GS
#I think we don't target a mix, as you know.
We focus on the clients in those businesses where, as you know, we have leading market positions; and so we feel good about that.
I think it's a bit more of what your expectation for the environment is.
We control the micro issues we can focus on: our client engagement, expenses, capital management.
But a lot of the things are outside of our control.
And I would say that in aggregate, when you look at the vast majority of our businesses, this is not an extraordinary environment.
Despite the fact that third-quarter performance was strong on a relative basis, there were lots of challenges regionally.
You could certainly envision an environment that was significantly better from where we are today.
You've heard me say this a lot, but, we root for growth.
And an environment of negative interest rates in vast parts of the world is not indicative of a world that is growing at a great pace.
So you can see much better environments than we have today, and we hope that ends up being the case.
Just like I think they could change always pretty quickly for the negative, and we tend to be more contingency planners, you could certainly see things break for the high side.
Obviously, rates could move back into positive territory, which would be an indicator.
And there's been speculation in the market that we might be more on the cusp of that in the United States.
I think the most important takeaway is whether or not we move into that environment in the near term, we are incorporating all those current factors into how we are running the Firm today which, in a pretty muted environment, we are able to grow revenues, demonstrate a double-digit ROE.
And we truly believe we are well-positioned in the franchise, with significant operating leverage, if the environment improves.
So we feel quite good about our position.
But we are rooting for better environment for everybody.
So that's perfectly consistent with what we are able to generate.
Of course, we don't have any legacy infrastructure or cost structure.
This is all a white sheet of paper for us.
So we'll see how it evolves, but that is certainly achievable.
So it's a great question.
I would say that, broadly speaking, and this won't be completely inclusive.
But I think if you define our technology strategy as focused on client engagement and those tools and services we can deliver to clients that provide differentiated value to those clients.
And you see us doing that in our capital markets businesses, and obviously you see us creating that with Marcus.
Two, there are times when we feel like, given our core technology skills, we are in a position to develop technology which would be better enhanced outside of the Firm, ultimately, even though we've incubated it in the Firm.
Symphony would be a great example of that.
We feel like, as an information sharing platform with better security, better compliance controls, we felt like that was something better utilized by a broad range of market participants.
And lastly, our own technology internally is quite important for making us more efficient, and adapting to regulatory change, and managing our risk.
And that's obviously been very core to what we do.
If we look across all three of those different platforms, if you will, for lack of better language.
I would say the most important thing, in addition to controlling the Firm, is our client engagement.
And Marcus reflects that trend as it relates to consumers.
So it's more than exceeded our expectations.
I think in the past quarter, we picked up another $1 billion of deposits.
And so the momentum there feels quite good, and the team has done an excellent job of transitioning the platform into Goldman.
Okay, great.
Thanks, <UNK>.
This is completely consistent, <UNK>, as you know.
You have been following us forever in terms of broadly speaking, and it may not be the case in any given year.
But broadly speaking, we've encouraged you to expect that compensation and benefits expense will lag revenue moves.
So you've seen it through the year to date; 41% is our best estimate.
But revenues are down 15%; compensation benefit expense down 13%.
In environments where revenues are up, base case, you should expect a lag in that direction also, particularly given how much we have emphasized operating leverage with you.
We like it.
So three of the four segments are up this year, obviously.
The one segment, which we've worked hard to unpack for everybody, is investing and lending.
And this would very naturally fall into the lending segment.
Obviously, to the extent to which down the road as an activity in and of itself, if it had material contribution, we could talk about highlighting more.
But I think it will get a lot of attention as it grows anyway.
It's pretty exciting.
Since there are no more questions, I just really want to take a moment to thank all of you for joining the call.
Hopefully, I and other members of senior management will see many of you in the coming months.
If any additional questions come up, please don't hesitate to reach out to <UNK> or the team.
Otherwise, please enjoy the rest of your day.
And I look forward to speaking with you on our fourth-quarter earnings call in January.
Take care, everyone, and thanks again.
