Goldman Sachs boss to depart with profits up 44pc

GOLDMAN Sachs boss Lloyd Blankfein looks set to bow out on a high this year after the bank confirmed his exit alongside a 44pc rise in profits.

The Wall Street banking giant confirmed yesterday that its sole president David Solomon, a part-time electronic music DJ who plays in clubs under the name DJ D Sol, would take over from its long-standing boss in October.

The news coincided with the bank’s best second-quarter results seen in nine years.

Net profits shot up 44pc to $2.3bn (£1.8bn) from a year ago while revenues rose 19pc to $9.4bn, easily topping Wall Street analyst expectations. The boost was helped by a strong performance in its investment banking business as well as a rebound in fixed income revenues following a tough 2017.

Goldman also revealed that it will roll out its online bank Marcus to UK customers later this year. The bank, which began in the US in 2016, has more than 1.5m customers and $23bn in deposits. Mr Blankfein will become senior chairman after his retirement.