Goldman Sachs Comes To Terms With Its Lack Of The Common Touch

{"id":"ci02ad73a1f00024dd","isDetailPage":true,"objectType":"ContentArticle","originalPublicationTimestamp":"2022-10-10T16:00:00Z","path":"/2022/10/goldman-sachs-comes-to-terms-with-its-lack-of-the-common-touch","publicationTimestamp":"2022-10-10T16:00:00Z","title":"Goldman Sachs Comes To Terms With Its Lack Of The Common Touch","viewProperties":{"viewMeta":{"suppressContentRecommendations":false,"showLimitedSiteFooter":false,"disableSiteHeader":false,"disableSiteFooter":false,"suppressDisplayAds":false},"analyticsModel":{"title":"Goldman Sachs Comes To Terms With Its Lack Of The Common Touch","exclusiveContentType":"free","sanitizedTitle":"Goldman Sachs Comes To Terms With Its Lack Of The Common Touch","pageType":"Article Page","mavenPageType":"article","sectionPath":"Banks","parentSectionName":"Banks","authorName":"Jon Shazar","author":"tm-ci023cf8a7000927dc","videoAuthorName":"","videoTitle":"","publicationQuarter":"2022Q4","trackedRichTermNames":"","originalPublishDate":"2022-10-10","trackedExtendedAttributes":""}},"commentsEnabled":true,"dek":"Turns out doing the same stuff everyone else does, but badly, is not a great strategy.","disqusId":"6de35b35-48d8-11ed-af9e-02ed43b5159f","isCanvas":true,"primaryImage":{"isReadonlyContent":false,"title":"david solomon","attribution":{"sourceName":"U.S. Secretary of Defense, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons","sourcePageUrl":""},"format":"jpg","bytes":255442,"primaryPhotoId":"ci02ad73a9600026d0","createdTimestamp":"2022-10-10T20:18:31Z","primaryContentSiteId":"cs02394295300027a8","height":756,"cloudinaryVersionId":1665433109,"publicId":"MTkyOTM3NTI5ODA3MjE4Mzg0","objectType":"ContentPhoto","width":1008,"hasFaces":true,"createdPrincipalId":"up023c94b9f000250a","id":"ci02ad73a9600026d0","primarySiteId":"cs02394295300027a8"},"primaryImageId":"ci02ad73a9600026d0","primarySectionIds":["ci023cf8a5a00427dc"],"sectionIds":[["ci023cf8a5a00427dc"]],"slug":"goldman-sachs-comes-to-terms-with-its-lack-of-the-common-touch","teaser":"U.S. Secretary of Defense, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons","hasGallery":false,"associatedRichTerms":[{"id":"ci023cf8ace00327dc","objectType":"ContentRichTerm","originalPublicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:53:03Z","path":"/tag/marcus","publicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:48:55Z","title":"Marcus","commentsEnabled":true,"disqusId":"512734ae-1826-11e9-97cf-02547ef6f3f6","slug":"marcus"},{"id":"ci023cf8a9b00925f5","objectType":"ContentRichTerm","originalPublicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:50:32Z","path":"/tag/goldman-sachs","publicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:50:35Z","title":"Goldman Sachs","commentsEnabled":true,"disqusId":"32d98d9e-1826-11e9-b999-025f192f501e","slug":"goldman-sachs"},{"id":"ci023cf8ab200027dc","objectType":"ContentRichTerm","originalPublicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:48:29Z","path":"/tag/wealth-management","publicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:56:01Z","title":"wealth management","commentsEnabled":true,"disqusId":"40738eee-1826-11e9-b99d-025f192f501e","slug":"wealth-management"},{"id":"ci023cf8a5a00427dc","objectType":"ContentRichTerm","originalPublicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:51:37Z","path":"/category-banks","publicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:48:37Z","title":"Banks","commentsEnabled":true,"disqusId":"0bf98273-1826-11e9-97c3-02547ef6f3f6","slug":"category-banks"},{"id":"ci023cf8a9400527dc","objectType":"ContentRichTerm","originalPublicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:52:16Z","path":"/tag/david-solomon","publicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:52:36Z","title":"David Solomon","commentsEnabled":true,"disqusId":"2e97f2f1-1826-11e9-97c4-02547ef6f3f6","slug":"david-solomon"},{"id":"ci023cf8a9a00825f5","objectType":"ContentRichTerm","originalPublicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:55:01Z","path":"/tag/category-banks","publicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:48:37Z","title":"Banks","commentsEnabled":true,"disqusId":"31970b83-1826-11e9-b999-025f192f501e","slug":"category-banks"},{"id":"ci023cf8ab300825f5","objectType":"ContentRichTerm","originalPublicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:49:45Z","path":"/tag/asset-management","publicationTimestamp":"2019-01-14T17:52:31Z","title":"asset management","commentsEnabled":true,"disqusId":"409ad046-1826-11e9-97ce-02547ef6f3f6","slug":"asset-management"},{"id":"ci02ad73b9600026d0","objectType":"ContentRichTerm","originalPublicationTimestamp":"2022-10-10T20:22:43Z","path":"/tag/u-turns-to-make-liz-truss-proud","publicationTimestamp":"2022-10-10T20:22:43Z","title":"U-turns To Make Liz Truss Proud","commentsEnabled":true,"disqusId":"4d874196-48d9-11ed-9775-0601efaf390b","promoTitle":"U-turns To Make Liz Truss Proud","slug":"u-turns-to-make-liz-truss-proud"}]}

• Home
• Banks

Goldman Sachs Comes To Terms With Its Lack Of The Common TouchTurns out doing the same stuff everyone else does, but badly, is not a great strategy.

• Author:Jon Shazar
• Publish date:Oct 10, 2022

U.S. Secretary of Defense, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Turns out doing the same stuff everyone else does, but badly, is not a great strategy.

When David Solomon took over Goldman Sachs four years ago, he had big plans to remake the bank in his own image. Which is to say: obvious, commercial, accessible, competent and inoffensive. To do so, he’d build on the online lender Lloyd Blankfein set and up named, in what must called be the opposite of honor, for firm founder Marcus Goldman. There would be credit cards, embarrassing ads, mobile banking, more credit cards, mutual funds for the masses, bank accounts for online sellers and fintech galore.

Alas, while all of that was indeed as obvious, commercial and accessible as D.J. D-Sol’s Bahamian beats, many have proven less than competent. They’re also quite offensive to some pretty key people—Goldman’s shareholders—because not only do they not print money in the way that the parts of Goldman Solomon has consistently downplayed and degraded do, they actually accomplish the opposite.

At Goldman, pressure has been mounting on managers to tackle the consumer unit’s expenses. It became all the more acute this year, with analysts projecting profits will drop more than 40% from last year's record, prompting layoffs and reductions in bonuses.

At mid-year, the bank internally forecast that the unit’s losses would accelerate to more than $1.2 billion in 2022. That would set cumulative losses on path to exceed $4 billion.

And so, it seems, reluctantly, Solomon’s got to have another tough talk with the “Big Birds” out in Salt Lake City.

Rather than catering to just about anyone, Goldman will sling some of its key consumer products through its wealth-management business, augmenting what is already one of the bank’s strengths. Checking accounts, once widely expected to get a big rollout to the masses, will instead be steered toward well-to-do clients and employees at corporate partners. The same goes for the bank’s robo-adviser, known as Marcus Invest, and savings accounts.

Consumer lending is being reined in. While the bank will keep credit-card partnerships, it will be very selective about adding to the list.

If only D-Sol had been able to pull off overpaying for Wells Fargo’s asset management arm the way he did for GreenSky, perhaps none of this would be happening. (It would.) Alas, he didn’t and so his dreams of investing every American’s 401(k) are over.

The pivot in consumer banking has also accelerated discussions for Solomon’s third big reorganization of Goldman’s business lines in four years. Goldman is mulling once again combining asset-management and wealth management businesses under a reconfigured leadership team, a move that would serve to further de-emphasize the consumer business.

Under Pressure, Goldman CEO Ditches Dream of Consumer Domination [Bloomberg]

Tagsterms:MarcusGoldman Sachswealth managementDavid SolomonBanksasset managementU-turns To Make Liz Truss Proud

BanksGoldman Sachs Changes 60 Slightly Less White, Less Male But Every Bit As Trader- and I-Banker-y Lives

David Solomon’s retail revolution has yet to hit the partnership.

BanksGoldman To Complete Transition To Anonymous Main Street Bank In Most Degrading Way Possible

Imagine thinking that bringing on a piece of Wells Fargo is a net-plus.

BanksDavid Solomon Wants To Help You Buy That New Vacuum Cleaner

In fairness, Marcus Goldman got his start peddling household goods, so….

Goldman SachsGoldman Sachs Has Come Around To The Logic Of Not Paying People Goldman Sachs Salaries

Average comp is down 50% at 200 West Street, unless you're a robot, in which case, you're taking John Rogers' job.

BanksGoldman Takes New Lack Of Standards, Pride Out For A Ride

What can Dave Solomon do to get you into a new car with a built-in credit card today?

Goldman SachsGoldman Sachs Sends Supersonically-Rotating Corpse Of Founder Into Orbit

Why did they have to name their appeal to the common man for their proud and august founder?

BanksThe Part Of Goldman Sachs David Solomon Is Getting Rid Of Posts Record Quarter

You won’t need to worry about profits doubling once Marcus is in charge.

BanksGoldman Analysts Think New Goldman Credit Card Not Worthy Of The Goldman Name

Apple Card, backed by the bank, is at best “OK but not great.”

• Privacy Policy
• Send Tips
• About
• Advertising
• Newsletter
• RSS
• Privacy Settings

© 2022 Breaking Media Inc.