In its 153-year history, investment bank giant Goldman Sachs has made precious few missteps in its financial strategy, and even fewer that it acknowledges publicly. Thus it’s very surprising indeed that Chief Executive Officer David Solomon conceded to reporters in an hour-long conference call that the company has little choice but to pivot in its ambitious plans to disrupt the retail bank industry with its subsidiary, Marcus.
“There’s no question that the aspirations probably got, and were communicated in a way, that were broader than where we’re now choosing to go,” Solomon said in the conference call, referring to the new plan for Marcus to focus on existing customers rather than moving to greatly expand its user base. “We are making it clear that we’re pulling back on some of that now.”
The misstep in moving into retail banking is only the latest in a string of incidents that have plagued Goldman Sachs in recent years. In addition to Marcus still not reaching a break-even point this year as previously projected, the company’s high-profile partnership with Apple to issue an Apple-branded card in 2019 has generated disappointing results for the company.
