Goldman Sachs to open retail bank in UK

In a boost for London's financial services sector, Goldman Sachs has opened a UK retail bank on Thursday, marking its first expansion overseas as the firm pushes into consumer banking, reported The Financial Times.

The lender said in a memo that there would be a wider roll-out in the coming weeks, in a move described as "an important milestone in the growth of Goldman Sachs's consumer business as well as diversification of the firm’s funding."

Richard Gnodde, head of the bank’s international branch told the Financial Times a few months back that it was planning on expanding the new program, named Marcus, to more countries in the EU, starting with Germany.

Marcus was launched in 2016 and has already accumulated over $20bn in deposits and lent out $3bn to clients.

The UK business will start by offering easy-access online savings accounts, lending products set to be introduced as soon as next year.

Recently, Goldman Sachs also agreed to sell and leaseback its new London headquarters, having chosen to remain despite Brexit.

Goldman is selling its Plumtree Court office to Korea’s National Pension Service in a deal valued at £1.16bn. In theory, it will lease the building for 25 years.

The US bank has 6,000 employees in London based at three sites, although the 10-storey site at Plumtree can accommodate up to 8,000 people.