Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon on Thursday responded to a string of critical comments in news reports in recent weeks, saying it was “not fun” but that he was focused on running the firm in a live interview on CNBC.
“I don’t recognize the caricature that’s painted of me, and once I check with colleagues and I check with clients, they don’t recognize it either,” he said. “But that doesn’t stop me from reflecting on anything that’s said, and I all the time attempt to take into consideration how I can do higher.”
His comments got here after sources criticized Solomon’s hard-charging leadership style and strategy in press reports. Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein reportedly criticized his successor David Solomon for spending an excessive amount of time moonlighting as a DJ.
Goldman Sachs is shedding its consumer businesses after its foray into retail banking flopped. Additionally it is selling fintech firm GreenSky, after offloading most of its unsecured consumer loan portfolio and striking a deal to sell an element of its wealth business.
However the bank is keeping its core Marcus savings business, which Solomon said had over $130 billion in deposits.
The Wall Street giant’s profit slumped 60% within the second quarter, missing estimates, as writedowns on its consumer businesses and real estate investments weighed on earnings.
Capital markets were improving, Solomon said. If initial public offerings, including for SoftBank Group’s Arm Holdings, go well, which will spur more activity, he said.
“I definitely do feel higher in regards to the capital markets,” Solomon said within the wide-ranging interview. “If Arm and a few of these other IPOs go well, you’re going to see a meaningful increase in activity.”
Confidence amongst corporate CEOs has improved, and that may likely result in a pickup in mergers and acquisitions, Solomon said. But he cautioned the pace of activity could remain slow.
“The economy has been more resilient than what people expected, including me,” Solomon said. “The sentiment that I’m hearing from CEOs broadly is, , it’s time to get back at it.”
US consumer spending accelerated in July, but slowing inflation strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve would keep rates of interest unchanged at its policy meeting this month.
Solomon also said US regulatory proposals for stricter bank capital rules have “gone too far.” The standards could hurt economic growth by prompting lenders to tug back, without making the banking system safer.
Banks are discussing the proposals with officials, he said.
US regulators in July launched an ambitious effort that might order large banks to put aside billions more in capital to protect against risk.
The proposal to lift capital by 16% overall, recommend by a trio of bank regulators, would overhaul how banks measure the riskiness of their behavior, and in turn, how much capital they need to hold as a cushion.
Solomon, who’s a disc jockey in his spare time, was asked by CNBC if he would proceed a hobby seen by some as too showy and out of step with the storied firm’s culture.
“I’m focused on Goldman Sachs,” he said.