Goldman Adds GM Credit Cards to Its Marcus Consumer Business

(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. announced a new credit card with General Motors Co., adding another Main Street brand to its consumer business.

The agreement is Goldman’s second major co-brand deal, following the launch of a high-profile credit card with Apple Inc. in 2019. Banks use such partnerships with name-brand companies to attract their customers as borrowers.

Goldman, which emerged as the front-runner for the GM partnership in 2020, is taking over the card business from Capital One Financial Corp., which has been offloading some of its smaller portfolios. While the transaction is relatively modest in the credit-card industry, it represents another step forward for the Wall Street firm’s foray into retail banking.

“The average person in the U.S. spends an hour in their car. This is just something they engage with all the time,” Stephanie Cohen, who helps lead Goldman’s consumer and wealth business, said in an interview. “People want to experience financial services and ecosystems that they love and that they trust.”

The bank’s consumer line, marketed as Marcus, has also paired up with the likes of Walmart Inc. to offer small-business loans, and finances vacation purchases with JetBlue Airways Corp. New York-based Goldman also agreed to buy GreenSky Inc., adding a company that offers payment plans to customers with home-improvement projects or health-care needs.

In an October earnings call, Goldman Chief Executive Officer David Solomon said that in addition to adding other partnerships, the bank also has “the opportunity for a proprietary card that’s in development.” Such a standalone card would be more similar to popular offerings from the country’s consumer-banking giants.

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