independent verification. The Trustee is entitled to receive a fee for services performed for the trust corresponding to the net asset value of the trust, at an annual rate of 0.10% per annum for the first $499,999,999 of assets, 0.08% per annum for assets over $499,999,999 and up to $2,499,999,999 and 0.06% per annum for assets of $2,500,000,000 or more (in each case reduced or increased by an adjustment amount for transaction fees, creation and redemption expenses and interest earned on cash). As of June 9, 2016, the trust’s gross expense ratio is 0.11% per annum. The trustee has agreed to waive a portion of its fee until February 1, 2017 to the extent operating expenses exceed 0.0945% after earnings credits are applied. As a result of this waiver, the trust’s net expense ratio as of June 9, 2016 is 0.0945% per annum. After February 1, 2017, the trustee may discontinue this fee waiver.

 

For additional information regarding SPDR ®  S&P 500 ®  ETF Trust, please consult the reports (including the Annual Report to Shareholders on Form N-SAR for the year ended December 31, 2015) and other information the trust files with the SEC. Additional information regarding the trust, including its top portfolio holdings, may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles, other publicly available documents, and the SPDR ®  S&P 500 ® ETF Trust website at https://www.spdrs.com/product/fund.seam?ticker=SPY. We are not incorporating by reference the website, the sources listed above or any material they include in this prospectus supplement.

 

Investment Objective and Strategy

 

The trust seeks investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the index. The trust strives to achieve its investment objective by holding a portfolio of the common stocks that are included in the index, with the weight of each stock in the trust’s portfolio substantially corresponding to the weight of such stock in the index. Although the trust may fail to own certain securities included in the index at any particular time, the trust generally will be substantially invested in index securities.

 

To maintain the correspondence between the composition and weightings of the common stocks that are actually held by the trust and the common stocks that are included in the index, the trustee adjusts the trust portfolio from time to time to conform to periodic changes made by the index sponsor to the identity and/or relative weightings of the common stocks that are included in the index. The trustee aggregates certain of these adjustments and makes changes to the trust’s portfolio at least monthly, or more frequently in the case of significant changes to the index. The trust does not hold or trade futures or swaps and is not a commodity pool.

 

The following table displays the top ten holdings and weightings by industry sector of the trust and index. (Sector designations are determined by the trust sponsor using criteria it has selected or developed. Index and trust sponsors may use very different standards for determining sector designations. In addition, many companies operate in a number of sectors, but are listed in only one sector and the basis on which that sector is selected may

 

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also differ. As a result, sector comparisons between indices or trusts with different sponsors may reflect differences in methodology as well as actual differences in the sector composition of the indices or trusts.) We obtained the information in the tables below from the trust website without independent verification.

 

Top Ten Holdings of Trust and Index as of June 13, 2016

 

Trust Issuer

Percentage
of Trust (%)

Index Issuer

Percentage
of Index (%)

APPLE INC

2.98%

APPLE INC

2.84%

MICROSOFT CORP

2.19%

MICROSOFT CORP

2.09%

EXXON MOBIL CORP

2.08%

EXXON MOBIL CORP

1.98%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON

1.78%

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC-Class B

1.83%

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO

1.54%

AMAZON.COM INC

1.78%

AMAZON.COM INC

1.53%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON

1.70%

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC-Class B

1.46%

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO

1.47%

FACEBOOK INC-Class A

1.44%

FACEBOOK INC-Class A

1.38%

AT&T INC

1.37%

ALPHABET INC.-Class C

1.31%

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO

1.28%

AT&T INC

1.30%

 

Weighting by Sector of Trust and Index as of June 13, 2016*

 

Sector

Percentage of
Trust (%)

Percentage of
Index (%)

Information Technology

20.09%

19.90%

Financials

15.90%

16.18%

Health Care

14.63%

14.23%

Consumer Discretionary

12.44%

12.58%

Consumer Staples

10.33%

11.31%

Industrials

10.18%

10.00%

Energy

7.24%

7.01%

Utilities

3.45%

3.30%

Materials

2.88%

2.84%

Telecommunication Services

2.74%

2.64%

 

* Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding

 

Correlation

 

Although the trust intends to track the performance of the index as closely as possible, the trust’s return may not match or achieve a high degree of correlation with the return of the index due to expenses and transaction costs incurred in adjusting the portfolio. In addition, it is possible that the trust may not always fully replicate the performance of the index due to unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or due to other extraordinary circumstances (e.g., if trading in a security has been halted).

 

For the period ended May 31, 2016, the SPDR ®  website gave the following performance figures for market price of a unit and the index: unit—1 year on an annualized basis, 1.56%; 3 years on an annualized basis, 10.91%, 5

 

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years on an annualized basis, 11.50%, 10 years on an annualized basis, 7.30%, since inception on an annualized basis, 8.96%; index—1 year on an annualized basis, 1.72%; 3 years on an annualized basis, 11.06%, 5 years on an annualized basis, 11.67%, 10 years on an annualized basis, 7.41%, since inception on an annualized basis, 9.11%.

 

Unit Dividends

 

Holders of units receive dividends on the last business day of each April, July, October and January in an amount corresponding to the amount of any cash dividends declared on the common stocks held by the trust, net of the fees and expenses associated with the operation of the trust, and taxes, if applicable. Because of the fees and expenses, the dividend yield for units is ordinarily less than the hypothetical dividend yield of the index. The unit dividends will be reflected in the calculation of the index as described under “—Calculation of the Total Return of the Index” on page S-35 below.

 

The S&P 500 ®  Index

 

The index includes a representative sample of 500 companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The 500 companies are not the 500 largest companies listed on the NYSE and not all 500 companies are listed on the NYSE. S&P chooses companies for inclusion in the index with an aim of achieving a distribution by broad industry groupings that approximates the distribution of these groupings in the common stock population of the U.S. equity market. Although the index contains 500 constituent companies, at any one time it may contain greater than 500 constituent trading lines since some companies may be represented by multiple share class lines in the index. The index is calculated, maintained and published by Standard & Poor’s (the “S&P”). In addition, information may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles, other publicly available documents, and on the following websites: http://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/SP-500 and http://www.spdji.com. We are not incorporating by reference the websites, the sources listed above or any material they include in this prospectus supplement.

 

S&P intends for the index to provide a performance benchmark for the large-cap U.S. equity markets. Constituent changes are made on an as-needed basis and there is no schedule for constituent reviews. Constituent changes are generally announced one to five business days prior to the change. Relevant criteria for additions to the index that are employed by S&P include: the company proposed for addition should have an unadjusted company market capitalization of $5.3 billion or more (for a company with multiple share class lines, eligibility is based on the total market capitalization of the company, including all publicly listed and unlisted share class lines, if applicable; for spin-offs, eligibility is determined using when-issued prices, if available); using composite pricing and volume, the ratio of annual dollar value traded in the proposed constituent to float-adjusted market capitalization of that company should be 1.00 or greater and the stock should trade a minimum of 250,000 shares in each of the six months leading up to the evaluation date (for companies with multiple share classes, each listed share class line is viewed independently to determine if it meets the liquidity criteria); the company must be a U.S. company (characterized as a Form 10-K filer, a company whose U.S. portion of fixed assets and revenues constitutes a plurality of the total, a company with a primary listing of the common stock on the NYSE (including NYSE Arca and NYSE MKT), the NASDAQ Global Select Market, the NASDAQ Select Market or the NASDAQ Capital Market and a corporate governance structure consistent with U.S. practice); the proposed constituent has a public float of 50% or more of its stock; the inclusion of the company will contribute to sector balance in the index relative to sector balance in the market in the relevant market capitalization range; financial viability (the sum of the most recent four consecutive quarters’ as-reported earnings should be positive as should the most recent quarter and balance sheet leverage should be operationally justifiable for the proposed constituent’s industry peers and business model); and, for IPOs, a seasoning period of six to twelve months. Certain types of securities are always excluded, including business development companies (“BDCs”), limited partnerships, master limited partnerships, limited liability companies (“LLCs”), OTC bulletin board issues, closed-end funds, ETFs, ETNs, royalty trusts, tracking stocks, preferred stock and convertible preferred stock, unit trusts, equity warrants, convertible bonds, investment trusts, rights, American depositary receipts (“ADRs”), American depositary shares (“ADSs”) and master limited partnership investment trust units. Stocks are deleted from the index when they are involved in mergers, acquisitions or significant restructurings such that they no longer meet the inclusion criteria, and when they substantially violate one or more of the addition criteria. Stocks that are delisted or moved to the pink sheets or the bulletin board are removed, and those that experience a trading halt may be retained or removed in S&P’s discretion. S&P evaluates additions and deletions with a view to maintaining index continuity.

 

Effective with the September 2015 rebalancing, all publicly listed multiple share class lines will be included separately in the index, subject to, in the case of any such share class line, that share class line satisfying the

 

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liquidity and float criteria discussed above and subject to certain exceptions.  It is possible that one listed share class line of a company may be included in the index while a second listed share class line of the same company is excluded.  For companies that issue a second publicly traded share class to index share class holders, the newly issued share class line will be considered for inclusion if the event is mandatory and the market capitalization of the distributed class is not considered to be de minimis.

 

S&P divides the 500 companies included in the index into ten Global Industry Classification Sectors: Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Energy, Financials, Health Care, Industrials, Information Technology, Materials, Telecommunication Services and Utilities.

 

The trust tracks the performance of the total version of the index. A total return index represents the total return earned in a portfolio that tracks the price index and reinvests dividend income in the overall index, not in the specific stock paying the dividend. The difference between the price return calculation and the total return calculation is that, with respect to the price return calculation, changes in the index level reflect changes in stock prices, whereas with respect to the total return calculation of the index, changes in the index level reflect both movements in stock prices and the reinvestment of dividend income.

 

Calculation of the Total Return of the Index

 

The index is calculated using a base-weighted aggregative methodology. The total return calculation begins with the price return of the index. The value of the price return index on any day for which an index value is published is determined by a fraction, the numerator of which is the aggregate of the market price of each stock in the index times the number of shares of such stock included in the index, and the denominator of which is the divisor, which is described more fully below. The “market value” of any underlier stock is the product of the market price per share of that stock times the number of the then-outstanding shares of such underlier stock that are then included in the index.

 

The index is also sometimes called a “base-weighted aggregative index” because of its use of a divisor. The “divisor” is a value calculated by S&P that is intended to maintain conformity in index values over time and is adjusted for all changes in the underlier stocks’ share capital after the “base date” as described below. The level of the index reflects the total market value of all underlier stocks relative to the index’s base date of 1941-43.

 

In addition, the index is float-adjusted, meaning that the share counts used in calculating the index reflect only those shares available to investors rather than all of a company’s outstanding shares. S&P seeks to exclude shares held by certain shareholders concerned with the control of a company, a group that generally includes the following: officers and directors, private equity, venture capital, special equity firms, publicly traded companies that hold shares for control in another company, strategic partners, holders of restricted shares, employee stock ownership plans, employee and family trusts, foundations associated with the company, holders of unlisted share classes of stock, government entities at all levels (except government retirement or pension funds) and any individual person who controls a 5% or greater stake in a company as reported in regulatory filings (collectively, “control holders”). To this end, S&P excludes all share-holdings (other than depositary banks, pension funds, mutual funds, exchange traded fund providers, 401(k) plans of the company, government retirement and pension funds, investment funds of insurance companies, asset managers and investment funds, independent foundations, savings plans and investment plans) with a position greater than 5% of the outstanding shares of a company from the float-adjusted share count to be used in index calculations.

 

The exclusion is accomplished by calculating an Investable Weight Factor (“IWF”) for each stock that is part of the numerator of the float-adjusted index fraction described above:

 

IWF = (available float shares)/(total shares outstanding)

 

where available float shares is defined as total shares outstanding less shares held by control holders. In most cases, an IWF is reported to the nearest one percentage point. For companies with multiple share class lines, a separate IWF is calculated for each share class line.

 

Once the price return index has been calculated, the total return index is calculated. First, the total daily dividend for each stock in the index is calculated by multiplying the per share dividend by the number of shares included in the index. Then the index dividend is calculated by aggregating the total daily dividends for each of the index stocks (which may be zero for some stocks) and dividing by the divisor for that day. Next the daily total return of the index is calculated as a fraction minus 1, the numerator of which is the sum of the index level plus the index dividend and the denominator of which is the index level on the previous day. Finally, the total return index for that

 

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day is calculated as the product of the value of the total return index on the previous day times the sum of 1 plus the index daily total return for that day.

 

Maintenance of the Index

 

In order to keep the index comparable over time S&P engages in an index maintenance process. The maintenance process involves changing the constituents as discussed above, and also involves maintaining quality assurance processes and procedures, adjusting the number of shares used to calculate the index, monitoring and completing the adjustments for company additions and deletions, adjusting for stock splits and stock dividends and adjusting for other corporate actions. In addition to its daily governance of indices and maintenance of the index methodology, at least once within any 12 month period, the S&P Index Committee reviews the index methodology to ensure the index continues to achieve the stated objective, and that the date and methodology remain effective.  The S&P Index Committee may at times consult with investors, market participants, security issuers included or potentially included in the index, or investment and financial experts.

 

The two types of adjustments primarily used by S&P are divisor adjustments and adjustments to the number of shares (including float adjustments) used to calculate the index. Set forth below under “ Adjustments for Corporate Actions ” is a table of certain corporate events and their resulting effect on the divisor and the share count. If a corporate event requires an adjustment to the divisor, that event has the effect of altering the market value of the affected underlier stock and consequently of altering the aggregate market value of the underlier stocks following the event. In order that the level of the index not be affected by the altered market value (which could be an increase or decrease) of the affected underlier stock, S&P derives a new divisor by dividing the post-event market value of the underlier stocks by the pre-event index value, which has the effect of reducing the index’s post-event value to the pre-event level.

 

The index maintenance process also involves tracking the changes in the number of shares included for each of the index companies. The timing of adjustments to the number of shares depends on the type of event causing the change, and whether the change represents 5% or more of the total share count (for companies with multiple share class lines, the 5% threshold is based on each individual share class line rather than total company shares). Changes as a result of mergers or acquisitions are made as soon as reasonably possible. At S&P’s discretion, however, de minimis merger and acquisition changes may be accumulated and implemented with the updates made at the quarterly share updates as described below. Changes in a constituent’s total shares of 5% or more due to public offerings (which must be underwritten, have a publicly available prospectus or prospectus summary filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and include a public confirmation that the offering has been completed), tender offers, Dutch auctions or exchange offers are implemented as soon as reasonably possible. Other changes of 5% or more are made weekly and are announced on Fridays for implementation after the close of trading on the following Friday. For changes of less than 5%, on the third Friday of the last month in each calendar quarter, S&P updates the share totals of companies in the index as required by any changes in the number of shares outstanding. S&P implements a share freeze the week leading up to the effective date of the quarterly share count updates. During this frozen period, shares are not changed except for certain corporate action events (merger activity, stock splits, rights offerings and certain share dividend payable events). After the share count totals are updated, the divisor is adjusted to compensate for the net change in the total market value of the index. In addition, any changes over 5% in the current common shares outstanding for the index companies are carefully reviewed by S&P on a weekly basis, and when appropriate, an immediate adjustment is made to the divisor.

 

Adjustments for Corporate Actions

 

There is a large range of corporate actions that may affect companies included in the index. Certain corporate actions require S&P to recalculate the share count or the float adjustment or to make an adjustment to the divisor to prevent the value of the index from changing as a result of the corporate action. This helps ensure that the movement of the index does not reflect the corporate actions of individual companies in the index. Several types of corporate actions, and their related adjustments, are listed in the table below.

 

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Corporate Action

 

Share Count Revision
Required?

 

Divisor Adjustment Required?

 

Stock split

 

Yes — share count is revised to reflect new count.

 

No — share count and price changes are off-setting

 

Change in shares outstanding (secondary issuance, share repurchase and/or share buy-back)

 

Yes — share count is revised to reflect new count.

 

Yes — divisor adjustment reflects change in market capitalization

 

Spin-off if spun-off company is not being added to the S&P 500 ®  Index

 

No

 

Yes — divisor adjustment reflects decline in index market value (i.e. value of the spun-off unit)

 

Spin-off if spun-off company is being added to the S&P 500 ®  Index and no company is being removed

 

No

 

No

 

Spin-off if spun-off company is being added to the S&P 500 ®  Index and another company is being removed

 

No

 

Yes — divisor adjustment reflects deletion

 

Special dividends

 

No

 

Yes — calculation assumes that share price drops by the amount of the dividend; divisor adjustment reflects this change in index market value

 

Change in IWF

 

No

 

Yes — divisor change reflects the change in market value caused by the change to an IWF

 

Company added to or deleted from the S&P 500 ®  Index

 

No

 

Yes — divisor is adjusted by the net change in market value, calculated as the shares issued multiplied by the price paid

 

Rights Offering

 

No

 

Yes — divisor adjustment reflects increase in market capitalization (calculation assumes that offering is fully subscribed)

 

 

Recalculation Policy

 

S&P reserves the right to recalculate and republish the index under certain limited circumstances.  S&P may recalculate and republish the index if it determines that the index is incorrect or inconsistent within two trading days of the publication of the index level because of an incorrect or revised closing price, missed corporate event, late announcement of a corporate event, incorrect application of corporate action or index methodology or for such other extraordinary circumstances that the S&P index committee determines is necessary to reduce or avoid a possible market impact or disruption.

 

Calculations and Pricing Disruptions

 

Closing levels for the index are calculated by S&P based on the closing price of the individual constituents of the index as set by their primary exchange. Closing prices are received by S&P from one of its third party vendors and verified by comparing them with prices from an alternative vendor. The vendors receive the closing price from the primary exchanges. Real-time intraday prices are calculated similarly without a second verification . If there is a failure or interruption on one or more exchanges , real time calculations switch to the Composite Tape ” for all securities listed on the affected exchange and an announcement is published on the S&P Dow Jones Indices Web site . If the interruption is not resolved before the market close and the exchange(s) in question publishes a list of closing prices, those prices are used. If no list is published, the last trade as of 4 p.m.  Eastern Time on the Composite Tape ” is used (or the previous close adjusted for corporate actions if no intraday trades were reported) .

 

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A notice is published on S&P’s website at www.spdji.com indicating any changes to the prices used in index calculations . In extreme circumstances, S&P may decide to delay index adjustments or not publish the index. Real-time indices are not restated.

 

Unscheduled Market Closures

 

In situations where an exchange is forced to close early due to unforeseen events, such as computer or electric power failures, weather conditions or other events, S&P will calculate the closing price of the index based on (1) the closing prices published by the exchange, or (2) if no closing price is available, the last regular trade reported for each stock before the exchange closed. If the exchange fails to open due to unforeseen circumstances, S&P treats this closure as a standard market holiday. The index will use the prior day’s closing prices and shifts any corporate actions to the following business day. If all exchanges fail to open or in other extreme circumstances, S&P may determine not to publish the index for that day.

 

“SPDR ® ” is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”) and have been licensed for use by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. The index is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones, S&P or their respective affiliates, and neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones, S&P or their respective affiliates make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in the index.

 

Historical Closing Prices of the Underlier

 

The closing prices of the underlier have fluctuated in the past and may, in the future, experience significant fluctuations.  Any historical upward or downward trend in the closing price of the underlier during the period shown below is not an indication that such underlier is more or less likely to increase or decrease at any time during the life of your notes.

 

You should not take the historical closing prices of an underlier as an indication of the future performance of an underlier.   We cannot give you any assurance that the future performance of the underlier or the underlier stocks will result in you receiving any contingent coupon payments or receiving the outstanding face amount of your notes on the stated maturity date.

 

Neither we nor any of our affiliates make any representation to you as to the performance of the underlier.  Before investing in the offered notes, you should consult publicly available information to determine the relevant underlier prices between the date of this prospectus supplement and the date of your purchase of the offered notes.  The actual performance of an underlier over the life of the offered notes, as well as the cash settlement amount at maturity may bear little relation to the historical prices shown below.

 

The graphs below show the daily historical closing prices of the underlier from June 28, 2006 through June 28, 2016.  We obtained the closing prices in the graphs below from Bloomberg Financial Services, without independent verification.

 

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SUPPLEMENTAL DISCUSSION OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

 

The following section supplements the discussion of U.S. federal income taxation in the accompanying prospectus.

 

The following section is the opinion of Sidley Austin LLP, counsel to GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.  In addition, it is the opinion of Sidley Austin LLP that the characterization of the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes that will be required under the terms of the notes, as discussed below, is a reasonable interpretation of current law.

 

This section does not apply to you if you are a member of a class of holders subject to special rules, such as:

 

·                   a dealer in securities or currencies;

 

·                   a trader in securities that elects to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for your securities holdings;

 

·                   a bank;

 

·                   a life insurance company;

 

·                   a regulated investment company;

 

·                   a tax exempt organization;

 

·                   a partnership;

 

·                   a person that owns a note as a hedge or that is hedged against interest rate risks;

 

·                   a person that owns a note as part of a straddle or conversion transaction for tax purposes; or

 

·                   a United States holder (as defined below) whose functional currency for tax purposes is not the U.S. dollar.

 

Although this section is based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, its legislative history, existing and proposed regulations under the Internal Revenue Code, published rulings and court decisions, all as currently in effect, no statutory, judicial or administrative authority directly discusses how your notes should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and as a result, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment in your notes are uncertain. Moreover, these laws are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis.

 

 

You should consult your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax and other tax consequences of your investment in the notes, including the application of state, local or other tax laws and the possible effects of changes in federal or other tax laws.

 

 

 

United States Holders

 

This section applies to you only if you are a United States holder that holds your notes as a capital asset for tax purposes. You are a United States holder if you are a beneficial owner of a note and you are:

 

·                   a citizen or resident of the United States;

 

·                   a domestic corporation;

 

·                   an estate whose income is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or

 

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·                 a trust if a United States court can exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and one or more United States persons are authorized to control all substantial decisions of the trust.

 

Tax Treatment . You will be obligated pursuant to the terms of the notes — in the absence of a change in law, an administrative determination or a judicial ruling to the contrary — to characterize your notes for all tax purposes as income-bearing pre-paid derivative contracts in respect of the underlier. Except as otherwise stated below, the discussion below assumes that the notes will be so treated.

 

Contingent coupon payments that you receive should be included in ordinary income at the time you receive the payment or when the payment accrues, in accordance with your regular method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

Upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes, you should recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized on the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity (excluding any amounts attributable to accrued and unpaid contingent coupon payments, which will be taxable as described above) and your tax basis in your notes. Your tax basis in your notes will generally be equal to the amount that you paid for the notes.  Such capital gain or loss should generally be short-term capital gain or loss if you hold the notes for one year or less, and should be long-term capital gain or loss if you hold the notes for more than one year. Short-term capital gains are generally subject to tax at the marginal tax rates applicable to ordinary income.

 

There exists a risk that the constructive ownership rules of Section 1260 of the Internal Revenue Code could apply to your notes. If your notes were subject to the constructive ownership rules, then any long-term capital gain that you realize upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes would be re-characterized as ordinary income (and you would be subject to an interest charge on deferred tax liability with respect to such re-characterized capital gain) to the extent that such capital gain exceeds the amount of “net underlying long-term capital gain” (as defined in Section 1260 of the Internal Revenue Code). Because the application of the constructive ownership rules is unclear you are strongly urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the possible application of the constructive ownership rules to your investment in the notes.

 

No statutory, judicial or administrative authority directly discusses how your notes should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment in the notes are uncertain and alternative characterizations are possible. Accordingly, we urge you to consult your tax advisor in determining the tax consequences of an investment in your notes in your particular circumstances, including the application of state, local or other tax laws and the possible effects of changes in federal or other tax laws.

 

Alternative Treatments.  There is no judicial or administrative authority discussing how your notes should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Therefore, the Internal Revenue Service might assert that a treatment other than that described above is more appropriate. For example, the Internal Revenue Service could treat your notes as a single debt instrument subject to special rules governing contingent payment debt instruments.

 

Under those rules, the amount of interest you are required to take into account for each accrual period would be determined by constructing a projected payment schedule for the notes and applying rules similar to those for accruing original issue discount on a hypothetical noncontingent debt instrument with that projected payment schedule.  This method is applied by first determining the comparable yield — i.e., the yield at which we would issue a noncontingent fixed rate debt instrument with terms and conditions similar to your notes — and then determining a payment schedule as of the applicable original issue date that would produce the comparable yield. These rules may have the effect of requiring you to include interest in income in respect of your notes prior to your receipt of cash attributable to that income.

 

If the rules governing contingent payment debt instruments apply, any income you recognize upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes would be treated as ordinary interest income. Any loss you recognize at that time would be treated as ordinary loss to the extent of interest you included as income in the current or previous taxable years in respect of your notes, and, thereafter, as capital loss.

 

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If the rules governing contingent payment debt instruments apply, special rules would apply to persons who purchase a note at other than the adjusted issue price as determined for tax purposes.

 

It is possible that the Internal Revenue Service could assert that your notes should generally be characterized as described above, except that (1) the gain you recognize upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes should be treated as ordinary income or (2) you should not include the contingent coupon payments in income as you receive them but instead you should reduce your basis in your notes by the amount of contingent coupon payments that you receive. It is also possible that the Internal Revenue Service could seek to characterize your notes in a manner that results in tax consequences to you different from those described above.

 

It is also possible that the Internal Revenue Service could seek to characterize your notes as notional principal contracts.  It is also possible that the contingent coupon payments would not be treated as either ordinary income or interest for U.S. federal income tax purposes, but instead would be treated in some other manner.

 

You should consult your tax advisor as to possible alternative characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

Possible Change in Law

 

In 2007, legislation was introduced in Congress that, if enacted, would have required holders that acquired instruments such as your notes after the bill was enacted to accrue interest income over the term of such instruments.  It is not possible to predict whether a similar or identical bill will be enacted in the future, or whether any such bill would affect the tax treatment of your notes.

 

In addition, on December 7, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service released a notice stating that the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are actively considering issuing guidance regarding the proper U.S. federal income tax treatment of an instrument such as the offered notes including whether the holders should be required to accrue ordinary income on a current basis and whether gain or loss should be ordinary or capital. It is not possible to determine what guidance they will ultimately issue, if any. It is possible, however, that under such guidance, holders of the notes will ultimately be required to accrue income currently and this could be applied on a retroactive basis.  The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are also considering other relevant issues, including whether foreign holders of such instruments should be subject to withholding tax on any deemed income accruals.  Except to the extent otherwise provided by law, GS Finance Corp. intends to continue treating the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes in accordance with the treatment described above unless and until such time as Congress, the Treasury Department or the Internal Revenue Service determine that some other treatment is more appropriate.

 

It is impossible to predict what any such legislation or administrative or regulatory guidance might provide, and whether the effective date of any legislation or guidance will affect notes that were issued before the date that such legislation or guidance is issued.  You are urged to consult your tax advisor as to the possibility that any legislative or administrative action may adversely affect the tax treatment of your notes.

 

United States Alien Holders

 

This section applies to you only if you are a United States alien holder.  You are a United States alien holder if you are the beneficial owner of the notes and are, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

 

·                 a nonresident alien individual;

 

·                 a foreign corporation; or

 

·                 an estate or trust that in either case is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis on income or gain from the notes.

 

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Because the U.S. federal income tax treatment (including the applicability of withholding) of the contingent coupon payments on the notes is uncertain, in the absence of further guidance, we intend to withhold on the contingent coupon payments made to you at a 30% rate or at a lower rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty under an “other income” or similar provision. We will not make payments of any additional amounts. To claim a reduced treaty rate for withholding, you generally must provide a valid Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN, Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN-E, or an acceptable substitute form upon which you certify, under penalty of perjury, your status as a U.S. alien holder and your entitlement to the lower treaty rate. Payments will be made to you at a reduced treaty rate of withholding only if such reduced treaty rate would apply to any possible characterization of the payments (including, for example, if the contingent coupon payments were characterized as contract fees). Withholding also may not apply to contingent coupon payments made to you if: (i) the contingent coupon payments are “effectively connected” with your conduct of a trade or business in the United States and are includable in your gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (ii) the contingent coupon payments are attributable to a permanent establishment that you maintain in the United States, if required by an applicable tax treaty, and (iii) you comply with the requisite certification requirements (generally, by providing an Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI). If you are eligible for a reduced rate of United States withholding tax, you may obtain a refund of any amounts withheld in excess of that rate by filing a refund claim with the Internal Revenue Service.

 

“Effectively connected” payments includable in your United States gross income are generally taxed at rates applicable to United States citizens, resident aliens, and domestic corporations; if you are a corporate United States alien holder, “effectively connected” payments may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” under certain circumstances.

 

You will also be subject to generally applicable information reporting and backup withholding requirements with respect to payments on your notes and, notwithstanding that we do not intend to treat the notes as debt for tax purposes, we intend to backup withhold on such payments with respect to your notes unless you comply with the requirements necessary to avoid backup withholding on debt instruments (in which case you will not be subject to such backup withholding) as set forth under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — United States Alien Holders” in the accompanying prospectus.

 

Furthermore, on December 7, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2008-2 soliciting comments from the public on various issues, including whether instruments such as your notes should be subject to withholding. It is therefore possible that rules will be issued in the future, possibly with retroactive effects, that would cause payments on your notes to be subject to withholding, even if you comply with certification requirements as to your foreign status.

 

As discussed above, alternative characterizations of the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes are possible.  Should an alternative characterization of the notes, by reason of a change or clarification of the law, by regulation or otherwise, cause payments with respect to the notes to become subject to withholding tax, we will withhold tax at the applicable statutory rate and we will not make payments of any additional amounts. Prospective United States alien holders of the notes should consult their tax advisors in this regard.

 

In addition, the Treasury Department has issued regulations under which amounts paid or deemed paid on certain financial instruments (“871(m) financial instruments”) that are treated as attributable to U.S.-source dividends could be treated, in whole or in part depending on the circumstances, as a “dividend equivalent” payment that is subject to tax at a rate of 30% (or a lower rate under an applicable treaty), which in the case of any contingent coupon payments and any amounts you receive upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes, could be collected via withholding. If these regulations were to apply to the notes, we may be required to withhold such taxes if any dividends are paid on the underlier during the term of the notes. We could also require you to make certifications prior to any contingent coupon payment or the maturity of the notes in order to avoid or minimize withholding obligations, and we could withhold accordingly (subject to your potential right to claim a refund from the Internal Revenue Service) if such certifications were not received or were not satisfactory. If withholding was required, we would not be required to pay any additional amounts with respect to amounts so withheld. These regulations generally apply to any payment made on or after January 1, 2017 with respect to any 871(m) financial instrument

 

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issued on or after January 1, 2017. Based upon this effective date, these regulations will not apply to the notes. You should consult your tax advisor concerning these regulations or subsequent official guidance and regarding any other possible alternative characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding

 

Pursuant to Treasury regulations, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) withholding (as described in “United States Taxation—Taxation of Debt Securities—Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding” in the accompanying prospectus) will generally apply to obligations that are issued on or after July 1, 2014; therefore, the notes will generally be subject to FATCA withholding. However, according to published guidance, the withholding tax described above will not apply to payments of gross proceeds from the sale, exchange, redemption or other disposition of the notes (including payment at maturity) made before January 1, 2019.

 

EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT

 

This section is only relevant to you if you are an insurance company or the fiduciary of a pension plan or an employee benefit plan (including a governmental plan, an IRA or a Keogh Plan) proposing to invest in the notes .

 

The U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) and the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), prohibit certain transactions (“prohibited transactions”) involving the assets of an employee benefit plan that is subject to the fiduciary responsibility provisions of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code (including individual retirement accounts, Keogh plans and other plans described in Section 4975(e)(1) of the Code) (a “Plan”) and certain persons who are “parties in interest” (within the meaning of ERISA) or “disqualified persons” (within the meaning of the Code) with respect to the Plan; governmental plans may be subject to similar prohibitions unless an exemption applies to the transaction. The assets of a Plan may include assets held in the general account of an insurance company that are deemed “plan assets” under ERISA or assets of certain investment vehicles in which the Plan invests. Each of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and certain of its affiliates may be considered a “party in interest” or a “disqualified person” with respect to many Plans, and, accordingly, prohibited transactions may arise if the notes are acquired by or on behalf of a Plan unless those notes are acquired and held pursuant to an available exemption. In general, available exemptions are: transactions effected on behalf of that Plan by a “qualified professional asset manager” (prohibited transaction exemption 84-14) or an “in-house asset manager” (prohibited transaction exemption 96-23), transactions involving insurance company general accounts (prohibited transaction exemption 95-60), transactions involving insurance company pooled separate accounts (prohibited transaction exemption 90-1), transactions involving bank collective investment funds (prohibited transaction exemption 91-38) and transactions with service providers under Section 408(b)(17) of ERISA and Section 4975(d)(20) of the Code where the Plan receives no less and pays no more than “adequate consideration” (within the meaning of Section 408(b)(17) of ERISA and Section 4975(f)(10) of the Code). The person making the decision on behalf of a Plan or a governmental plan shall be deemed, on behalf of itself and the plan, by purchasing and holding the notes , or exercising any rights related thereto, to represent that (a) the plan will receive no less and pay no more than “adequate consideration” (within the meaning of Section 408(b)(17) of ERISA and Section 4975(f)(10) of the Code) in connection with the purchase and holding of the notes , (b) none of the purchase, holding or disposition of the notes or the exercise of any rights related to the notes will result in a nonexempt prohibited transaction under ERISA or the Code (or, with respect to a governmental plan, under any similar applicable law or regulation), and (c) neither The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. nor any of its affiliates is a “fiduciary” (within the meaning of Section 3(21) of ERISA) or, with respect to a governmental plan, under any similar applicable law or regulation) with respect to the purchaser or holder in connection with such person’s acquisition, disposition or holding of the notes , or as a result of any exercise by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. or any of its affiliates of any rights in connection with the notes , and no advice provided by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. or any of its affiliates has formed a primary basis for any

 

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investment decision by or on behalf of such purchaser or holder in connection with the notes and the transactions contemplated with respect to the notes .

 

 

If you are an insurance company or the fiduciary of a pension plan or an employee benefit plan (including a governmental plan, an IRA or a Keogh plan), and propose to invest in the notes, you should consult your legal counsel.

 

 

 

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SUPPLEMENTAL PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

 

GS Finance Corp. has agreed to sell to GS&Co., and GS&Co. has agreed to purchase from GS Finance Corp., the aggregate face amount of the offered notes specified on the front cover of this prospectus supplement. GS&Co. proposes initially to offer the notes to the public at the original issue price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement, and to certain securities dealers at such price less a concession not in excess of 1.50% of the face amount.

 

In connection with the initial offering of the notes, the minimum principal amount of notes that may be purchased by any investor is $1,000.

 

In the future, GS&Co . or other affiliates of GS Finance Corp. may repurchase and resell the offered notes in market-making transactions, with resales being made at prices related to prevailing market prices at the time of resale or at negotiated prices. GS Finance Corp. estimates that its share of the total offering expenses, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $20,000.  For more information about the plan of distribution and possible market-making activities, see “Plan of Distribution” in the accompanying prospectus.

 

We will deliver the notes against payment therefor in New York, New York on June 30, 2016, which is the second scheduled business day following the date of this prospectus supplement and of the pricing of the notes.

 

We have been advised by GS&Co . that it intends to make a market in the notes. However, neither GS&Co . nor any of our other affiliates that makes a market is obligated to do so and any of them may stop doing so at any time without notice. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity or trading market for the notes.

 

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”) with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that Relevant Member State (the “Relevant Implementation Date”) an offer of the offered notes which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus supplement in relation thereto may not be made to the public in that Relevant Member State except that, with effect from and including the Relevant Implementation Date, an offer of such offered notes may be made to the public in that Relevant Member State:

 

(a) at any time to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;

 

(b) at any time to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant dealer or dealers nominated by the Issuer for any such offer; or

 

(c) at any time in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive,

 

provided that no such offer of offered notes shall require us or any dealer to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.

 

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer of notes to the public” in relation to any notes in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the notes to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the notes, as the same may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Relevant Member State. The expression Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, including by Directive 2010/73/EU) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State.

 

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GS&Co . has represented and agreed that:

 

(a) it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the offered notes in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to GS Finance Corp.; and

 

(b) it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the notes in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

 

No advertisement, invitation or document relating to the notes may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), if such advertisement, invitation or document is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to the offered notes which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside of Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

 

The offered notes have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan (Act No. 25 of 1948, as amended) or the FIEA. The offered notes may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to or for the benefit of any resident of Japan (including any person resident in Japan or any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan) or to others for reoffering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to or for the benefit of any resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the FIEA and otherwise in compliance with any relevant laws and regulations of Japan.

 

This prospectus supplement, along with the accompanying prospectus supplement and prospectus have not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus supplement, along with the accompanying prospectus supplement and prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the offered notes may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the notes be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor (as defined in Section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”)) under Section 274 of the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA) pursuant to Section 275(1) of the SFA, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA, in each case subject to conditions set forth in the SFA.

 

Where the offered notes are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor,  the securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation shall not be transferred except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA), (2) where such transfer arises from an offer in that corporation’s securities pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, (3) where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer, (4) as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA, or (5) as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore (“Regulation 32”).

 

Where the offered notes are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an accredited investor, the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferable for six months after that trust has acquired the offered notes under Section 275 of the SFA except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person (as defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA), (2) where such transfer arises from an offer that is made on terms that such rights or interest are acquired at a consideration of not less than S$200,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction (whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of securities or other assets), (3) where no consideration is or will be given for the

 

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transfer, (4) where the transfer is by operation of law, (5) as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA, or (6) as specified in Regulation 32.

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

GS&Co. is an affiliate of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and, as such, will have a “conflict of interest” in this offering of notes within the meaning of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) Rule 5121. Consequently, this offering of notes will be conducted in compliance with the provisions of FINRA Rule 5121. GS&Co. will not be permitted to sell notes in this offering to an account over which it exercises discretionary authority without the prior specific written approval of the account holder.

 

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VALIDITY OF THE NOTES AND GUARANTEE

 

In the opinion of Sidley Austin LLP, as counsel to GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., when the notes offered by this prospectus supplement have been executed and issued by GS Finance Corp., the related guarantee offered by this prospectus supplement has been executed and issued by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and such notes have been authenticated by the trustee pursuant to the indenture, and such notes and the guarantee have been delivered against payment as contemplated herein, (a) such notes will be valid and binding obligations of GS Finance Corp., enforceable in accordance with their terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of general applicability (including, without limitation, concepts of good faith, fair dealing and the lack of bad faith), provided that such counsel expresses no opinion as to the effect of fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer or similar provision of applicable law on the conclusions expressed above and (b) such related guarantee will be a valid and binding obligation of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency and similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally, concepts of reasonableness and equitable principles of general applicability (including, without limitation, concepts of good faith, fair dealing and the lack of bad faith), provided that such counsel expresses no opinion as to the effect of fraudulent conveyance, fraudulent transfer or similar provision of applicable law on the conclusions expressed above. This opinion is given as of the date hereof and is limited to the laws of the State of New York and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware as in effect on the date hereof. In addition, this opinion is subject to customary assumptions about the trustee’s authorization, execution and delivery of the indenture and the genuineness of signatures and certain factual matters, all as stated in the letter of such counsel dated February 26, 2015, which has been filed as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K, dated February 26, 2015, filed by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. on February 26, 2015.

 

S- 49


Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.  We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you.  This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is an offer to sell only the notes offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so.  The information contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus supplement the accompanying prospectus is current only as of the respective dates of such documents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$19,037,370





GS Finance Corp.

 

 

 

 

Trigger Autocallable Contingent Yield Notes due 2018

guaranteed by

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

___________________

 

___________________

 

 

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary Information

 

S-3

 

Hypothetical Examples

 

S-6

 

Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes

 

S-11

 

Specific Terms of Your Notes

 

S-23

 

Use of Proceeds

 

S-31

 

Hedging

 

S-31

 

The Underlier

 

S-32

 

Supplemental Discussion of Federal Income Tax Consequences

 

S-40

 

Employee Retirement Income Security Act

 

S-44

 

Supplemental Plan of Distribution

 

S-46

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

S-48

 

Validity of the Notes and Guarantee

 

S-49

 

 

 

 

 

Prospectus Supplement dated December 22, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use of Proceeds

 

S-2

 

Description of Notes We May Offer

 

S-3

 

Considerations Relating to Indexed Notes

 

S-16

 

United States Taxation

 

S-17

 

Employee Retirement Income Security Act

 

S-18

 

Supplemental Plan of Distribution

 

S-19

 

Validity of the Notes and Guarantees

 

S-19

 

 

 

 

 

Prospectus dated December 22, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Available Information

 

2

 

Prospectus Summary

 

3

 

Risks Relating to Regulatory Resolution Strategies and Long-Term Debt Requirements

 

6

 

Use of Proceeds

 

7

 

Description of Debt Securities We May Offer

 

8

 

Description of Warrants We May Offer

 

35

 

Description of Units We May Offer

 

47

 

GS Finance Corp.

 

51

 

Legal Ownership and Book-Entry Issuance

 

53

 

Considerations Relating to Floating Rate Debt Securities

 

57

 

Considerations Relating to Indexed Securities

 

58

 

Considerations Relating to Securities Denominated or Payable in or Linked to a Non-U.S. Dollar Currency

 

61

 

United States Taxation

 

64

 

Plan of Distribution

 

76

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

78

 

Employee Retirement Income Security Act

 

78

 

Validity of the Securities and Guarantees

 

79

 

Experts

 

79

 

Review of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements by Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

79

 

Cautionary Statement Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

 

79

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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