Marcus by Goldman Sachs was launched in 2016 and marked an important point in the consumer lending industry as they decided to build their own platform from scratch; Ainsley O'Connell from Fast Company interviews head of Marcus, Harit Talwar; Talwar shares what was attractive about getting into personal loans and details the Marcus product; stated that there were many consumer pain points and Goldman Sachs was confident they could help; Goldman also has several advantages to give them an edge; not only do they have their own balance sheet, but they essentially built a startup, leaning on 147 years of experience; they also had the advantage that there were no conflicts over any legacy consumer businesses within Goldman; the company worked closely with consumers to bring to market a product they want which Talwar discusses in the interview. Source
Peter Renton, Founder of Lend Academy was at the American Banker Digital Lending + Investing conference last week; Renton reflects on the discussion with the leaders of Marcus, shares the progress of the company thus far and his perspective on Goldman's venture. Source
Lloyd Blankfein recently presented at the Credit Suisse 19th Annual Financial Services Forum; Blankfein shared that Marcus has access to over $17 billion in deposits; since the acquisition of GE Capital, retail deposits have grown 90% which gives allows them to access cheap capital; Goldman plans to grow consumer products offered through Marcus. Source
Goldman CFO Marty Chavez said the bank surpassed $2bn in originations, a mark they were looking to reach by year’s end; the portfolio has an average APR of 12 percent, loans have an average length of four years and the typical amount if for $15,000 as reported by Business Insider; the company estimates they will reach $13bn in lending after three years in operation. Source.
Looking to make their consumer lending product more appealing Goldman Sach’s Marcus is now offering loans for home improvement; the bulk of their loans have thus far been originated for debt consolidation; with more banks entering the space and the non bank lenders who have come on the scene since the financial crisis Marcus is looking to differentiate their initial offering; this is a trend across the fintech market as competition has forced firms to try to make products unique. Source.
This week’s PeerIQ Industry Update covered the strong job growth reported and the chances of a rate hike in March; Marcus made key hires in an effort to launch a credit card as it builds out their consumer banking businesses; Marlette completed its largest securitization for $464mn and saw the senior tranches of the deal rated AA by Kroll; PeerIQ also highlighted key points from testimony by Nat Hoopes of the Marketplace Lending Association when he testified before the House Financial Services Committee. Source.
As rates rise fixed income investors are looking for places to put cash; Lend Academy shares the latest rates on savings and CD accounts as well as a look at the newly branded Marcus by Goldman Sachs bank account. Source




