Goldman Sachs may be preparing to venture into UK consumer banking by bringing its U.S. online lending platform, Marcus, across the North Atlantic.
This plan involves providing online savings accounts, and the move could begin as early as 2018 according to the head of strategy at Goldman Sachs.
In talking to The Financial Times, Stephen Scherr, the bank’s head of strategy, said: “Much like in the US, we’re aiming to offer consumers easy-to-use and higher-returning savings options than (they) might have elsewhere.”
Following difficulty in areas such as fixed-income trading, a staple of the world famous investment bank, new avenues are being pursued to rebuild momentum.
In the United States, Goldman Sachs released a high-interest savings account online, allowing people to make savings from $1. This was then followed by the Marcus brand move last year. The investment banking giant may be gaining inspiration from the successes of formidable fintech startups that have been making a big impact.
Goldman Sachs is well known for being up to date in terms of technology, with it being at the core of investment and progress in terms of blockchain technology for example.
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The bank has been involved in the major blockchain consortiums, having been a central member of the R3 blockchain network, before changing direction and joining the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a consortium including the likes of Microsoft and Accenture in promoting the technology.
Colossal changes are coming to the world of banking on the back of the major alteration to the industry caused by PSD2. This directive from the EU will mean that banks will no longer have complete control over their data, allowing for third parties to provide services for customers.
