Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein on Consumer Lending With "Marcus"
Goldman Sachs’ move into consumer lending may seem like a bit of a departure for the investment banking giant. But CEO Lloyd Blankfein says its expertise in fintech makes the business a good fit.
“If you are lending money to 5 million people, it’s a little bit more math, a little bit more algorithmic, a little bit more about digital delivery,” the executive told Cheddar.
“And in this new world that we’ve entered into, to be a good consumer lender, it’s advantageous not to have legacy assets like branches, to have lower costs, and to be able to engage with your client and offer them flexible products digitally, and then to manage that with skills that everybody recognizes we have.”
The company launched “Marcus by Goldman Sachs”, a digital consumer loan platform, in October 2016. Through November, the business had already issued $2 billion in loans.
Blankfein says Goldman Sachs offers an advantage competitors can’t.
“We already have deposit taking where we give a very high interest rate, because you don’t have to pay for branches,” he said. “And the consumer business, where we’re certainly charging people a lot less than what they’re paying on their credit card balances. So it’s good for the consumer, good for Goldman Sachs, and probably good for the country.”
Blankfein says the business will “move the needle for Goldman Sachs.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/goldman-sachs-ceo-lloyd-blankfein-weighs-in-on-market-volatility-crypto-and-trump).
Ahead of April’s planned BitCoin halving, Bitfarms CEO Geoff Morphy shares why he thinks the crypto rally will continue, plus why you’ll see a broader adoption of clean energy for mining.
Did you know there's a big difference between a dude ranch and a working cattle ranch? Check out the new generation of ranches, and live out your cowboy dreams.
Lara Rhame, FS Investments chief U.S. economist, discusses the recent market highs, how the job market is in a ‘good place,’ and why rates staying higher for longer might not be a bad thing.
Co-founder and CEO of Colossal Ben Lamm explains how the company is working to bring back extinct species and shares early details of the upcoming documentary from the ‘My Octopus Teacher’ filmmaker.
Soundhound AI co-founder, president, and CEO Keyvan Mojaver discusses bringing its audio tools to cars and drive-thrus, plus why smaller companies may benefit from the A.I. boom.