Goldman Sachs’ Marcus Grew by $4 Billion Last Quarter

Need to Know 

• Goldman Sachs’ consumer-facing Marcus bank grew by $4 billion in deposits last quarter.
• After launching the bank’s new app earlier this year, the banking giant has expanded Marcus’ digital features by adding an installment payment option and personal finance insights.
• Goldman is also planning to add a chequing account to Marcus in the near future.
• The success of Marcus this year can be credited to the investment in digitization, appealing to current Goldman customers and drawing in new audiences.

Analysis

Goldman Sachs’ mobile banking app Marcus has shared its latest results, revealing the platform grew by $4 billion in deposits, for a total of $96 billion in just one quarter. 

Marcus, a digital banking subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, launched its app at the start of this year. The app and online bank have served as an alternative banking solution for Goldman retail customers. 

Since launching the app, Marcus has expanded in several directions to compete with other fintech companies. 

In April, launched MarcusPay in partnership with JetBlue Airways. MarcusPay serves as a consumer loan option, allowing customers to finance their vacations by “booking now and paying later” through installments.

And just last month, Marcus updated the banking app with Marcus Insights, a personal finance feature that offers customers an overview of their finances as well as spending and budgeting insights. 

Clearly, the focus on consumer-facing features is paying off. Of Goldman Sachs’ $7 billion in consumer loan balances, $4 billion of that was from Marcus loans. Net revenues in the consumer and wealth management space, which would include Marcus, were up 13 percent and consumer banking was up 50 percent. 

“We continue to have success expanding our platform to serve individuals digitally, both directly and through partnerships,” said Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, adding that the addition of Marcus Insights was “to give consumers a more comprehensive view of their finances, and we continued to make progress building checking and investment capabilities which will launch next year.”  

Solomon also credits this year’s success to the company’s investment in digitization of its services.

“[Goldman Sachs has been] building a digital consumer platform that marries our strong expertise in wealth while also providing a digital experience for general banking services for consumers.” 

Solomon added that due to the pandemic, the banking giant did not push for the initial targets they had set out ($125 billion over five years), but expects that moving into 2021, as the global economic situation improves, so too will loan growth.