Morning Coffee: The new approach to getting a job at Goldman Sachs. Formative experiences for bankers

Looking for a job at Goldman Sachs? You'll need to be in the right place. That place is neither New York City nor the City of London. It is Bangalore.

The Financial Times reports that Goldman now employs 5,000 people in Bangalore, up from 300 in 2004. In 2019, it's opening a new Bangalore "campus" that will be able to house up to 9,000 people. The unstated implication is that Goldman Sachs is planning some very big Bangalore hiring quite soon.

To put this in context, Goldman Sachs ended last year with 400 fewer people than it began. Although current CFO Harvey Schwartz has indicated that layoffs are over, soon-to-be-CFO Marty Chavez is all for cutting costs by automating as much as possible. If Goldman Sachs adds 4,000+ people in Bangalore, therefore, it will almost certainly be looking to cut 4,000+ people from other locations.

It's not just 'back office' Goldman jobs that this applies to. Thirteen years ago Goldman's Bangalore office was just a few hundred IT staff and accountants. Nowadays the FT says the Bangalore operation contains staff covering '14 different activities — from compliance and legal services to investment banking.' There are quants too: last year the FT says Goldman in Bangalore hired 150 them. Whichever jobs can be shifted to Bangalore will be. Mild hysteria suggests no one is safe - except maybe mid-ranking client facing staff - who are apparently being based in Mumbai. The new approach to getting a job at Goldman Sachs means taking a plane to India.

Separately, if you want to run an investment bank as an adult, it helps to be part of a large family when you're a child. This was the experience of James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley. As one of 11 children, Gorman told Bloomberg he had a familial education in empathy. "It was very noisy, you learned a great deal of empathy for each other....You are in an environment where something bad is going on every day," he recalled.

Meanwhile:

Post-Brexit, the UK government wants a trade deal with Wall Street. (Bloomberg)

HSBC says some clients are already rerouting activity through Paris: "They can’t afford to wait for a decision that may not emerge until two years’ time.” (Bloomberg) 

Confusion as desk research falls accidentally foul of MiFID. (Bloomberg) 

“I’m declaring war on Gary Cohn." (The Atlantic) 

Gary Cohn's new life: "He has to spend so much time watching TV with Trump during the day that he ends up staying at work until late in the night.” (Vanity Fair)  

Why Gary is going places: “While others seemed engaged in ideological and ‘House of Cards’-like staff warfare, he quietly and quickly focused on the first rule of governing: He hired some competent, professional staff at the NEC, and it has paid off for him.” (Washington Post) 

Gary Cohn is mostly interested in tax reform. (Reuters) 

Goldman Sachs MD runs away to blockchain start-up. (Coindesk)

Nomura wants to hire M&A executives in the U.S. again. This time it wants to hire even more than last time. (DealStreet Asia)

Private equity executive decides to stop dating swimwear models. (New York Post) 

Life as an oil accountant: 12 hour days studying spreadsheets. (NY Mag) 

Clear coffee that tastes and looks like water. (Vice)

It's probably best that you see your job as meaningless. (Quartz) 

Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com

Photo credit: With The Blazer by Harsha K R is licensed under CC BY 2.0.