Goldman Sachs' New York staff slowest to return to the office

Slowly, people are returning to banks' global offices. However, New York seems to be lagging the rest. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said yesterday that 50% of Goldman's staff are now back in the office in Asia, that 25% are back in continental Europe and that 12% are back in London. In New York, however, only 5% of people have returned. Given that reentering the office is voluntary, it looks a lot like Goldman's Wall Street staff would rather be elsewhere. 

The absences might have something to do with the high proportion of wealthy New Yorkers who've decamped to the Hamptons for the summer. They may also be related to New York's high virus toll and memories of infections in at 200 West before the lockdown. Either way, the discrepancy is notable.

Goldman isn't commenting on the lack of enthusiasm for 200 West. One markets insider put the proportion of people back on the trading floor at closer to 10% with a couple more returning every day. "We're all around 20 foot apart," he said, adding that it feels totally safe and is "slowly filling up."

The returners so far are understood to include Marc Nachmann, global co-head of the securities division, Cyril Goddeeris, global head of prime services, Anne Marie Darling, who manages sales of Marquee, and Josh Glassman, head of Americas equity sales.

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