Monday'​s Wall Street Journal featured an article entitled, "Wall Street Titans Reboot," which discusses a move into retail banking by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. It explains, "In the darkest days of the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley became bank-​holding companies to shore up confidence and gain the implicit backing of the Federal Reserve. But few believed the Wall Street powerhouses would fundamentally change -- that they would don the banking cloak until their trading and investment-​banking businesses came roaring back.... In response, both firms have turned to more basic banking businesses, betting that the cachet of their brand names can overcome relative lack of experience in dealing with the deposits and loans of middle-​class Americans." The piece adds, "​In embracing banking, the two firms are trying the latter, albeit in different ways. Morgan Stanley, which already had made wealth management a key part of its business, is looking to squeeze more revenue from its existing pool of generally well-​off clients. Goldman is casting a wider net, hanging out an internet shingle in hopes of attracting deposits from and making loans to Main Street America -- opening the door wide to less-​wealthy clients it once shunned.... In one regard, the move into banking could be well timed. Investors now sniffing around downtrodden bank stocks expect they will do well if interest rates rise." The article continues, "To keep from being left behind, both have been growing deposits and loans the past few years.... As of June 30, the firms' combined $​276 billion in outstanding deposits were about one-​fifth of J.​P. Morgan Chase.... Deposits are popular with regulators since they are a cheap source of the funding needed to guard against another meltdown.... Morgan Stanley last month began offering clients new perks to move outside cash into their brokerage accounts, including reimbursing ATM fees and offering free identity-​theft protection. It soon will begin offering a savings account that pays about 0.​45 percentage points a year, according to a person familiar with the plan. That is 30 times what existing Morgan Stanley clients make on their deposits, but about half what Goldman is paying in its new savings accounts." In other news, a press release entitled, "BinckBank Chooses SAFENED covers news of interest to the savings deposit market in Europe."

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