In the second quarter, Goldman Sachs Asset Management achieved multiple new highs in total assets under management. Goldman Sachs CEO Solomon is implementing reforms, and after a significant retreat from consumer lending business, he has placed great reliance on the asset management business for success. At this time, the departure of senior executives in the asset management sector undoubtedly dealt a blow.
Goldman Sachs CEO Solomon faces new troubles as the management of the shining star of this Wall Street giant, the asset management business, experiences a wave of departures.
On Friday, the 28th, Eastern Time, media reports cited insiders as saying that Julian Salisbury, the Chief Investment Officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and Takashi Murata, Co-Head of Private Investing in the Asia-Pacific region, will both resign, and other personnel in the business may also step down.
A Goldman Sachs memo from early last year showed that there were 11 partners in the asset management business. If the above information is true, Salisbury's departure would mean that the number of departures from that list of 11 people last year has increased to six.
The media pointed out that some executives resigned because they were concerned about a series of changes in the asset management business in recent years, while others left because they lost promotion opportunities or were demoted. Solomon is attempting a major reform of the entire Goldman Sachs and asset management business. After exiting the consumer lending business, he has placed most of his personal and company's success on the asset management business.
At this time, the departure of executives from the asset management business undoubtedly raises doubts about Solomon's ability to achieve his reform goals. The media mentioned that members of Goldman Sachs' management committee are concerned about the ability of the asset management business team to execute the company's strategy.
Goldman Sachs' earnings report released last week showed that the company's revenue in the second quarter of this year exceeded expectations, while the investment banking and FICC businesses, which have traditionally performed strongly, continued to decline, dragging down overall revenue. The asset management business, on the other hand, became a highlight, with assets under management reaching $271 million for the quarter.
Solomon commented in the earnings report that the performance reflects Goldman Sachs' progress towards its strategic goals. He specifically mentioned that the asset management business set new records in regulated assets under management, management fees and other expenses, as well as net income from private banking and loans. He also claimed to have full confidence in continuing to execute the strategy and achieve the target of full-cycle returns.
However, the bright spot of the asset management business cannot conceal the failure of Goldman Sachs' consumer business retreat.
According to Goldman Sachs' earnings report, profits were severely impacted due to the sale of a portion of the loans in the Marcus consumer banking portfolio. Goldman Sachs recorded a goodwill impairment of $504 million related to the consumer platform division. Goldman Sachs has exited the credit card business and sold home improvement loan company GreenSky, reducing the consumer business to its original product: Marcus savings accounts.
In January of this year, Goldman Sachs disclosed that from the beginning of 2020 to September of last year, the platform solutions division, which includes its fintech and consumer finance businesses, incurred a total pre-tax loss of over $3 billion, with a loss slightly exceeding $1 billion for the full year 2021 and a loss of $1.2 billion in the first nine months of last year. This is the first time Goldman Sachs has disclosed the high cost it has paid in its foray into the retail banking business. A month ago, it was reported by the media that Goldman Sachs was considering terminating its partnership with Apple, including the credit card collaboration. According to Wall Street News, discussions were underway regarding the termination of the General Motors credit card partnership, the cessation of personal loan issuance, and the sale of GreenSky, which was acquired for $2.24 billion last year. These series of withdrawal actions by Goldman Sachs indicate that its consumer loan business may come to a complete end, marking the failure of Solomon's ambition to transform Goldman Sachs into a comprehensive service bank.