Trump taps Goldman COO for economic council - report

Reuters
Goldman Sachs President and Chief Operating Officer Gary Cohn is sworn in before testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 30, 2010. REUTERS/Jim Young/Files

By Philip Scipio

NEW YORK (IFR) - Incoming U.S. president Donald Trump has tapped Goldman Sachs COO Gary Cohn to head key White House advisory body the National Economic Council, NBC News reported on Friday.

Cohn becomes at least the third Goldman Sachs veteran called on by Trump so far to help shape policy once his administration comes to power in January.

Last week Trump picked former Goldman Sachs banker Steve Mnuchin to head the Treasury Department. Another ex-Goldman banker, Stephen Bannon, is Trump's chief strategist.

Cohn, who joined the firm in 1990, had been widely viewed as the likely successor to Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein, though Blankfein has suggested he could stay on five more years.

Blankfein has battled back to health after being diagnosed with lymphoma in 2015.

In any event, a departure by Cohn could set the stage for a massive shakeup of management at Goldman Sachs, whose shares have rocketed up 33% since Trump's election victory.

In particular, as both Blankfein and Cohn come from the fixed income side of the business, Cohn's departure could pave the way for someone from the investment banking side to take over Cohn's dual role as president and chief operating officer.

That could put Richard Gnodde, David Solomon or John Waldron - the current co-heads of investment banking - in line for the position.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

(Reporting by Philip Scipio; Editing by Marc Carnegie)