Goldman Sachs Marcus digital banking unit is to be moved under the bank’s wealth management division.
Marcus was launched in the US two years ago as a retail banking business offering personal loans and savings accounts. The digital first Marcus quickly grew to revenues of $1bn.
News of the move was confirmed in a memo seen by Bloomberg and Financial Planning.
“By aligning the potential of Marcus with the longstanding strengths of our investment management business, we see an important opportunity to serve a broader spectrum of individual consumers and investors”, the memo said.
Specifics of the move to the investment management division – which oversees wealth management – were not disclosed. However, it is thought the bank plans to expand its wealth management offering to a wider audience with new products. Goldman Sachs wealth management currently requires a minimum of $10m to open an account.
How the move will affect its UK offering is also unclear. Marcus was launched in the UK earlier this year with the highest interest rate of any retail bank at 1.5%. After only two weeks of opening, Marcus had attracted 50,000 customers, much to the concerns of other retail banks.
To date, the primary business for Goldman Sachs Marcus has been online personal loans, with a lending book at $4bn at the end of last quarter. It was thought that Marcus might expand its services to unsecured consumer lending and retirement-planning products.
