424B2 1 form424b2.htm PRICING SUPPLEMENT NO. 2,210 DATED NOVEMBER 6, 2017
Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)
Registration Statement No. 333-219206
GS Finance Corp.
 
$790,000
Buffered Commodity-Linked Notes due 2023
guaranteed by
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
  
The notes do not bear interest.  The amount that you will be paid on your notes on the stated maturity date (May 11, 2023) is based on the performance of the official U.S. dollar LBMA Gold Price PM (expressed in dollar per troy ounce) as measured from the trade date (November 6, 2017) to and including the determination date (May 8, 2023). If the final LBMA Gold Price PM on the determination date is greater than the initial LBMA Gold Price PM of 1,270.90, the return on your notes will be positive and will equal the gold return, subject to the maximum settlement amount of $1,600 for each $1,000 face amount of your notes. If the final LBMA Gold Price PM declines by up to 20% from the initial LBMA Gold Price PM, you will receive the face amount of your notes. If the final LBMA Gold Price PM declines by more than 20% from the initial LBMA Gold Price PM, the return on your notes will be negative and will equal the gold return plus 20%. You could lose a significant portion of the face amount of your notes.
To determine your payment at maturity, we will calculate the gold return, which is the percentage increase or decrease in the final LBMA Gold Price PM from the initial LBMA Gold Price PM. At maturity, for each $1,000 face amount of your notes, you will receive an amount in cash equal to:
●
if the gold return is positive (the final LBMA Gold Price PM is greater than the initial LBMA Gold Price PM), the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) $1,000 times (b) the gold return, subject to the maximum settlement amount;
●
if the gold return is zero or negative but not below -20% (the final LBMA Gold Price PM is equal to the initial LBMA Gold Price PM or is less than the initial LBMA Gold Price PM, but not by more than 20%), $1,000; or
●
if the gold return is negative and is below -20% (the final LBMA Gold Price PM is less than the initial LBMA Gold Price PM by more than 20%), the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) the sum of the gold return plus 20% times (b) $1,000. You will receive less than the face amount of your notes.
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 PS-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 $950 per $1,000 face amount. For a discussion of the estimated value and the price at which Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC would initially buy or sell your notes, if it makes a market in the notes, see the following page.
Original issue date:
November 9, 2017
Original issue price:
100% of the face amount
Underwriting discount:
0.35% of the face amount
Net proceeds to the issuer:
99.65% 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. LLC
Pricing Supplement No. 2,210 dated November 6, 2017.
 
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. LLC 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. LLC (GS&Co.) and taking into account our credit spreads) is equal to approximately $950 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 the estimated value of your notes at the time of pricing, plus an additional amount (initially equal to $50 per $1,000 face amount).
Prior to November 6, 2018, the price (not including GS&Co.’s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co. would buy or sell your notes (if it makes a market, which it is not obligated to do) will equal approximately the sum of (a) the then-current estimated value of your notes (as determined by reference to GS&Co.’s pricing models) plus (b) any remaining additional amount (the additional amount will decline to zero on a straight-line basis from the time of pricing through November 5, 2018). On and after November 6, 2018, the price (not including GS&Co.’s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co. would buy or sell your notes (if it makes a market) will equal approximately the then-current estimated value of your notes determined by reference to such pricing models.
 
 
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:
●            Prospectus dated July 10, 2017
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.
  
 
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 July 10, 2017, references to the “accompanying prospectus supplement” mean the accompanying prospectus supplement, dated July 10, 2017, for Medium-Term Notes, Series E, and references to the “accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737” mean the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737, dated July 10, 2017, 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-16 of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737. Please note that certain features, as noted below, described in the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737 are not applicable to the notes. This pricing supplement supersedes any conflicting provisions of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737.
  
Key Terms
Issuer:
GS Finance Corp.
Guarantor:
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Underlier:
the official U.S. dollar LBMA Gold Price PM (expressed in dollar per troy ounce) calculated and administered by ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”) and published by the London Bullion Market Association (“LBMA”) (Bloomberg: “GOLDLNPM”) (or any official successor thereto)
Underlier commodity:
the physical commodity upon which the underlier is based
Specified currency:
U.S. dollars (“$”)
Face amount:
each note will have a face amount of $1,000; $790,000 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
Purchase at amount other than
face amount:
the amount we will pay you at the stated maturity date for your notes 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. Additionally, the cap level would be triggered at a lower (or higher) percentage return than indicated below, relative to your initial investment. 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 PS-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 a pre-paid derivative contract in respect of the underlier, as described under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” on page PS-18 of this pricing supplement.  Pursuant to this approach, it is the opinion of Sidley Austin llp that 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 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 is greater than or equal to the cap level, the maximum settlement amount;
●        if the final underlier level is greater than the initial underlier level but less than the cap level, the sum of (1) $1,000 plus (2) the product of (i) $1,000 times (ii) the underlier return;
●        if the final underlier level is equal to or less than the initial underlier level but greater than or equal to the buffer level, $1,000; or
●        if the final underlier level is less than the buffer level, the sum of (1) $1,000 plus (2) the product of (i) $1,000 times (ii) the buffer rate times (iii) the sum of the underlier return plus the buffer amount
Initial underlier level:
1,270.90
Final underlier level:
 
the closing level of the underlier on the determination date, except in the limited circumstances described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Consequences of a Non-Trading Day or a Market Disruption Event — Notes Linked to a Single Underlier” on page S-21 of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737 and subject to adjustment as provided under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Discontinuance or Modification of an Underlier” on page S-25 of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737
Underlier return:
the quotient of (1) the final underlier level minus the initial underlier level divided by (2) the initial underlier level, expressed as a percentage
Market disruption event:
 
notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737, with respect to the underlier, any of the following will be a market disruption event on any given day:
(1)  (i) trading in the underlier commodity permanently ceases, (ii) the disappearance of, or of trading in, the underlier commodity or (iii) the disappearance of the settlement price;
(2)  a material change in the content of the underlier commodity;
(3)  a material change in the formula for or method of calculating
 
 
the settlement price;
(4)  (i) the failure of the price source to announce the settlement price or (ii) the temporary or permanent unavailability of the price source; or
(5)  the material suspension of, or material limitation on, trading in the underlier commodity, including where the relevant trading facility establishes limits on the range within which the price of the underlier commodity may fluctuate and the closing or settlement price of the underlier commodity has increased or decreased from the previous day’s settlement price by the maximum amount permitted under the rules of the relevant trading facility.
 
For this purpose, “settlement price” means the official settlement price of the underlier commodity as published by the trading facility on which it is traded. “Price source” means the publication (or such other origin of reference, including a trading facility) containing (or reporting) the settlement price (or prices from which the settlement price is calculated)
Cap level:
160% of the initial underlier level
Maximum settlement amount:
$1,600
Buffer level:
80% of the initial underlier level
Buffer amount:
20%
Buffer rate:
100%
Trade date:
November 6, 2017
Original issue date (settlement
date):
November 9, 2017
Determination date:
May 8, 2023, subject to adjustment as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Determination Date” on page S-19 of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737
Stated maturity date:
May 11, 2023, subject to adjustment as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Stated Maturity Date” on page S-18 of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737
No interest:
the offered notes do not bear interest
No listing:
the offered notes will not be listed on any securities exchange or interdealer quotation system
No redemption:
the offered notes will not be subject to redemption right or price dependent redemption right
Closing level:
on any trading day, the official U.S. dollar LBMA Gold Price PM (expressed in dollar per troy ounce) published by the LBMA after the IBA auction process at approximately 3:00 pm London time
Business day:
as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Special Calculation Provisions — Business Day” on page S-28 of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737
Trading day:
as described under “Supplemental Terms of the Notes — Special Calculation Provisions — Trading Day” on page S-28 of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737
 
Use of proceeds and hedging:
as described under “Use of Proceeds” and “Hedging” on page S-54 of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737
ERISA:
as described under “Employee Retirement Income Security Act” on page S-55 of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737
Supplemental plan of
distribution; conflicts of
interest:
 
as described under “Supplemental Plan of Distribution” on page S-56 of the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737 and “Plan of Distribution – Conflicts of Interest” on page 94 of the accompanying prospectus; GS Finance Corp. estimates that its share of the total offering expenses, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $20,000.
GS Finance Corp. will sell to Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (“GS&Co.”), and GS&Co. will 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. 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 November 9, 2017, which is the third scheduled business day following the date of this pricing supplement and of the pricing of the notes. Under Rule 15c6-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, trades in the secondary market generally are required to settle in two business days, unless the parties to any such trade expressly agree otherwise. Accordingly, purchasers who wish to trade notes on any date prior to two business days before delivery will be required, by virtue of the fact that the notes will initially settle in three business days (T + 3), to specify alternative settlement arrangements to prevent a failed settlement.
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.:
40054LXS8
ISIN no.:
US40054LXS86
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
 
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 the impact that the various hypothetical final underlier levels 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 final underlier levels that are entirely hypothetical; no one can predict what the underlier level will be on any day throughout the life of your notes, and no one can predict what the final underlier level will be on the determination date. The underlier has been highly volatile in the past — meaning that the underlier level has changed considerably in relatively short periods — and its performance cannot be predicted for any future period.
The information in the following examples reflects 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 table 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 PS-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
Cap level
160%
Maximum settlement amount
$1,600
Buffer level
80% of the initial underlier level
Buffer rate
100%
Buffer amount
20%
Neither a non-trading day nor a market disruption event occurs on the originally scheduled determination date
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, as well as the amount payable at maturity 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 historical levels of the underlier during recent periods, see “The Underlier — Historical Closing Levels of the Underlier” below.  Before investing in the offered notes, you should consult publicly available information to determine the levels of the underlier between the date of this pricing supplement and the date of your purchase of the offered notes.
Also, the hypothetical examples shown below do not take into account the effects of applicable taxes.
The levels in the left column of the table below represent hypothetical final underlier levels and are expressed as percentages of the initial underlier level.  The amounts in the right column represent the hypothetical cash settlement amounts, based on the corresponding hypothetical final underlier level (expressed as a percentage of the initial underlier level), 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 (expressed as a percentage of the initial underlier level) and the assumptions noted above.
 
Hypothetical Final Underlier Level
(as Percentage of Initial Underlier Level)
Hypothetical Cash Settlement Amount
(as Percentage of Face Amount)
200.000%
160.000%
180.000%
160.000%
175.000%
160.000%
160.000%
160.000%
150.000%
150.000%
125.000%
125.000%
100.000%
100.000%
95.000%
100.000%
90.000%
100.000%
80.000%
100.000%
75.000%
95.000%
50.000%
70.000%
25.000%
45.000%
0.000%
20.000%
If, for example, the final underlier level were determined to be 25.000% of the initial underlier level, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be 45.000% 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 55.000% of your investment (if you purchased your notes at a premium to face amount you would lose a correspondingly higher percentage of your investment). If the final underlier level were determined to be 0.000% of the initial underlier level, you would lose 80.000% of your investment in the notes.  In addition, if the final underlier level were determined to be 200.000% of the initial underlier level, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be capped at the maximum settlement amount, or 160.000% 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 of greater than 160.000% of the initial underlier level.
The following chart shows a graphical illustration of the hypothetical cash settlement amounts that we would pay on your notes on the stated maturity date, if the final underlier level were any of the hypothetical levels shown on the horizontal axis. The hypothetical cash settlement amounts in the chart are expressed as percentages of the face amount of your notes and the hypothetical final underlier levels are expressed as percentages of the initial underlier level. The chart shows that any hypothetical final underlier level of less than 80.000% (the section left of the 80.000% marker on the horizontal axis) would result in a hypothetical cash settlement amount of less than 100.000% of the face amount of your notes (the section below the 100.000% marker on the vertical axis) and, accordingly, in a loss of principal to the holder of the notes. The chart also shows that any hypothetical final underlier level of greater than or equal to 160.000% (the section right of the 160.000% marker on the horizontal axis) would result in a capped return on your investment.
 
The cash settlement amounts shown above are entirely hypothetical; they are based on market prices for the underlier 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 PS-12.
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.
 
We cannot predict the actual final underlier level or what the market value of your notes will be on any particular trading day, nor can we predict the relationship between the underlier level and the market value of your notes at any time prior to the stated maturity date.  The actual amount that you will receive at maturity and the rate of return on the offered notes will depend on the actual final underlier level determined by the calculation agent as described above.  Moreover, the assumptions on which the hypothetical returns are based may turn out to be inaccurate.  Consequently, the amount of cash 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.
  
 
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 commodity terms supplement no. 1,737.  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 commodity terms supplement no. 1,737.  Your notes are a riskier investment than ordinary debt securities.  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, this excess (i.e., the additional amount described under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”) will decline to zero 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 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 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 42 of the accompanying prospectus.
The Cash Settlement Amount Payable on Your Notes Is Not Linked to the Closing Level of the Underlier at Any Time Other than the Determination Date
The final underlier level will be based on the closing level of the underlier on the determination date (subject to adjustment as described elsewhere in this pricing supplement). Therefore, if the closing level of the underlier decreased precipitously on the determination date, the cash settlement amount for your notes may be significantly less than it would have been had the cash settlement amount been linked to the closing level of the underlier prior to such decline. Although the actual level of the underlier on the stated maturity date or at other times during the life of your notes may be higher than the final underlier level, you will not benefit from the closing level of the underlier at any time other than on the determination date.
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 payment on your notes on the stated maturity date will be based on the performance of the official U.S. dollar LBMA Gold Price PM as measured from the initial underlier level to the closing level on the determination date. If the final underlier level is less than the buffer level, you will have a loss for each $1,000 of the face amount of your notes equal to the product of (i) the sum of the underlier return plus the buffer amount times (ii) $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.
Your Notes Do Not Bear Interest
You will not receive any interest payments on your notes. As a result, even if the cash settlement amount payable for your notes on the stated maturity date exceeds the face amount of your notes, the overall return you earn on your notes may be less than you would have earned by investing in a non-indexed debt security of comparable maturity that bears interest at a prevailing market rate.
The Potential for the Value of Your Notes to Increase Will Be Limited
Your ability to participate in any change in the value of the underlier over the life of your notes will be limited because of the cap level. The maximum settlement amount will limit the cash settlement amount
 
you may receive for each of your notes at maturity, no matter how much the level of the underlier may rise beyond the cap level over the life of your notes. Accordingly, the amount payable for each of your notes may be significantly less than it would have been had you invested directly in the underlier.
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 original issue price you paid as provided on the cover of this pricing supplement.
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 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 and the cap 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 cap level will only permit a lower positive return in your investment in the notes than would have been the case for notes purchased at face amount or a discount to face amount. Similarly, 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.
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 ask prices for your notes in any secondary market could be substantial.
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:
·
the level of the underlier;
·
the volatility — i.e., the frequency and magnitude of changes — in the underlier level;
·
economic, financial, regulatory, political, military and other events that affect commodity markets generally and the market segments of which gold is a part, and which may affect the level 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, 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 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.
 
You cannot predict future changes in the underlier level based on historical changes in the underlier level. The actual changes in the underlier level over the life of the notes, as well as the amount payable on the stated maturity date, may bear little or no relation to the historical underlier levels or to the hypothetical return examples shown elsewhere in this pricing supplement.
If the Level of the Underlier Changes, the Market Value of Your Notes May Not Change in the Same Manner
Your notes may trade quite differently from changes in the underlier level.  Changes in the underlier level may not result in a comparable change in the market value of your notes.  We discuss some of the reasons for this disparity under “— The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” above.
You Have No Rights with Respect to Gold or Rights to Receive Gold
Investing in your notes will not make you a holder of gold. Neither you nor any other holder or owner of your notes will have any rights with respect to gold. Your notes will be paid in cash, and you will have no right to receive delivery of gold.
There Are Risks Associated with an Investment Linked to the Prices of Commodities Generally
The market prices of commodities can be highly volatile. Unlike fixed-income and equity investments, commodity market prices are not related to the value of a future income or earnings stream, and may be subject to rapid fluctuations based on numerous factors. In addition, many commodities are highly cyclical. These factors may have a larger impact on commodity prices and commodity-linked instruments than on instruments linked to traditional fixed-income and equity securities and may create additional investment risks that cause the value of the securities to be more volatile than the values of traditional securities. These and other factors may affect the performance of the underlier, and thus the value of your notes, in unpredictable or unanticipated ways.
Commodity Prices May Change Unpredictably, Affecting the Value of Your Notes in Unforeseeable Ways
Commodity prices are affected by a variety of factors, including weather, governmental programs and policies, national and international political, military, terrorist and economic events, changes in interest and exchange rates and trading activities in commodities and related contracts. These factors may affect the levels of the underlier and the value of your notes in varying ways, and different factors may cause the value of different commodities and the volatilities of their prices to move in inconsistent directions and at inconsistent rates.
The Underlier May Change Unpredictably, Affecting the Value of Your Notes in Unforeseeable Ways
The underlier price has fluctuated widely in recent years.  Among the factors that may affect the underlier and the value of your notes in varying ways are:
·
global supply and demand of gold, which may be influenced by such factors as gold’s uses in jewelry, technology and industrial applications, purchases made by investors in the form of bars, coins and other gold products, forward selling by gold producers, purchases made by gold producers to unwind their hedge positions, central bank purchases and sales, and production and cost levels in the major gold-producing countries such as South Africa, the United States and Australia;
·
adjustments to inventory;
·
variations in production costs, including storage, labor and energy costs;
·
costs associated with regulatory compliance, including environmental regulations;
·
interest rates;
·
investors’ expectations concerning inflation rates;
 
·
currency exchange rates;
·
investment and trading activities of hedge funds and commodity funds;
·
global or regional political, economic or financial events and situations, especially those unexpected in nature;
·
the degree to which consumers, governments, corporate and financial institutions hold physical gold as a safe haven asset (hoarding) which may be caused by a banking crisis/recovery, a rapid change in the value of other assets (both financial and physical) or changes in the level of geopolitical tension; and
·
other economic variables such as income growth, economic output and monetary policies.
Gold markets have historically experienced extended periods of flat or declining prices, in addition to sharp fluctuations. There is no assurance that gold will maintain its long-term value in terms of purchasing power in the future. If the price of gold declines, the Issuer expects the value of your notes to decline proportionately.
There Are Risks Associated with a Concentrated Investment in a Single Commodity
The cash settlement amount on the notes is linked exclusively to the underlier and not to a basket consisting of several diversified commodities or a broad-based commodity index.  The underlier may not correlate to the price of commodities generally and may diverge significantly from the prices of commodities generally.  Because the notes are linked to the price of a single commodity, the notes may carry greater risk and may be more volatile than a security linked to the prices of multiple commodities or a broad-based commodity index.
Economic or Political Events or Crises Could Result in Large-Scale Purchases or Sales of Gold, Which Could Affect the Underlier and May Adversely Affect the Value of an Investment in the Notes
Many investors, institutions, governments and others purchase and sell gold as a hedge against inflation, market turmoil or uncertainty or political events.  Under such circumstances, significant large-scale purchases or sales of gold by market participants may affect the level of the underlier, which could adversely affect the value of an investment in the notes.
Substantial Sales of Gold by Governments or Public Sector Entities Could Result in Price Decreases, Which Would Adversely Affect the Value of an Investment in the Notes
Governments and other public sector entities, such as agencies of governments and multi-national institutions, regularly buy, sell and hold gold as part of the management of their reserves.  In the event that economic, political or social conditions or pressures require or motivate public sector entities to sell gold, in a coordinated or uncoordinated manner, the resulting sales could cause the level of the underlier to decrease substantially, which could adversely affect the value of an investment in the notes.
Potential Discrepancies, or Future Changes, in the Calculation of the Underlier Could Have an Adverse Effect on an Investment in the Notes
ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) is the administrator for the underlier, and IBA provides the auction platform, methodology as well as overall independent administration and governance for the underlier. As the administrator of the underlier, IBA operates an electronic and tradeable auction process. The price formation is in U.S. dollars only and prices are set twice daily at 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. (London time). Within the process, aggregated gold bids and offers are updated in real-time with the imbalance calculated and the price updated every 30 seconds until the buy and sell orders are matched. If the underlier varies materially from the price of gold determined by other mechanisms, the value of an investment in the notes could be adversely impacted. The calculation of the underlier is not an exact process, but is based upon a procedure of matching orders from participants in the auction process and their customers to sell gold with orders from participants in the auction process and their customers to buy gold at particular prices. The underlier does not therefore purport to reflect each buyer or seller of gold in the market, nor does it purport to set a definitive price for gold at which all orders for sale or purchase will take place on that particular day or time. All orders placed into the auction process by the participants will
 
be executed on the basis of the price determined pursuant to the underlier auction process. Any future developments or changes in the determination of the underlier, to the extent they have a material impact on the underlier, could adversely affect an investment in the notes.
You Will Not Have Any Rights Against the Publishers of the Underlier
You will have no rights against the publishers of the underlier, even though the amount you receive at maturity, if any, will depend on the percentage change in the closing level of the underlier from the trade date to the determination date.  The publishers of the underlier are not in any way involved in this offering and have no obligations relating to the notes or to the holders of the notes.  You will not own or have any beneficial or other legal interest in, and will not be entitled to any rights with respect to, gold or options, swaps or futures based upon the underlier.
Your Notes May Be Subject to an Adverse Change in Tax Treatment in the Future
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 will 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 U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences – United States Holders – Possible Change in Law” on page PS-19 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 U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” on page PS-18 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.
Individuals Should Consider the Potential Applicability of the Maximum 28% Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rate Applicable to Gains from the Sale of Collectibles
It is possible that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service could assert that your notes should be treated as giving rise to “collectibles” gain or loss if you have held your notes for more than one year, although we do not think such a treatment would be appropriate in this case because a sale or exchange of the notes is not a sale or exchange of a collectible but is rather a sale or exchange of a derivative contract that reflects only a portion of the value of a collectible (i.e., gold bullion). “Collectibles” gain is currently subject to tax at marginal rates of up to 28%.
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.
 
THE UNDERLIER
In this pricing supplement, when we refer to the underlier, we mean the official U.S. dollar LBMA Gold Price PM (expressed in dollar per troy ounce) calculated and administered by ICE Benchmark Administration (the “IBA”) and published by the London Bullion Market Association (the “LBMA”) (Bloomberg:  “GOLDLNPM”) (or any official successor thereto), as published on any trading day.
Although the market for physical gold is global, most over the counter market trades are cleared through London. In addition to coordinating market activities, the LBMA acts as the principal point of contact between the market and its regulators. A primary function of the LBMA is its involvement in the promotion of refining standards by maintenance of the “London Good Delivery Lists,” which are the lists of LBMA accredited melters and assayers of gold. The LBMA also coordinates market clearing and vaulting, promotes good trading practices and develops standard documentation.
ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”), on behalf of the LBMA, has assumed responsibility for establishing the LBMA Gold Price as of March 20, 2015.  In April 2017, the IBA introduced central clearing to the gold auction. Central clearing removes the need for firms to have large bilateral credit lines in place with each other in order to become a direct participant. This opens up the auction to a broader cross section of the market and also facilitates greater volume in the auction.
IBA operates electronic auctions for spot, unallocated Loco London gold (gold bullion that is physically held in London), providing a market-based platform for buyers and sellers to trade. The auctions are run at 10:30am and 3:00pm London time. The final auction price is published to the market as LBMA Gold Price AM and LBMA Gold Price PM.
The price formation for the gold auction is in USD only. The final price is converted into the benchmark in other currencies including: Australian Dollars; British Pounds, Canadian Dollars, Euros, Onshore and Offshore Yuan, Indian Rupees, Japanese Yen, Malaysian Ringgit, Russian Rubles, Singapore Dollars, South African Rand, Swiss Francs, New Taiwan Dollars, Thai Baht and Turkish Lira. The benchmarks in other currencies are not tradeable directly through the auction.
The methodology is reviewed by the Precious Metals Oversight Committee as documented in its Terms of Reference. The frequency of reviews is set by the Oversight Committee through its Calendar of Agenda Items.
The auctions run in rounds of 30 seconds. At the start of each round, IBA publishes a price for that round. Participants then have 30 seconds to enter, change or cancel their orders (how much gold they want to buy or sell at that price). At the end of each round order entry is frozen and the system checks to see if the difference between buying and selling (the imbalance) is within the imbalance threshold (normally 10,000 oz. for gold).If the imbalance is outside of the threshold at the end of a round, then the auction is not balanced, the price is adjusted and a new round starts. If the imbalance is within the threshold then the auction is finished and the price is set. Any imbalance is shared equally between all direct participants (even if they did not place orders or did not log in) and the net volume for each participant trades at the final price. The final price is then published as the LBMA Gold Price in US Dollars and also converted into the benchmarks in other currencies using foreign exchange rates from when the final round ended.
The prices during the auction are determined by an algorithm that takes into account current market conditions and the activity in the auction. Each auction is actively supervised by IBA staff.
If the IBA discovers an error during an auction round, the auction round could be stopped and restarted. If the IBA makes an error in an auction which is discovered after an auction is finished, the auction could not be rerun, but the IBA could replace the published auction price with a No Publication. If a participant makes an error which is discovered after an auction is finished, the auction could not be rerun. If fewer than three direct participants are present for the auction and the IBA therefore publishes a price without conducting an auction but the IBA publishes an incorrect price, the incorrect price could be amended if the error were discovered within 30 minutes after publication. If the IBA publishes an incorrect non-USD price, the incorrect non-USD price could be amended if the error were discovered within 30 minutes after publication.
 
Historical Closing Levels of the Underlier
The closing level of the underlier has fluctuated in the past and may, in the future, experience significant fluctuations.  Any historical upward or downward trend in the closing level of the underlier during the period shown below is not an indication that the 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 levels of the underlier as an indication of the future performance of the underlier.  We cannot give you any assurance that the future performance of the underlier will result in your receiving an amount greater than 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 underlier levels between the date of this pricing supplement and the date of your purchase of the offered notes. The actual performance of the underlier over the life of the offered notes, as well as the cash settlement amount, may bear little relation to the historical closing levels shown below.
The graph below shows the daily historical closing levels of the underlier from November 6, 2007 through November 6, 2017.  We obtained the closing levels in the graph below from Bloomberg Financial Services, without independent verification.
Historical Performance of the official U.S. dollar LBMA Gold Price PM
 
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCUSSION OF U.S. 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 tax exempt organization;
·
a partnership;
·
a regulated investment company;
·
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 addresses 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
·
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 pre-paid derivative contracts in respect of the underlier.  Except as otherwise stated below, the discussion below assumes that your notes will be so treated.
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 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 generally should 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 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 or maturity of your notes would be 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 a price other than the adjusted issue price as determined for tax purposes.
It is also possible that the Internal Revenue Service could assert that your notes should be treated as giving rise to “collectibles” gain or loss if you have held your notes for more than one year, although we do not think such a treatment would be appropriate in this case because a sale or exchange of the notes is not a sale or exchange of a collectible but is rather a sale or exchange of a derivative contract that reflects only a portion of the value of a collectible (i.e., gold buillion). “Collectibles” gain is currently subject to tax at marginal rates of up to 28%.
It is also possible that your notes could be treated in the manner described above, except that any gain or loss that you recognize at maturity would be treated as ordinary gain or loss. You should consult your tax advisor as to the tax consequences of such characterization and any possible alternative characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes
It is 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.  You should consult your tax advisors 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 will 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 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.  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 under “Tax Treatment” 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.
You will be subject to generally applicable information reporting and backup withholding requirements with respect to payments on your notes at maturity 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 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 at maturity 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 at maturity 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 made before January 1, 2019.
 
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 July 10, 2017, which has been filed as Exhibit 5.6 to the registration statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. on July 10, 2017.
 
We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this pricing supplement, the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737, 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 pricing supplement, the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737, 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 pricing supplement, the accompanying commodity terms supplement no. 1,737, the accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is current only as of the respective dates of such documents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pricing Supplement

 
Page
PS-3
PS-7
PS-10
PS-16
PS-18
PS-21
 
Commodity Terms Supplement No. 1,737 dated July 10, 2017
 
Additional Risk Factors Specific to the Notes
S-1
Supplemental Terms of the Notes
S-18
The Underliers
S-32
Commodity Indices
S-32
Bloomberg Commodity Index
S-33
S&P GSCI Commodity Index
S-40
Spot Prices of Physical Commodities
S-47
Spot Price of Copper
S-47
Spot Price of Gold
S-47
Spot Price of Silver
S-48
Spot Price of Zinc
S-48
Commodity Futures Contracts
S-50
Price of the Brent Crude Contract
S-50
Price of the Corn Contract
S-50
Price of the Gasoline Contract
S-51
Price of the Natural Gas Contract
S-51
Price of the Soybean Contract
S-52
Price of the Wheat Contract
S-52
Price of the WTI Crude Oil Contract
S-52
Use of Proceeds
S-53
Hedging
S-54
Employee Retirement Income Security Act
S-54
Supplemental Plan of Distribution
S-56
Conflicts of Interest
S-58
   
Prospectus Supplement dated July 10, 2017
 
Use of Proceeds
S-2
Description of Notes We May Offer
S-3
Considerations Relating to Indexed Notes
S-15
United States Taxation
S-18
Employee Retirement Income Security Act
S-19
Supplemental Plan of Distribution
S-20
Validity of the Notes and Guarantees
S-21
 
Prospectus dated July 10, 2017
 
Available Information
2
Prospectus Summary
4
Risks Relating to Regulatory Resolution Strategies and Long-Term Debt Requirements
8
Use of Proceeds
11
Description of Debt Securities We May Offer
12
Description of Warrants We May Offer
45
Description of Units We May Offer
60
GS Finance Corp.
65
Legal Ownership and Book-Entry Issuance
67
Considerations Relating to Floating Rate Debt Securities
72
Considerations Relating to Indexed Securities
73
Considerations Relating to Securities Denominated or Payable in or Linked to a Non-U.S. Dollar Currency
74
United States Taxation
77
Plan of Distribution
92
Conflicts of Interest
94
Employee Retirement Income Security Act
95
Validity of the Securities and Guarantees
95
Experts
96
Review of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements by Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
96
Cautionary Statement Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
96
 











$790,000

GS Finance Corp.



Buffered Commodity-Linked Notes due 2023


guaranteed by
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.










Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC