The notes do not pay a fixed coupon and may pay no coupon on a coupon payment date. The amount that you will be paid on your notes is based on the performances of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index and the S&P 500^® Index.

On each coupon observation date (the 19th day of each March, June, September and December, commencing in December 2016 and ending in September 2017, provided that the coupon observation date in September 2017 is September 25, 2017), if the closing level of each index is greater than or equal to 90.00% of its initial level (the initial levels are 247.62 with respect to the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index and 2,139.12 with respect to the S&P 500^® Index), you will receive on the applicable coupon payment date (the third business day after each coupon observation date) a coupon of $21.375 for each $1,000 face amount of your notes. If the closing level of any index on a coupon observation date is less than 90.00% of its initial level, you will not receive a coupon on the applicable coupon payment date.

The amount that you will be paid on your notes on the stated maturity date (September 28, 2017), is based on the performance of the lesser performing index (the index with the lowest index return). The index return for each index is the percentage increase or decrease in the final level (the closing level of the index on the determination date) from its initial level.

At maturity, for each $1,000 face amount of your notes, you will receive an amount in cash equal to:

·	if the index return of each index is greater than or equal to -10.00% (the final level of each index is greater than or equal to 90.00% of its initial level), $1,000 plus the final coupon of $21.375; or

if the index return of any index is less than -10.00% (the final level of any index is less than 90.00% of its initial level), the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) the sum of the lesser performing index return plus 10.00% times (b) $1,000. You will receive less than the face amount of your notes and you will not receive a final coupon.

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-10.

The estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date is equal to approximately $990 per $1,000 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:	September 22, 2016	Original issue price:	100.00% of the face amount
Underwriting discount:	0.475% of the face amount	Net proceeds to the issuer:	99.525% 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.

Pricing Supplement No. 659 dated September 19, 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 pricing 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 $990 per $1,000 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 $1,000 per $1,000 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 December 19, 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 pricing supplement and the accompanying documents listed below. This pricing supplement constitutes a supplement to the documents listed below and should be read in conjunction with such documents:

● General terms supplement no. 24 dated December 22, 2015

● Prospectus supplement dated December 22, 2015

● Prospectus dated December 22, 2015

The information in this pricing 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 pricing supplement as the “offered notes” or the “notes”. Each of the offered notes has the terms described below. Please note that in this pricing 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, references to the “accompanying prospectus supplement” mean the accompanying prospectus supplement, dated December 22, 2015, for Medium-Term Notes, Series E, and references to the “accompanying general terms supplement no. 24” mean the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24, dated December 22, 2015, in each case of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. The notes will be issued under 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.

This section is meant as a summary and should be read in conjunction with the section entitled “Supplemental Terms of the Notes” on page S-15 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24. Please note that certain features described in the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24 are not applicable to the notes. This pricing supplement supersedes any conflicting provisions of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24.

Key Terms

Issuer: GS Finance Corp.

Guarantor: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Underliers: the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index (Bloomberg symbol, “MXWDU Index”), as published by MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”), and the S&P 500^® Index (Bloomberg symbol, “SPX Index”), as published by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“S&P”); see “The Underliers” on page S-15

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

Face amount: each note will have a face amount equal to $1,000; $10,434,000 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 pricing supplement

Denominations: $1,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof

Purchase at amount other than face amount: the amount we will pay you for your notes on the stated maturity date 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 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. Also, the stated buffer level would not offer the same measure of protection to your investment as would be the case if you had 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-12 of this pricing 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

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derivative contract in respect of the underliers, 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 likely that any 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 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 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 coupon payment) and your tax basis in your notes.

Cash settlement amount (on the stated maturity date): for each $1,000 face amount of your notes, we will pay you on the stated maturity date an amount in cash equal to:

·	if the final underlier level of each underlier is greater than or equal to its buffer level, $1,000 plus the final coupon; or

·	if the final underlier level of any underlier is less than its buffer level, the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) $1,000 times (b) the sum of the lesser performing underlier return plus the buffer amount.

Buffer level: with respect to each underlier, 90.00% of its initial underlier level

Buffer amount: 10.00%

Lesser performing underlier return: the underlier return of the lesser performing underlier

Lesser performing underlier: the underlier with the lowest underlier return

Underlier return: with respect to each underlier on the determination date, the quotient of (i) the final underlier level minus the initial underlier level divided by (ii) the initial underlier level, expressed as a positive or negative percentage

Coupon: on each coupon payment date, for each $1,000 face amount of your notes, we will pay you an amount in cash equal to:

if the closing level of each underlier on the related coupon observation date is greater than or equal to 90.00% of its initial underlier level, $21.375; or

if the closing level of any underlier on the related coupon observation date is less than 90.00% of its initial underlier level, $0.00

Initial underlier level: 247.62 with respect to the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index and 2,139.12 with respect to the S&P 500^® Index

Final underlier level: with respect to each underlier, the closing level of such underlier on the determination date, except in the limited circumstances described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Consequences of a Market Disruption Event or a Non-Trading Day” on page S-22 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24 and subject to adjustment as provided under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Discontinuance or Modification of an Underlier” on page S-26 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24

Closing level: with respect to each underlier on any trading day, as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Special Calculation Provisions — Closing Level” on page S-30 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24

Defeasance: not applicable

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

Business day: as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Special Calculation Provisions — Business Day” on page S-29 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24

Trading day: with respect to the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index, a day on which the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index is calculated and published by the underlier sponsor, regardless of whether one or more of the principal securities markets for the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index are closed on that day, if the underlier sponsor publishes the level of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index on that day. With respect to the S&P 500^® Index, as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Special Calculation Provisions — Trading Day” on page S-29 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24

Trade date: September 19, 2016

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Original issue date (settlement date): September 22, 2016

Stated maturity date: September 28, 2017, subject to adjustment as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Stated Maturity Date” on page S-15 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24

Determination date: the last coupon observation date, September 25, 2017, subject to adjustment as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Determination Date” on page S-16 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24

Coupon observation dates: expected to be the 19th day of each March, June, September and December, commencing in December 2016 and ending in September 2017, provided that the coupon observation date in September 2017 is September 25, 2017, subject to adjustment as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Coupon Payments— Coupon Observation Dates” on page S-24 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24

Coupon payment dates: the third business day after each coupon observation date, subject to adjustment as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Coupon Payments— Coupon Payment Dates” on page S-24 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24

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)

Use of proceeds and hedging: as described under “Use of Proceeds” and “Hedging” on page S-92 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24

ERISA: as described under “Employee Retirement Income Security Act” on page S-93 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24

Supplemental plan of distribution; conflicts of interest: as described under “Supplemental Plan of Distribution” on page S-94 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24 and “Plan of Distribution — Conflicts of Interest” on page 76 of the accompanying prospectus; GS Finance Corp. estimates that its share of the total offering expenses, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $15,000.

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 pricing 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 pricing supplement, and to certain securities dealers at such price less a concession not in excess of 0.375% of the face amount. 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.

We will deliver the notes against payment therefor in New York, New York on September 22, 2016, which is the third scheduled business day following the date of this pricing 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.

Calculation agent: GS&Co.

CUSIP no.: 40054KKF2

ISIN no.: US40054KKF20

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 levels of the underliers on a coupon observation date could have on the coupon payable on the related coupon payment date and (ii) the impact that the various hypothetical closing levels of the lesser performing 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 underlier levels that are entirely hypothetical; no one can predict what the underlier level of any underlier will be on any day throughout the life of your notes, what the closing level of any underlier will be on any coupon observation date and what the final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier will be on the determination date. The underliers have been highly volatile in the past — meaning that the underlier levels have changed substantially in relatively short periods — and their 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 the stated maturity date. If you sell your notes in a secondary market prior to the stated maturity date, 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 examples below such as interest rates, the volatility of the underliers, 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-10 of this pricing supplement. The information in the examples also reflects the key terms and assumptions in the box below.

	Key Terms and Assumptions
	Face amount	$1,000
	Initial underlier level of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index	247.62
	Initial underlier level of the S&P 500^® Index	2,139.12
	Coupon	$21.375
	Buffer level	with respect to each underlier, 90.00% of its initial underlier level
	Buffer amount	10.00%
	Neither a market disruption event nor a non-trading day occurs on any of the originally scheduled coupon observation dates or the originally scheduled determination date
	No change in or affecting any of the underlier stocks or the method by which the applicable underlier sponsor calculates any underlier
	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 underliers over the life of your notes, the actual underlier levels on any coupon observation date, as well as the coupon payable, if any, on each coupon payment date, may bear little relation to the hypothetical examples shown below or to the historical underlier levels shown elsewhere in this pricing supplement. For information about the underlier levels during recent periods, see “The Underliers — Historical Closing Levels of the Underliers” on page S-17. Before investing in the notes, you should consult publicly available information to determine the underlier levels between the date of this pricing 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.

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Hypothetical Coupon Payments

The examples below show hypothetical performances of each underlier as well as the hypothetical coupons, if any, that we would pay on each coupon payment date with respect to each $1,000 face amount of the notes if the closing level of each underlier on the applicable coupon observation date were the hypothetical closing levels shown. 90.00% of the initial underlier level of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index is 222.858 and 90.00% of the initial underlier level of the S&P 500^® Index is 1,925.208.

Scenario 1

Hypothetical Coupon Observation Date	Hypothetical Closing Level of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index	Hypothetical Closing Level of the S&P 500^® Index	Hypothetical Coupon
First	300	1,650	$0.000
Second	250	1,700	$0.000
Third	235	2,200	$21.375
Fourth	200	1,900	$0.000
		Total Hypothetical Coupons	$21.375

In Scenario 1, the hypothetical closing level of each underlier increases and decreases by varying amounts on each hypothetical coupon observation date. Because the hypothetical closing level of each underlier on the third hypothetical coupon observation date is greater than or equal to 90.00% of its initial underlier level, the total of the hypothetical coupons in Scenario 1 is $21.375. Because the hypothetical closing level of at least one underlier on all other hypothetical coupon observation dates is less than 90.00% of its initial underlier level, no further coupons will be paid, including at maturity.

Scenario 2

Hypothetical Coupon Observation Date	Hypothetical Closing Level of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index	Hypothetical Closing Level of the S&P 500^® Index	Hypothetical Coupon
First	300	1,650	$0.000
Second	250	1,700	$0.000
Third	200	2,200	$0.000
Fourth	150	1,900	$0.000
		Total Hypothetical Coupons	$0.000

In Scenario 2, the hypothetical closing level of each underlier increases and decreases by varying amounts on each hypothetical coupon observation date. Because in each case the hypothetical closing level of at least one underlier on the related coupon observation date is less than 90.00% of its initial underlier level, you will not receive a coupon payment on the applicable hypothetical coupon payment date. Since this occurs on every hypothetical coupon observation date, the overall return you earn on your notes will be less than zero. Therefore, the total of the hypothetical coupons in Scenario 2 is $0.000.

Hypothetical Payment at Maturity

The levels in the left column of the table below represent hypothetical final underlier levels of the lesser performing underlier and are expressed as percentages of the initial underlier level of the lesser performing underlier. The amounts in the right column represent the hypothetical cash settlement amounts, based on the corresponding hypothetical final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier (expressed as a percentage of the initial underlier level of the lesser performing underlier), 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 $1,000 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 level of the lesser performing underlier (expressed as a percentage of the initial underlier level of the lesser performing underlier) and the assumptions noted above.

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Hypothetical Final Underlier Level of the Lesser Performing Underlier (as Percentage of Initial Underlier Level)	Hypothetical Cash Settlement Amount at Maturity (as Percentage of Face Amount)
175.000%	100.000%*
150.000%	100.000%*
125.000%	100.000%*
100.000%	100.000%*
95.000%	100.000%*
90.000%	100.000%*
89.999%	99.999%
80.000%	90.000%
60.000%	70.000%
40.000%	50.000%
35.000%	45.000%
25.000%	35.000%
10.000%	20.000%
0.000%	10.000%
*Does not include the final coupon

If, for example, the final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier were determined to be 25.000% of its initial underlier level, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be 35.000% 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 65.000% of your investment (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 level of the lesser performing underlier were determined to be 175.000% of its initial underlier level, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be limited to 100.000% of each $1,000 face amount of your notes, as shown in the table above. As a result, if you held your notes to the stated maturity date, you would not benefit from any increase in the final underlier level over the initial underlier level.

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 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-2 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24.

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 an interest-bearing bond bought by the holder and one or more options entered into between the holder and us (with one or more implicit option premiums paid over time). 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 pricing supplement.

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We cannot predict the actual closing levels of the underliers on any day, the final underlier levels of the underliers or what the market value of your notes will be on any particular trading day, nor can we predict the relationship between the closing levels of the underliers and the market value of your notes at any time prior to the stated maturity date. The actual 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 and the rate of return on the offered notes will depend on the actual closing levels of the underliers and the actual final underlier levels 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 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 may be very different from the information reflected in the 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, in the accompanying prospectus supplement and under “Additional Risk Factors Specific to the Notes” in the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24. You should carefully review these risks and considerations as well as the terms of the notes described herein and in the accompanying prospectus, the accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24. 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., with respect to an underlier to which your notes are linked, the stocks comprising such underlier. 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 this 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 “Additional Risk Factors Specific to the Notes — The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” on page S-2 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24.

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

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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 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 coupons (if any) and return on the notes will be based on the performance of each 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 a Substantial Portion of Your Investment in the Notes

You can lose a substantial portion of your investment in the notes. The cash settlement amount on your notes on the stated maturity date will be based on the performance of the lesser performing of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index and the S&P 500^® Index as measured from their initial underlier levels to their closing levels on the determination date. If the final underlier level of the lesser performing underlier for your notes is less than its buffer level, you will have a loss for each $1,000 of the face amount of your notes equal to the sum of the lesser performing underlier return plus the buffer amount times $1,000. Thus, you may lose a substantial portion of your investment in the notes, which would include any premium to face amount you paid when you purchased the notes.

Also, the market price of your notes prior to the stated maturity date 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 Coupon on Any Coupon Payment Date

If the closing level of any underlier on the related coupon observation date is less than 90.00% of its initial underlier level, you will not receive a coupon payment on the applicable coupon payment date. If this occurs on every coupon observation date, the overall return you earn on your notes will be less than zero and such return will be less than you would have earned by investing in a note that bears interest at the prevailing market rate.

On any coupon payment date, although you will receive a coupon if the closing level of each underlier on the related coupon observation date is greater than or equal to 90.00% of its initial underlier level, the coupon paid on the corresponding coupon payment date will be equal to $21.375. You should be aware that, with respect to any prior coupon observation dates that did not result in the payment of a coupon, you will not be compensated for any opportunity cost implied by inflation and other factors relating to the time value of money. Further, there is no guarantee that you will receive any coupon payment with respect to the notes at any time.

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The Coupon Does Not Reflect the Actual Performance of the Underliers from the Trade Date to Any Coupon Observation Date or from Coupon Observation Date to Coupon Observation Date

The coupon for each quarterly coupon payment date is different from, and may be less than, a coupon determined based on the percentage difference of the closing levels of the underliers between the trade date and any coupon observation date or between two coupon observation dates. Accordingly, the coupons, if any, on the notes may be less than the return you could earn on another instrument linked to the underliers that pays coupons based on the performance of the underliers from the trade date to any coupon observation date or from coupon observation date to coupon observation date.

The Cash Settlement Amount Will Be Based Solely on the Lesser Performing Underlier

The cash settlement amount will be based on the lesser performing underlier without regard to the performance of the other underlier. As a result, you could lose some or a substantial portion of your initial investment if the lesser performing underlier return is negative, even if there is an increase in the level of the other underlier. This could be the case even if the other underlier increased by an amount greater than the decrease in the lesser performing underlier.

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 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 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 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. In addition, the impact of the buffer level on the return on your investment will depend upon the price you pay for your notes relative to face amount. For example, if you purchase your notes at a premium to face amount, the buffer level, while still providing some protection for the return on the notes, will allow a greater percentage decrease in your investment in the notes than would have been the case for notes purchased at face amount or a discount to face amount.

If the Levels of the Underliers 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 underliers. Changes in the levels of the underliers may not result in a comparable change in the market value of your notes. Even if the closing level of each underlier is greater than or equal to 90.00% of its initial underlier level 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” on page S-2 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24.

An Investment in the Offered Notes Is Subject to Risks Associated with Foreign Securities Markets

The performance of your notes is linked in part to the performance of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index, which is comprised of stocks from multiple foreign securities markets, including both developed and emerging equity markets. Investments linked to the value of foreign equity securities involve particular risks. Any foreign securities market may be less liquid, more volatile and affected by global or domestic market developments in a different way than are the U.S. securities market or other foreign securities markets. Both government intervention in a foreign securities market, either directly or indirectly, and

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cross-shareholdings in foreign companies, may affect trading prices and volumes in that market. Also, there is generally less publicly available information about foreign companies than about those U.S. companies that are subject to the reporting requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Further, foreign companies are subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements that differ from those applicable to U.S. reporting companies.

The prices of securities in a foreign country are subject to political, economic, financial and social factors that are unique to such foreign country’s geographical region. These factors include: recent changes, or the possibility of future changes, in the applicable foreign government’s economic and fiscal policies; the possible implementation of, or changes in, currency exchange laws or other laws or restrictions applicable to foreign companies or investments in foreign equity securities; fluctuations, or the possibility of fluctuations, in currency exchange rates; and the possibility of outbreaks of hostility, political instability, natural disaster or adverse public health developments. Any one of these factors, or a combination of these factors, could negatively affect such foreign securities market and the price of securities therein. Further, geographical regions may react to global factors in different ways, which may cause the prices of securities in a foreign securities market to fluctuate in a way that differs from those of securities in the U.S. securities market or other foreign securities markets. Foreign economies may also differ from the U.S. economy in important respects, including growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resources and self-sufficiency, which may have a positive or negative effect on foreign securities prices.

In addition, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index includes component securities from 23 emerging market countries, which include Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Countries with emerging markets may have relatively unstable governments, may present the risks of nationalization of businesses, restrictions on foreign ownership and prohibitions on the repatriation of assets, and may have less protection of property rights than more developed countries. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme and volatile debt burdens or inflation rates. Local securities markets may trade a small number of securities and may be unable to respond effectively to increases in trading volume, potentially making prompt liquidation of holdings difficult or impossible at times.

Your Investment in the Notes Will Be Subject to Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

Because the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index is a U.S. dollar denominated index whose underlying stock prices are converted by the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index sponsor into U.S. dollars for purposes of calculating the value of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index, investors in the notes will be exposed to currency exchange rate risk with respect to each of the currencies represented in the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index which are converted in such manner. An investor’s net exposure will depend on the extent to which the currencies represented in the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index strengthen or weaken against the U.S. dollar and the relative weight of each relevant currency represented in the overall MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. If, taking into account such weighting, the U.S. dollar strengthens against the component currencies, the value of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index will be adversely affected and the amount payable at maturity of the notes may be reduced.

Regulators Are Investigating Potential Manipulation of Published Currency Exchange Rates

It has been reported that the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and regulators from other countries are in the process of investigating the potential manipulation of published currency exchange rates. If such manipulation has occurred or is continuing, certain published exchange rates may have been, or may be in the future, artificially lower (or higher) than they would otherwise have been. Any such manipulation could have an adverse impact on any payments on, and the value of, your notes and the trading market for your notes. In addition, we cannot predict whether any changes or reforms affecting the determination or publication of exchange rates or the supervision of currency trading will be implemented in connection with these investigations. Any such changes or reforms could also adversely impact your notes.

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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 pricing 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 pricing supplement.

The Tax Consequences of an Investment in Your Notes Are Uncertain

The tax consequences of an investment in your notes are uncertain, both as to the timing and character of any inclusion in income in respect of your notes.

The Internal Revenue Service announced on December 7, 2007 that it is considering issuing guidance regarding the tax treatment of an instrument such as your notes, and any such guidance could adversely affect the value and the tax treatment 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-20 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.

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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THE UNDERLIERS

The MSCI ACWI ex USA Index

The MSCI ACWI ex USA Index is a stock index calculated, published and disseminated daily by MSCI Inc. (MSCI), through numerous data vendors, on the MSCI website and in real time on Bloomberg Financial Markets and Reuters Limited. The MSCI ACWI ex USA Index is a free float adjusted market capitalization index and is part of the MSCI Global Investable Market Indices. The MSCI ACWI ex USA Index is considered a “standard” index, which means it consists of all eligible large capitalization and mid-capitalization stocks, as determined by MSCI, in the relevant market. Additional information about the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index may be obtained from other sources including, but not limited to, press releases, newspaper articles, other publicly available documents and the following website: msci.com/index-methodology. Daily closing price information for the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index is available on the following website: mscibarra.com/products/indices/international_equity_indices/performance.html. We are not incorporating by reference these websites, the sources listed above or any material they include in this pricing supplement.

The MSCI ACWI ex USA Index is intended to provide performance benchmarks for 22 of 23 developed equity markets (the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index excludes the United States) and 23 emerging equity markets. The constituent stocks of the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index are derived from the constituent stocks in the 45 MSCI standard single country indices for the countries listed below. The MSCI ACWI ex USA Index has a base date of December 31, 1987.

MSCI ACWI ex USA Index

Index Stock Weighting by Country*

as of September 14, 2016

Developed Market Country:	Percentage (%)	Emerging Market Country:	Percentage (%)
Australia	4.9006%	Brazil	1.6600%
Austria	0.1281%	Chile	0.2662%
Belgium	0.9380%	China	6.3155%
Canada	6.6345%	Colombia	0.1063%
Denmark	1.3011%	Czech Republic	0.0353%
Finland	0.6849%	Egypt	0.0437%
France	6.8391%	Greece	0.0739%
Germany	6.3387%	Hungary	0.0666%
Hong Kong	2.4670%	India	2.0074%
Ireland	0.3359%	Indonesia	0.6050%
Israel	0.5307%	Korea, Republic Of	3.3677%
Italy	1.3692%	Malaysia	0.6328%
Japan	16.7596%	Mexico	0.8457%
Netherlands	2.3234%	Peru	0.0880%
New Zealand	0.1383%	Philippines	0.3171%
Norway	0.4316%	Poland	0.2526%
Portugal	0.1040%	Qatar	0.2075%
Singapore	0.8888%	Russian Federation	0.8487%
Spain	2.1531%	South Africa	1.6503%
Sweden	1.9840%	Taiwan, Province Of China	2.7392%
Switzerland	6.3973%	Thailand	0.5087%
United Kingdom	13.2326%	Turkey	0.2805%
		United Arab Emirates	0.2007%

*Information provided by MSCI. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

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MSCI ACWI ex USA Index

Index Stock Weighting by Sector

as of August 31, 2016

Sector**	Percentage (%)*
Consumer Discretionary	11.51%
Consumer Staples	11.05%
Energy	6.44%
Financials	25.23%
Health Care	8.69%
Industrials	11.76%
Information Technology	9.52%
Materials	7.35%
Telecommunication Services	5.05%
Utilities	3.40%

*Information provided by MSCI. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

**Sector designations are determined by the underlier sponsor using criteria it has selected or developed. Index 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 also differ. As a result, sector comparisons between indices with different index sponsors may reflect differences in methodology as well as actual differences in the sector composition of the indices.

Constituent index means any of the developed equity market country indices comprising the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index.

The above information supplements the description of the MSCI Global Investable Market Indices found in the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24. For more details about the underlier methodology, the underlier sponsor and license agreement between the underlier sponsor and the issuer, see “The Underliers — MSCI Indices” on page S-45 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24.

The MSCI indices are the exclusive property of MSCI Inc. (“MSCI”). MSCI and the MSCI index names are service mark(s) of MSCI or its affiliates and are licensed for use for certain purposes by GS Finance Corp. and its affiliates. These securities, based on such index, have not been passed on by MSCI as to their legality or suitability, and are not issued, sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by MSCI, and MSCI bears no liability with respect to any such securities. No purchaser, seller or holder of the securities, or any other person or entity, should use or refer to any MSCI trade name, trademark or service mark to sponsor, endorse, market or promote the securities without first contacting MSCI to determine whether MSCI’s permission is required. Under no circumstances may any person or entity claim any affiliation with MSCI without the prior written permission of MSCI. The general terms supplement contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI has with GS Finance Corp. and any related securities.

The S&P 500^® Index

The S&P 500^® Index includes a representative sample of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The S&P 500^® Index is calculated, maintained and published by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC.

As of September 2, 2016, the 500 companies included in the S&P 500^®Index were divided into eleven Global Industry Classification Sectors. The Global Industry Classification Sectors include (with the approximate percentage currently included in such sectors indicated in parentheses): Consumer Discretionary (12.05%), Consumer Staples (10.08%), Energy (7.02%), Financials (13.18%), Health Care (14.55%), Industrials (10.11%), Information Technology (21.05%), Materials (2.94%), Real Estate (3.10%), Telecommunication Services (2.66%) and Utilities (3.25%). (Sector designations are determined by the underlier sponsor using criteria it has selected or developed. Index 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 also differ. As a result, sector comparisons between indices with different index sponsors may reflect differences in methodology as well as actual differences in the sector composition of the indices.)

In addition to the criteria for addition to the underlier set forth in the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24, a company must have a primary listing of its common stock on the NYSE, NYSE Arca,

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NYSE MKT, NASDAQ Global Select Market, NASDAQ Select Market, NASDAQ Capital Market, Bats BZX, Bats BYX, Bats EDGA or Bats EDGX.

The above information supplements the description of the underlier found in the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24. This information was derived from information prepared by the underlier sponsor, however, the percentages we have listed above are approximate and may not match the information available on the underlier sponsor’s website due to subsequent corporate actions or other activity relating to a particular stock. For more details about the underlier, the underlier sponsor and license agreement between the underlier sponsor and the issuer, see “The Underliers — S&P 500^® Index” on page S-39 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 24.

The S&P 500^® Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, and has been licensed for use by GS Finance Corp. (“Goldman”). Standard & Poor’s^® and S&P^® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC; Dow Jones^® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”) and these trademarks have been licensed for use by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and sublicensed for certain purposes by Goldman. Goldman’s notes are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC or any of their respective affiliates and neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC or any of their respective affiliates make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such notes.

Historical Closing Levels of the Underliers

The closing levels of the underliers have fluctuated in the past and may, in the future, experience significant fluctuations. Any historical upward or downward trend in the closing level of any 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 levels of an underlier as an indication of the future performance of an underlier. We cannot give you any assurance that the future performance of any underlier or the underlier stocks will result in you receiving any 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 underliers. Before investing in the offered notes, you should consult publicly available information to determine the relevant underlier levels between the date of this pricing 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 levels shown below.

The graphs below show the daily historical closing levels of each underlier from September 19, 2006 through September 19, 2016. We obtained the levels 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 underliers. Except as otherwise stated below, the discussion below assumes that the notes will be so treated.

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 or maturity of your notes, you should recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized on the sale, exchange or maturity (excluding any amounts attributable to accrued and unpaid 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.

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 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.

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 or maturity of your notes should be treated as ordinary income or (2) you should not include the coupon payments in income as you receive them but instead you should reduce your basis in your notes by the amount of 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.

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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 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 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.

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, and whether the special “constructive ownership rules” of Section 1260 of the Internal Revenue Code might be applied to such instruments. 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.

Because the U.S. federal income tax treatment (including the applicability of withholding) of the coupon payments on the notes is uncertain, in the absence of further guidance, we intend to withhold on the 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

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rate would apply to any possible characterization of the payments (including, for example, if the coupon payments were characterized as contract fees). Withholding also may not apply to coupon payments made to you if: (i) the 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 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.

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 or other disposition of the notes (including payment at maturity) made before January 1, 2019.

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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 pricing supplement have been executed and issued by GS Finance Corp., the related guarantee offered by this pricing 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.

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