Goldman Sachs reportedly eyes Northern Trust merger: What to know

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Well, Goldman Sachs is eyeing new acquisitions. That’s according to reporting from Semaphore. In the past year, CEO David Solomon discussed a potential takeover with Northern Trust and nearly secured a $6 billion deal with Clearwater. Semaphore reports there’s a possibility that talks with Northern Trust could reignite. That’s after a recent Wall Street Journal report indicated that Bank of New York Melon has also approached Northern Trust for a potential merger. If acquired, Northern Trust could bring Goldman $1.3 trillion in client assets. And these reports come as Goldman has hit a so-called growth wall. The bank’s merger arm brokered a trillion dollars of deals last year, but it’s been 25 years since the firm itself bought anything of size. Back in 2016, Goldman launched a consumer banking division with the goal of diversifying revenue streams. Just six years later, it significantly scaled back that business after racking up billions in losses due to high expenses and rising loan losses. When asked to explain that failed foray, Solomon said on an earnings call, quote, we tried to do too much too quickly. This latest round of acquisition talks comes as Goldman Sachs stock sits near all-time highs, up nearly 50% from a year ago. It also comes as on a broader basis we have seen some loosening of regulations and perhaps signals that deals could be more likely to get a green light.

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