Being good in a bad industry is not enough
The struggle to reinvent a firm trapped by its own mythology
Jan 26th 2023
GOLDMAN SACHS has always seen itself as exceptional. When the bank floated its shares in New York in 1999 it declared: “We have an uncompromising determination to achieve excellence in everything we undertake.” Conspiracy theorists have long paid it the backhanded compliment of imagining that it secretly runs the world. Yet lately the only exceptional thing about the Wall Street icon has been its mistakes.
mythology
n. （统称）神话, 某文化（或社会等）的神话, 虚幻的想法, 错误的观点
determination
n. 坚定，果断；决心；决定
Conspiracy
n. 密谋策划, 阴谋
compliment
n. 致意，问候；赞美，称赞
v. 赞扬；称赞
高盛集团一直认为自己是与众不同的。1999年，当该银行在纽约上市时，它宣称:“我们有不妥协的决心，在我们所从事的每一件事上都要做到卓越。”长期以来，阴谋论者一直在暗中赞美它，想象它秘密地操纵着世界。然而，最近这家华尔街偶像唯一与众不同的地方就是它的错误。
Since October Goldman has made a U-turn on its plan to build a big consumer bank; booked one of its worst quarterly results for a decade, measured by return on equity; and attracted a probe by the Federal Reserve. The firm is not yet in serious trouble, but it is trapped by its own mythology. Its recent struggles show how hard it will be to reform—and illuminate a new balance of power in global finance.
equity
n. 公平, 公正, 资产净值, （公司的）股本
probe
v. 盘问，追问；探查，探测
n. 探究，详细调查；探针；探测器
Reserve
v. 保留，预订
n. 储备；储存物资；保护区
illuminate
v. 照明，照射；阐释，说明；用彩灯装饰；使精神焕发
自去年10月以来，高盛对其建立大型消费银行的计划做出了180度大转弯;以股本回报率衡量，该公司录得10年来最糟糕的季度业绩之一;并引起了美联储的调查。这家公司还没有陷入严重的困境，但它被自己的神话所困。它最近的挣扎表明了改革的难度，并阐明了全球金融领域的新力量平衡。
To understand Goldman today, take a walk down Wall Street. After the financial crisis of 2007-09, two big American banks reinvented themselves. JPMorgan Chase successfully pursued vast scale across a wide range of business lines. Morgan Stanley built a thriving arm managing the assets of the wealthy, which mints reliable profits. Goldman, however, stuck to its game of trading, advising on deals and bespoke investing. Penal new capital rules made this less lucrative, but the firm staked a Darwinian bet that the resulting shakeout would kill off many competitors. Instead, it badly underperformed the stockmarket for years and got ensnared in the 1MDB scandal, in which officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi received $1.6bn of bribes in 2009-14. A Goldman subsidiary pleaded guilty to a criminal charge and the firm admitted “institutional failure”.
bespoke
adj. 定做的
v. bespeak的过去式和过去分词
Penal
adj. 惩罚的, 刑罚的, 应受刑罚的, 严重的
n. 同“penal servitude. do penal”
lucrative
adj. 赚大钱的, 获利多的
underperform
v. 发挥不好, 表现不理想
scandal
n. 丑闻；丑行；关于丑行的传言
要了解今天的高盛，就去华尔街走一走。在2007-09年的金融危机之后，两家美国大银行进行了自我改造。摩根大通成功地在广泛的业务范围内实现了大规模扩张。摩根士丹利建立了一个繁荣的部门，管理富人的资产，创造可靠的利润。然而，高盛坚持自己的交易游戏，为交易提供建议和定制投资。惩罚性的新资本规定使得这种做法不那么有利可图，但该公司进行了达尔文式的打赌，认为由此产生的洗牌将杀死许多竞争对手。然而，该公司多年来表现严重逊于股市，并卷入1MDB丑闻。2009年至2014年，马来西亚和阿布扎比的官员收受了16亿美元贿赂。高盛的一家子公司承认了一项刑事指控，该公司承认“制度失败”。
The firm’s boss, David Solomon, took over in 2018. A man with a short fuse, he has tried to rebrand himself and to renew the firm by expanding its core and diversifying into new areas. Goldman now offers transaction banking to multinationals, helping them move funds globally. It has bulked up its asset- and wealth-management arm. And from their Manhattan skyscraper, flush Goldmanites dreamed of growing a mass-market digital bank for ordinary consumers, including a credit-card operation.
fuse
v. 结合，融合；（使）熔化
n. 保险丝；导火线；引信
skyscraper
n. 摩天大楼
该公司老板大卫·所罗门(David Solomon)于2018年上任。作为一个脾气暴躁的人，他试图重塑自己的形象，并通过扩大核心业务和向新领域多元化来重振公司。高盛现在为跨国公司提供交易银行业务，帮助它们在全球范围内转移资金。它已经壮大了资产和财富管理部门。在曼哈顿的摩天大楼里，高盛人梦想着为普通消费者发展一家面向大众市场的数字银行，包括信用卡业务。
Parts of Mr Solomon’s strategy have paid off. Goldman’s market share in mergers and bond trading has risen, helping it make a monster $21bn in profits in 2021 as markets boomed. From taxpayers’ viewpoint, it is safer, with more capital and deposits. And, importantly, its share price has recovered lost ground, rising more than the market and those of most of its peers.
bond
n. 联系，关系，（情感的）纽带；债券；结合
v. 结合，团结在一起
deposit
v. 放下, 放置; 存放, 寄存; 存钱; (使)沉淀, (使)沉积; 付, 预付
n. 存款; 押金, 订金; 堆积物, 沉积物; 矿床; 存储; 沉积
所罗门先生的部分策略取得了成效。高盛在并购和债券交易领域的市场份额有所上升，随着市场繁荣，帮助其在2021年实现了210亿美元的巨额利润。从纳税人的角度来看，它更安全，有更多的资金和存款。而且，重要的是，它的股价已经收复失地，涨幅超过了市场和大多数同行。
Yet look more closely and the project to remake the bank is vexingly incomplete. Diversification has been patchy: transaction-banking revenues are tiny and the asset-management arm is often dragged down by opaque proprietary bets. The dream of creating a consumer bank has soured. Goldman has 15m customers, but has also faced large losses and bad-debt charges, which is why it is now winding down part of the operation.
vexing
adj. 令人烦恼的
Diversification
n. 多样化, 【商】(投资的)分散经营
patchy
adj. 零散的, 散落的, 分布不匀的, 不完整的
drag
v. （使劲而吃力地）拖, 缓慢而费力地移动（或行进）, 生拉硬拽
n. 令人厌烦的人, 乏味无聊的事, 累赘, 拖累
adj. 女穿男服的, 〈美俚〉男穿女服的
adv. 〈美俚〉带有女伴
proprietary
adj. 专卖的, 专营的, 专利的, 所有的
n. 所有权, 所有物, 所有团体
sour
adj. 酸的, 有酸味的, 酸腐的, 馊的
v. 恶化, 酸腐, 使变酸腐
n. 酸味, 痛苦, 讨厌的东西, 〈美〉酸味饮料
然而，更仔细地观察，重塑世界银行的项目是令人烦恼的不完整的。多元化经营并不完善:交易银行业务收入微薄，资产管理部门经常被不透明的自营投资拖累。创建一家消费者银行的梦想破灭了。高盛拥有1500万客户，但也面临着巨额亏损和坏账费用，这就是为什么它现在正在逐步缩减部分业务。
As the prospects for a big new earnings machine have receded, everything still rests on the traditional business. The profitability of the trading arm has improved but remains volatile and, on average, pedestrian. Overall, Goldman has made reasonable use of its resources, generating a return on tangible equity of 14% over Mr Solomon’s tenure. But its performance is erratic, veering from 33% in early 2021 to just 5% in the latest quarter. It has lagged behind its American peers half of the time, and the two industry leaders, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, two-thirds of the time. Investors think that Goldman is worth only the net book—or liquidation—value of its assets, suggesting they doubt that it can generate consistently high returns or find lucrative new areas.
recede
vi. 后退，减弱
vt. 撤回
volatile
adj. 易变的, 无定性的, 无常性的, 可能急剧波动的
pedestrian
n. 行人，步行者
adj. 行人的；缺乏想象力的，乏味的
tenure
n. 任期, (土地,资产等)保有权, 终身教席
erratic
adj. 不规则的, 不确定的, 不稳定的, 不可靠的
n. 漂砾, 漂石
veer
v. 改变, 突然变向, 猛然转向, 偏离
n. 方向的改变
由于新的大型盈利机器的前景已经消退，一切仍依赖于传统业务。交易部门的盈利能力有所改善，但仍不稳定，平均而言表现平平。总的来说，高盛合理地利用了其资源，在所罗门先生任期内创造了14%的有形资产回报率。但其表现不稳定，从2021年初的33%转向最近一个季度的5%。它有一半的时间落后于美国同行，有三分之二的时间落后于两大行业领导者摩根大通和摩根士丹利。投资者认为高盛只值其资产的账面净值或清算价值，这表明他们怀疑高盛能否持续产生高回报或找到有利可图的新领域。
Goldman’s struggles point to several lessons. One is that it still excels, but in a bad industry. Investment banking combines the drawbacks of a regulated activity (capital requirements and red tape) with the vices of a speculative one (volatility and capture by employees). The firm says it has become more disciplined on pay but last year forked out $15bn, its second-highest salary and bonus bill since the financial crisis, even as profits halved to $11bn and the firm barely beat its cost of capital. The real action in finance is outside regulated banking, where a new cohort of stars rules, including Blackstone in private markets, BlackRock in index funds, and Citadel, an investing and trading house that made its clients $16bn in 2022.
excel
v. 超过；擅长；突出
n. Excel电子表格(办公软件）
drawback
n. 缺点，弱点；不利条件
speculative
adj. 推测的, 猜测的, 推断的, 揣摩的
disciplined
adj. 遵守纪律的
halve
v. （使）减半；把…对半分
cohort
n. （有共同特点或举止类同的）一群人, 同伙, 支持者
高盛的困境指向了几个教训。其一，它仍然是优秀的，但在一个糟糕的行业。投资银行业既有受监管活动的缺点(资本要求和繁文缛节)，也有投机活动的缺点(波动性和被员工俘获)。该公司表示，它在薪酬方面已变得更加自律，但去年支出了150亿美元，这是自金融危机以来第二高的薪酬和奖金支出，尽管该公司利润减半至110亿美元，且勉强低于其资本成本。金融业的真正行动在受监管的银行业之外，一群新的明星主宰着银行业，包括私募市场的黑石(Blackstone)、指数基金的贝莱德(BlackRock)，以及投资和交易公司Citadel，该公司在2022年为其客户创造了160亿美元的利润。
Another lesson is that it is hard to compete in winner-takes-all digital markets. Goldman thought that brains and brand were enough. Not true. It has spent billions, but its customer base remains a fraction of that of PayPal or Amazon. JPMorgan reaches 66m American households, but maintains a vast physical network of branches. Goldman has achieved digital scale by teaming up with Apple to provide a credit card. However, given that the tech giant has almost a billion paying subscribers, Apple holds the whip hand in that relationship.
fraction
n. 一部分，小部分；碎片；些微，一点儿；分数；小数
whip
v. 鞭打, 鞭笞, 〈口〉击败, 抽打
n. 鞭子, 【无线】鞭状天线, 投票指示, (某党)议员领袖
另一个教训是，在“赢者通吃”的数字市场很难竞争。高盛认为头脑和品牌就足够了。不正确的。它已经花费了数十亿美元，但其客户基础仍只是贝宝(PayPal)或亚马逊(Amazon)的一小部分。摩根大通覆盖了6600万美国家庭，但仍保持着庞大的实体网点。高盛通过与苹果(Apple)合作提供信用卡，实现了数字化规模。然而，考虑到这家科技巨头拥有近10亿付费用户，苹果在这种关系中处于上风。
A final lesson is that the stagnation of globalisation has shrunk Wall Street’s horizons. In the decade after Goldman listed, international revenues provided half of its growth, as its bankers conquered Europe and then broke into Asia. Today they supply a third of growth, as local competitors have emerged and some countries have become wary of foreign financiers. The number-one arranger of shares and bonds last year in China was CITIC Securities; in India Kotak Mahindra and Axis led the pack. These are names that many on Wall Street may not know.
stagnation
n. 停滞, 滞止, 萧条, 迟钝
最后一个教训是，全球化的停滞缩小了华尔街的视野。在高盛上市后的十年里，随着其银行家征服欧洲，然后进军亚洲，国际收入为其贡献了一半的增长。如今，随着本土竞争对手的出现，以及一些国家对外国金融家变得谨慎起来，它们贡献了三分之一的增长。去年中国最大的股票和债券发行人是中信证券(CITIC Securities);在印度，Kotak Mahindra和Axis领先。许多华尔街人士可能并不知道这些名字。
Raging bulls
Can Goldman recover its swagger? Mr Solomon is wisely laying off staff and shrinking the bank’s proprietary investments. Over time he may be vindicated by prosaic changes—running its asset-management arm better, say, or pioneering new tech to cut exorbitant labour costs—or even by orchestrating a merger.
swagger
v. 神气十足地走，大摇大摆地走
n. 大摇大摆，神气十足
adj. 〈口〉漂亮的
proprietary
adj. 专卖的, 专营的, 专利的, 所有的
n. 所有权, 所有物, 所有团体
prosaic
adj. 平庸的, 没有诗意（或美感）的, 平淡的, 乏味的
exorbitant
adj. 过高的, 高得离谱的
orchestrate
v. 精心安排, 编配（或创作）管弦乐曲, 策划, 密谋
高盛还能重振雄风吗?所罗门先生正在明智地裁员并缩减银行的自营投资。随着时间的推移，他可能会通过一些平淡无奇的改变——比如更好地运营资产管理部门，或者开拓新技术以削减过高的劳动力成本——甚至通过策划一次合并来证明自己的正确。
Yet there is something uniquely hard about reforming elite firms whose unwritten code is that they are smarter than everyone else. Just ask McKinsey, a scandal-magnet once known as the world’s most-admired consultancy. Goldman’s culture of self-regard remains at odds with the facts. Instead it now needs to be self-critical. For yesterday’s masters of the universe, that may be the hardest leap of all. ■
然而，对于那些不成文的准则是他们比其他人都聪明的精英公司来说，改革是一件特别困难的事情。问问麦肯锡(McKinsey)就知道了，这家丑闻不断的公司曾被誉为全球最受尊敬的咨询公司。高盛自重的文化仍与事实不符。相反，它现在需要自我批评。对于昔日的宇宙主宰来说，这可能是最艰难的一步。■
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