Morning Coffee: Goldman Sachs is doing a Citi. The office with chain mail curtains
There are three reasons why banks will embark upon a hiring spree: they think revenues are about to improve and that talent is available cheaply (Deutsche Bank); they have big gaps in their business that need to be filled (Barclays), or they have been reprimanded by the regulator and are compelled to add remedial headcount (Citi).
As of yesterday, Goldman Sachs is joining Citi in the third category. Bloomberg reports that the firm needs 'several hundred staffers' to address confidential concerns raised by regulators like the Federal Reserve. The new hires aren't related to Goldman's limping consumer banking unit.
Recruits that have been inspired by regulators aren't usually in the front office. They're more likely to be in risk, compliance and technology. Citi has spent over $1bn upgrading its own controls infrastructure and has hired various operations and risk professionals and around 8,000 people in technology in the past few years. Goldman's less zealous hiring will presumably be similar in nature.
Aside from a few regulatory compliance and banking operations roles, there's little sign that Goldman's embarked on this new recruitment odyssey yet. When it does, people may want to take note. Over on Reddit, a debate is about the merit of compliance jobs as the high-paying-easy-life holy grail of finance careers. "Easy role. Major flexibility. Work-life balance is amazing," says one compliance professional. He's working for a hedge fund, but you could always start at Goldman and then move on.
Separately, if you want to work in an office with chain mail curtains, sunflower seed cupboards and dancing walls, then you want to work in Deloitte's Edinburgh office where people have been enthusing about precisely these things. Unfortunately, we suspect the dancing walls are less exciting than they seem and possibly involve no more than partitions that can be shunted around as required.
Meanwhile...
EY is cutting jobs, trimming pay rises and asking graduates joining the consulting business to consider delaying their start by a year in return for a “deferral payment”. (Financial Times)
Karl Kroeker, co-founder of Woodline Partners, is accused of demeaning female employees and creating an 'oppressive misogynistic culture'. (Bloomberg)
KKR hired Charlie Gailliot from Goldman Sachs as co-head for global climate strategy within its infrastructure investment group. (KKR)
Ken Griffin successfully fought attempts to restrict Chinese nationals from owning property in Florida, which would have made life difficult for Citadel and Citadel Securities professionals at the new Miami head office. (Bloomberg)
Just a handful of VCs generate nearly all of the sector returns. Any investor lucky enough to pick a top-performing VC is awarded with an internal rate of return “off the scale” relative to all other strategies. (Financial Times)
Ignore texts from a small attractive woman who then tries to sell you crypto. (Bloomberg)
British people gamble more when it rains. (Bloomberg)
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com. Signal also available.
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)
