Goldman Sachs could soon be adding traders in Zurich

If you're a trader covering the Swiss markets at Goldman Sachs in London and you're looking forward to occupying your new trading floor with a glass roof, we have some bad news for you: you might well be moving to Zurich instead.

Goldman Sachs has just acquired a trading licence in Switzerland. FiNews reports that Goldman has made the strategic decision to execute Swiss trades in Zurich instead of in London. Historically, 12 of Goldman's Swiss traders were based in London with 12 in Zurich. Goldman Sachs didn't comment on its plans, but the implication is that more of the 24 traders could be based in Zurich sometime in the future.  

Goldman Sachs has had an office in Zurich since 1974 and currently employs 120 people there in total. The man to know on the Swiss trading floor is Patrik Zumstein, a former Lehman trader who was made MD in 2017.

Although the move to Zurich is understood not to be directly linked to Brexit, it's hard not to conclude that Zurich is a beneficiary of the Brexit fallout even though Switzerland isn't in the EU. Other banks with EU trading licenses include JPMorgan, Citi and Nomura. 

As we reported last week, Goldman Sachs is on the cusp of opening entirely new offices in Stockholm and Milan.

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