Lloyd Blankfein says he knows how to fix Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s fixed-income business, and he’s not panicking.
“Believe me, none of us are hysterical about this, but we’re focused on it,” the New York-based bank’s chief executive officer said Wednesday in a Bloomberg Television interview. “We underperformed, we know what we have to do, and we’re doing it. It’s an execution matter for us, and guess what, that’s what we do.”
Goldman Sachs must change the mix of products it emphasizes and the clients it transacts with as many hedge funds have been less active, Blankfein said. While the commodities business has struggled, many issues in that market are cyclical and volatility in oil prices should resume and help volume, he said.
Goldman Sachs posted its worst first-half trading results in Blankfein’s tenure this year, losing ground to rivals including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley. The firm’s executives have preached better cooperation among trading desks and not subjecting clients to a tangle of fees in order to turn around the performance.
“I can’t say that we’re right all the time, because we’re obviously not, but I would tell you that we have a good reputation for resiliency and adaptation,” Blankfein said.
Blankfein also said in the interview that the Volcker Rule is cumbersome and makes traders nervous because of the blurry line between speculation and market-making. While Donald Trump’s administration hasn’t formally rolled back banking regulation yet, the sentiment from regulators has changed since his election, Blankfein said.
Blankfein was speaking from Baltimore, where he was attending an event for his firm’s philanthropic efforts to educate and fund small-business entrepreneurs, along with Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.