Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO David Solomon said there is a flurry of deal activity underway in the U.S. that will see financing and M&A activity at or above the ten-year average. Under the incoming Trump administration, a growth-focused environment and a loose regulatory environment are expected to emerge, which will not only facilitate transactions but also benefit the banks that advise on them.
“I’m very optimistic that this administration will implement a very, very pro-growth agenda,” Solomon said in a speech at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York today (December 10). The bank executive expects both trading activity and asset prices to rise, which he called “good for Goldman’s business.”
Investors seem to agree. Like other major banks, Goldman Sachs’ stock price surged after Trump’s election, rising 13% on November 6.
Trump’s nomination of hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary in November signaled the president-elect’s business-friendly plans. “I think Scott has a deep understanding of markets and capital flows, which I think is an important input into policy decisions,” Solomon said, noting that he was “excited to work with the new economics team.”
What about cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence?
The incoming administration is also expected to take a more pro-crypto stance on digital currencies, with Trump appointing venture capitalist David Sacks as an “artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar” to oversee the cryptocurrency industry. reform. Solomon said the regulatory framework that currently prevents Goldman from holding cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin “must continue to evolve.” “These are speculative assets at the moment, but people are very interested in them,” he added.
Limits on the development of artificial intelligence may also become a key component of Trump’s agenda. Like many other banks, Goldman Sachs has been experimenting with artificial intelligence, and Solomon is primarily interested in improving the productivity of Goldman’s 11,000 engineers among its 46,000 employees. “If we can use these tools to improve their coding efficiency by 20 or 30 percent, that’s a huge boost for us,” he said.
One of the biggest concerns surrounding artificial intelligence is the technology’s potential to lead to job displacement — something Solomon isn’t worried about. The CEO said that despite the emergence of new technologies, Goldman’s headcount has been growing steadily over the past few decades. He predicts that the company will continue to grow over the next decade, despite inevitable disruptions from technological advancements. “Our economy is very good at adapting to these shifts, given the innovation in our economy and the dynamism of our economy,” Solomon said. “I don’t think things are any different this time around.”
