Goldman Sachs: From Bill Discounter to Global Financial Powerhouse

Ⅰ. The History of Goldman Sachs: From Bill Discounter to Global Financial Giant

The Founding Years: The Rise of the Commercial Paper Business

Goldman Sachs was born in 1869 when Marcus Goldman, a German immigrant, founded a small bill discounting company at 30 Pine Street in New York City. With a keen insight into the commercial paper market, the founder pioneered the establishment of the “cashier's check acquisition - bank resale” business model, to buy merchants' short-term notes at a discount, and then resold to commercial banks to obtain the spread. This seemingly simple business model established Goldman Sachs' core competence as a financial intermediary.

In 1885, the company officially changed its name to Goldman Sachs & Co. and established a family partnership structure. During this period, Goldman Sachs' average daily note trading volume had reached $5 million, becoming an important player in New York's commercial paper market, and accumulating raw capital and business reputation for its later transformation into a full-fledged financial service.

Globalization and Expansion Period: From Partnership to Multinational Financial Groups

After more than a century of development and innovation, Goldman Sachs began a radical transformation in 1969. His philosophy of “Long-term Greedy” propelled the firm from a conservative investment bank to a transaction-driven organization.

In 1986, Goldman Sachs became a member of the London and Tokyo Stock Exchanges, marking the acceleration of globalization, and in the 1990s, Goldman Sachs launched a mutual fund in Japan (1996) and set up its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong (1997), basically shaping the global network. 1998 shareholding reform was the turn of the century.

Crisis and Transition: Survival Wisdom in the Financial Crisis

The 2007-2008 financial crisis was a key test in Goldman Sachs' modern history. Despite huge losses in its mortgage securities business, the firm demonstrated excellent risk management capabilities: it shorted subprime mortgage products in time to minimize losses, was the first to apply for conversion to a bank holding company (in September 2008) to obtain liquidity support from the Federal Reserve, and received a $5 billion injection of preferred stock from Warren Buffett. These moves made it one of the few large institutions on Wall Street that did not receive a direct bailout from TARP and maintained its relative independence.

Post-crisis strategic adjustments have been particularly critical, with Goldman Sachs setting up an investment management division to integrate its wealth management business in 2011, and launching Marcus, an online lending platform, in 2015, demonstrating its penetration into the mass financial market. During this period, Goldman Sachs' China business surged, realizing the holding of a joint venture securities company in 2018, becoming a benchmark for the financial layout of foreign investors in China.

Technology-driven new period: digitalization and sustainable transformation

Goldman Sachs' transformation strategy in recent years has shown a trend of integrating technological innovation with ESG. in 2016, Goldman Sachs launched a digital bank, GS Bank, in 2021 it acquired a consumer finance platform, GreenSky, and in 2022 it launched a high-yield savings account in partnership with Apple, showing an aggressive expansion into retail finance. In terms of technology investment, the Marquee platform provides quantitative analysis tools for institutional clients, and the Symphony communication system reshapes the way financial information is interacted with.

The sustainability field is full of action: refusing to finance the Arctic drilling project in 2019, committing to a $750 billion sustainable financing target in 2020, and setting up a dedicated ESG research team in 2021. The layout of emerging markets continues to ramp up, with 37% revenue growth in the Indian business in 2023 and more than $2 billion in fintech investments in Southeast Asia. Currently Goldman Sachs global staff of more than 45,000 people, with offices in 30 countries, asset management scale exceeded 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars, continue to write a new chapter of the Wall Street legend.

Ⅱ. Goldman Sachs' Global Market Presence and Regional Competitiveness Analysis

Global Business Landscape and Overall Market Position

As one of the most representative investment banks on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs Group maintains an all-round leading position in the global financial market. According to the latest data in 2024, Goldman Sachs' consolidated market share in the global investment banking sector reached 7.2%, ranking second in the world after JPMorgan Chase's 9.2%. This dominant position comes from its balanced development in a number of core business lines: fixed income, currencies and commodities trading (FICC) business has grown its market share at an average annual rate of 20% in recent years; equity underwriting and mergers and acquisitions consulting business continues to maintain its position as one of the top three in the world; and its asset management scale has exceeded the US$2.5 trillion mark.

From the geographical distribution of income, Goldman Sachs presents a clear “Americas core + Eurasian growth” pattern. The financial reports in recent years show that the Americas contributed 64% of the Group's total revenue, Europe, the Middle East and Africa accounted for about 21%, and the Asia-Pacific region contributed 15%, of which the Asia-Pacific region's revenue increased by 8% year-on-year, making it the fastest-growing region. This distribution reflects both Goldman Sachs' traditional strengths as a U.S.-based bank and the latest results of its globalization strategy.

Americas: Core Profit Sources and Local Strengths

Goldman Sachs demonstrated its full range of competencies in the U.S. domestic market. Goldman Sachs' strengths are particularly evident in its high-end corporate client services: more than 60% of the S&P 500 constituent companies maintain long-term investment banking relationships with Goldman Sachs; Goldman Sachs leads the industry with a 23% underwriting share of IPOs in the science and technology and biomedical fields; and its M&A advisory business has maintained a top-three share of the market for 15 consecutive years.

Canada and Latin America are strategic additions to Goldman Sachs' presence in the Americas. In the field of resource-based corporate finance in Canada, Goldman Sachs occupies about 15% of the market share; Latin America, although the overall contribution is not high (about 3%), but in the cross-border mergers and acquisitions transactions in Brazil and Mexico, Goldman Sachs by virtue of its New York-São Paulo-Mexico City three-place linkage model, successful access to the local high net-worth clients and multinational corporate business, the Latin American region in 2023 revenue growth of 12% year-on-year.

Europe: Traditional Strengths and Emerging Challenges

Europe is Goldman Sachs' most strategic market outside of the Americas, with its City of London office serving as the EMEA regional headquarters and managing over 8,000 employees. Goldman Sachs remains strong in its traditional investment banking business: 45 of the UK's FTSE 100 constituent companies list Goldman Sachs as their preferred investment banking advisor; its market share of corporate bond underwriting in the eurozone has stabilized at around 9%; and its cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory business has a market share of as much as 18%, especially in industrial M&A transactions between Germany and the United Kingdom, and between Germany and France, where it has taken a leading role.

However, the European market is also facing new challenges. After Britain's exit from the European Union, Goldman Sachs has moved about 400 positions from London to Frankfurt and Paris, and the reorganization of its business within the EU has led to a 15% rise in operating costs. Meanwhile, the rapid rise of local European banks such as BNP Paribas in the field of green finance has squeezed Goldman Sachs' space in sustainable bond underwriting.

Asia Pacific: Strategic Growth Poles and Opportunities in China

The Asia-Pacific region is the segment with the most growth potential in Goldman Sachs' global strategy. Japan as a mature market, Goldman Sachs in the Tokyo Stock Exchange listed companies service coverage of 32%, especially in the automotive and electronics industry mergers and acquisitions to maintain the lead; the Indian market through the 2024 investment in Medi Assist Healthcare and other projects, asset management scale exceeded 15 billion U.S. dollars; Southeast Asia, fintech layout results, the Singapore digital bank license The acquisition of a digital banking license in Singapore has made it a new force in regional wealth management.

The Chinese market is the core of Goldman Sachs' Asia-Pacific strategy. As one of the first foreign institutions to obtain QFII status (2004) and a controlling stake in a joint venture brokerage (2018), Goldman Sachs has established a comprehensive business network in China. The local investment banking business in China through Goldman Sachs Gowers Securities has a 25% participation in the Kechuan Board program.

Emerging Markets and Future Layout

In the Middle East, Goldman Sachs is actively engaged in energy transition finance. The Dubai International Financial Center office has reached US$20 billion in assets under management, and the US$5 billion new energy fund to be set up in 2023 in cooperation with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, PIF, marks its increased influence in the region. Although the African market is limited in size, Goldman Sachs' mineral finance business in South Africa and digital payment investment in Nigeria show long-term layout intentions.