Goldman Sachs is considering the sale of its recently acquired fintech lender and BNPL provider, GreenSky, as part of the bank’s efforts to scale down its retail banking activities.
Facts
- Goldman Sachs is exploring the sale of GreenSky, a fintech lender and BNPL provider, which it acquired for $2.24 billion in September 2021.
- Despite performing well, the bank’s CEO David Solomon has stated that Goldman Sachs may not be the best long-term holder of this business, given its current strategic priorities.
- Goldman Sachs folded its digital bank offering Marcus into its wider asset and wealth management division in October 2022, as the firm shifted its focus away from its retail banking proposition.
- Goldman Sachs has been working to scale down its retail banking activities and instead focus on three divisions: trading and investment banking, asset and wealth management, and a third division including transaction banking and other partnership operations including those with Apple.
- In Q1 2023, Goldman Sachs reported earnings down 19%, which was in part due to a $470 million loss on the sale of some Marcus loans, but was largely offset by a $440 million reserve release in provision for credit losses.
- In January, it was reported that Goldman Sachs’ platform solutions unit, which includes its transaction banking, credit card, and fintech businesses, has lost $3 billion over nearly three years.
- The news of losses from a division within the bank designed to diversify its business lent credence to the bank’s decision to shift its focus back to its core propositions of trading and investment banking, wealth management, and transaction banking.
