Stephanie Cohen has been at Goldman Sachs for more than 23 years. She started as an analyst in 1999 and has held a series of leadership positions in mergers and acquisitions. In January 2021, she was appointed global co-head of consumer and wealth management.
While wealth management services have been a mainstay for the 153-year-old investment bank, the shift to offering consumer banking happened less than six years ago. "We believe that there is a real need for consumers to better manage their financial lives, and we have the capabilities to serve them," Cohen said.
Cohen, who oversees 11,000 employees in her division, said that the business is divided along three lines: ultra-high- wealth households; companies and their employees; and consumers. "We have 500 corporate clients, and we have the ability to provide financial wellness to all levels of employees," she said.
Marcus is Goldman's digital-first consumer bank, offers customers saving accounts, personal loans and investment advisory services. A checking account is currently in beta, according to Cohen.
To further the bank's efforts to become a Main Street lender, Goldman now offers credit cards and buy now/pay later options for consumers. In 2019, Goldman launched an Apple credit card, and last January it rolled out a GM credit card. "They are like-minded brands that are meeting people where they are," Cohen said. Goldman's $2.2 billion acquisition of GreenSky allows the bank to beef up its customer base and gives it access to the fintech's network of more than 10,000 merchants.
Today, the consumer business at Goldman has more than 14 million customers and over $100 billion in deposits and $16 billion in cards and loans. Net revenues for the consumer business in the second quarter were $608 million, 67% higher than the second quarter of 2021, primarily reflecting significantly higher balances on both credit card balances and higher deposit balances.
Diversity in the ranks at Goldman and at the companies it invests in is a priority for Cohen. She said the senior leadership team understands that diversity and inclusion is a "business imperative'' and that "this needs to be discussed in the same meetings where we talk about revenue or investment strategies."
Cohen led "Launch with GS," the bank's $1 billion commitment to increase access to capital for women, Black, Latino and other diverse entrepreneurs and investors. But she is quick to point out that this is no PR ploy on behalf of the bank: "This is not philanthropy. This is good-return investing."
