Goldman Sachs pushes its savings accounts online more than ever

The company, which doubles its banking business for its regular customers through its Marcus brand, has started offering its own online savings accounts on the Clarity Money platform. Clarity allows people to manage their money by tracking their expenses, canceling unwanted subscriptions and recommending new products. Previously, he headed clients wishing to create savings accounts for Wells Fargo (WFC).

The integration comes as Goldman Sachs strives to expand its offering to Main Street consumers, not just the Wall Street elite. Marcus is a key part of the bank's plan to add $ 5 billion in revenue by 2020 under the leadership of its new CEO, David Solomon. Goldman wishes to diversify its operations in part to offset the difficulties of its trading division.

This also coincides with a new marketing campaign for Marcus' savings accounts. Goldman on Wednesday launched a new ad offering interviews of men in the street, in which New York passersby express their surprise at the little interest they derive from their savings. According to a survey of the company, 60% of Americans with a savings account do not know their interest rate.

Dustin Cohn, head of brand management at Marcus, said the bank was hoping the campaign would let potential customers know that they were leaving money on the table – and that they would consider Marcus accordingly. "They can vote with their dollars and make their money work harder," he said.

Marcus now has $ 4 billion in loans on his balance sheet and about $ 28 billion in deposits.

Clarity Money is about to play a vital role in Marcus' expansion.

"We considered that it was an entry door for all of Marcus' offers," said former CFO Marty Chavez, to explain the reasoning. which underpinned the acquisition, in April.

With Clarity Money, it will also be cheaper to recruit new customers, added Chavez, which is a challenge for Goldman because people are not as familiar with Marcus as with well-established consumer banks .

Growth on the Marcus Deposits side, as well as the new pricing offerings, could provide a cushion for Goldman's new consumer unit if the lending environment became more difficult.

When calling the company's third quarter results earlier this month, the new chief financial officer, Stephen Scherr, said that Mr. Goldman saw no "tangible evidence" that the company's environment Credit was changing, but he was still watching the situation closely.

"We are developing this business in the long run and we are not trying to achieve volume goals," Chavez said during the call. Scherr added that Marcus will increase the volume of his loans in 2019 compared to 2018 – it's just a question of how much.