Goldman Sachs could increase staff in the UK as part of plans to bring its retail bank to Britain

The US bank is now considering a mix of internal and external hires that could more than double the size of a 15-strong UK team meant to oversee the expansion

The lender launched its retail banking operations in the US last October under the “Marcus” brand, offering personal loans and savings accounts to consumers online (Reuters)

Goldman Sachs is looking at bulking up its UK workforce as part of plans to bring its retail banking business to Britain.

The Press Association understands that Goldman has already held discussions with regulators including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in hopes of launching retail operations - including personal savings accounts - in the UK by mid-2018.

The US bank is now considering a mix of internal and external hires that could more than double the size of a 15-strong UK team meant to oversee the expansion, and could hire extra staff to run a London-based call centre to serve its customers.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

The lender launched its retail banking operations in the US last October under the “Marcus” brand, offering personal loans and savings accounts to consumers online.

The bank has since hired former TSB director Des McDaid to head up the UK team, which could expand from 15 staff to upwards of 30 to 50, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the story.

It is understood that Goldman would continue to run Marcus as an online-only business if it expanded into the UK, and is unlikely to consider running bricks-and-mortar branches.

News of the lender's expansion plans are likely to soothe concerns over the UK's waning attraction for foreign firms in light of Brexit, following a string of relocation announcements from international banks and insurers.

Barclays, Legal & General and Bank of America have recently revealed plans to base EU-focused operations in Dublin after Brexit, while Luxembourg has gained commitments from the likes of US giant AIG, Northern Trust and insurers RSA and Hiscox.

Goldman itself has flagged plans to move client-facing staff to the likes of Madrid and Milan, as well as Frankfurt where it expects to at least double its 200-strong workforce.

The US banking giant's move into retail banking has been seen as a way to diversify its income as its investment banking desks continue to struggle.

Earlier this summer, Goldman reported flat earnings for the second quarter due to poor performance in its trading division.

The Wall Street firm said it earned 1.63 billion US dollars (£1.24 billion), basically unchanged from the same period a year earlier, having been held back by a 17 per cent drop in revenues in the division that contains Goldman's trading desks.

The US bank said the drop came amid a “challenging environment characterised by low levels of volatility, low client activity and generally difficult market-making conditions”.

Overall revenue fell to $7.89bn (£5.98bn) compared with $7.93bn (£6.01bn) a year earlier.

PA