GOLDMAN Sachs Group is exiting transaction banking in Japan, less than a year after announcing plans to enter the business of managing cash flows for big companies in the country.
“We are stepping back from building out this business here in Japan,” Tokyo-based spokesperson Hiroko Matsumoto said in an emailed statement. “Consequently we are closing Goldman Sachs Bank USA Tokyo Branch whose sole function was to support transaction banking in this market.”
The bank will remain focused on growing its transaction banking operations in the US, UK and European Union, Matsumoto said.
Chief executive officer David Solomon has been focused on expanding the business to generate steady fees. The Wall Street firm said in April 2023 that it was planning to start the service in Japan, the first country in Asia where it would offer it.
Goldman Sachs began the business of handling money for large companies in the US in 2020. It later introduced it to the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, in a move to balance out more volatile areas such as trading and investment banking.
Its banking arm gained a licence in 2021 from Japan’s Financial Services Agency for corporate cash management operations. The company has since begun offering services including dollar settlements for Japanese companies overseas. BLOOMBERG
