By Daniel Huang
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is preparing for a more digital
future.
The Wall Street bank announced Monday in an internal memo that
Harit Talwar, who formerly oversaw the card business at Discover
Financial Services, will help lead an effort to use new
technologies to expand certain customer and small-business segments
at the company.
In a firmwide memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Chief
Executive Lloyd Blankfein and Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn
identified "digitally led banking services to consumers and small
businesses" as an "area of opportunity."
"The traditional means by which financial services are delivered
to consumers and small businesses is being fundamentally re-shaped
by advances in technology," the memo continued.
Mr. Talwar, who also previously worked at Citigroup Inc., will
focus on building out the digital operations of Goldman Sachs Bank
USA, the company's deposit-taking arm established as a New York
state-charted bank in 2008.
The hire could portend an increased focus for Goldman on helping
wealthy individuals with their finances. The investment bank
historically has focused on large institutional investors and
corporate clients.
The move is Goldman's latest in a series of steps to explore the
opportunities arising from new technologies. In April, the bank
participated in raising $50 million for bitcoin startup Circle
Internet Financial Ltd., which enables customers to digitally store
and transfer money using bitcoin-based systems.
Buoyed by the growth of online marketplace firms such as
LendingClub Corp. and OnDeck Capital Inc., the digital consumer
lending space has seen many entrants in recent years. Doug Lebda,
chief executive of LendingTree Inc., another peer-to-peer lender,
noted in an earnings call last week the increasing congestion.
"What we hear from our personal loan lenders, is that they have
seven to 10 times more money to lend than they can actually lend,"
Mr. Lebda said.
Mr. Talwar, who will join Goldman as a partner, previously
worked at Discover for 15 years, where he most recently served as
chief marking officer and executive vice president of card
programs. He will be based in New York.
Peter Rudegeair contributed to this article.
Write to Daniel Huang at daniel.huang3@wsj.com
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