Goldman Lobbies U.K. to Relax Capital Ring-Fencing Rules

(Bloomberg) --

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. called on the U.K. to relax capital rules for retail banking introduced in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the Mail on Sunday reported. 

The U.K. currently requires big banks with deposits of 25 billion pounds ($34 billion) or more to ring-fence the retail operations, meaning the banks can’t use the funds in the riskier investment bank and trading arms.  

Goldman has lobbied to raise the threshold to 100 billion pounds before the restrictions kick in, the Mail on Sunday said, citing an unnamed source. The U.S. bank declined to comment to the newspaper. 

Concerns of breaching the 25 billion-pound threshold could delay Goldman’s launch of checking accounts in the U.K. through its retail brand Marcus, a source told the paper. 

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