Goldman Sachs ‘in talks’ to partner with Amazon on small business loans
Goldman Sachs is reportedly in advanced talks with Amazon to offer small business loans in the US, as the Wall Street giant looks to the tech titan in a bid to break into the mainstream areas of financial services.
Goldman Sachs has begun building technology that would allow it to offer loans to small and medium-sized firms via Amazon’s lending platform, the Financial Times reported, citing two people briefed on the situation.
One source told the paper the project, which is likely to involve using Goldman’s brand and Amazon’s product, could be launched as soon as March.
Goldman chief executive David Solomon last week pledged to boost the bank’s returns by bringing in revenues from new sources including consumer banking and wealth management.
In March, the bank launched a credit card in partnership with Apple to help customers manage their finances via their iPhone.
Goldman executives have described the Apple Card as the “most successful credit card launch ever”.
The tie-up features Goldman Sachs’ branding on a physical card and in some marketing, and gives the bank direct access to Apple’s US customer base.
Goldman Sachs lacks the network of physical branches that many banks use to attract small business customers, although it does offer consumer lending through its retail banking arm, Marcus.
For the past eight years, Amazon has lent to small businesses that sell products on its site, and had over $863m (£663m) of outstanding business loans on its balance sheet at the end of last year.
Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the reports. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the deal, and said lending was “part of the services, tools, programs and infrastructure we provide to our selling partners, mostly small and medium-sized businesses, who account for more than half of everything sold in Amazon’s stores”.