Goldman reshuffle revives float plan

GOLDMAN SACHS' senior partner Jon Corzine is to relinquish responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Wall Street investment bank, as part of a top management reshuffle designed to pave the way for a revival of stalled plans to float the business within the next few months, writes Andrew Garfield.

Mr Corzine, the more senior of the two co-chief executives, says he wants to concentrate his efforts on getting the firm's initial public offering (IPO) off the ground.

Sources say that with the New York stock market now surging to new highs and last autumn's share price collapse just a memory, Goldman could be ready to go ahead with plans to sell 10-15 per cent of the business as early as this spring.

The original plans for a $30bn IPO were shelved last September after market turmoil wiped 60 per cent off the value of New York broking firms' shares. Since then Mr Corzine has come under fire for alleged failure of nerve in cancelling the flotation when other firms went ahead.

Mr Corzine will become co-chairman alongside Henry Paulson, the other current co-chief executive, who from now on will also be sole chief executive. In addition John Thain, chief financial officer, and John Thornton, long the most senior Goldman partner in Europe and now head of Asia, were named as co-chief operating officers.