Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said that markets could face a rocky time ahead as the global economy seeks to emerge from the abrupt impact of the pandemic.
“When I step back and think about my 40-year career, there have been periods of time when greed has far outpaced fear -- we are in one of those periods,” Solomon said in an interview at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. “My experience says those periods aren’t long lived. Something will rebalance it and bring a little bit more perspective.”
Global markets have surged during the pandemic, fueled by massive stimulus that has also stoked profits at banks such as Goldman. Concern is now rising that accelerating inflation will pose a challenge to a sustained recovery as central banks may be forced to raise interest rates in response.
“Chances are interest rates will move up, and if interest rates move up that in of itself will take some of the exuberance out of certain markets,” Solomon said.
Solomon also discussed the challenge of climate change, saying the transitioning to a green economy was “hugely important.”
Goldman was among banks, investors and insurers that earlier this month committed to decarbonizing by mid-century as signatories of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. Still, the initiative was met with skepticism as climate activists and nonprofits questioned whether big finance is capable of rapidly weaning itself off fossil fuels. Goldman, along with others, have previously made it clear it’s not feasible to stop working with the industry.
“We have to recognize we are trying to drive very dramatic change,” Solomon said, emphasizing that the transition will take time.
China
Goldman is at the forefront of a push by global banks to gain a bigger foothold as China’s market opens, jostling to capture billions of dollars in potential profits. The firm last month gained approval to take full ownership of a securities venture, ending a 17-year joint venture. The firm has plans to double its workforce in China to 600 and ramp up in asset and wealth management. As of last month, it had added 116 staff onshore this year, boosting the total to more than 400.
But Wall Street banks are also dealing with a number of flash points between China and the U.S. Some U.S. lawmakers have questioned the push into China, which is counting on investments to help support its economy. Beijing has been cracking down on broad swathes of its private sector, roiling markets and prompting investors such as George Soros to warn against investing in the country.
According to Solomon, there’s no direct pressure in the U.S. to change the bank’s long term to plans in China, but said that from time to time, there may be pressure to do certain things differently.