What does the future hold for Goldman Sachs? That question is being asked up and down Wall Street, as outside observers try to divine the intentions of Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s chief executive, who used to head up an investment bank but now runs a bank holding company.

Goldman has been described variously as flirting with building a deposit base through online banking, or through an acquisition, or sticking with organic growth, or all of the above. The firm’s decision last week to name Gerald Corrigan, past president of the New York Federal Reserve, as chief of its fledgling commercial banking unit indicates the seriousness with which Goldman is pursuing the endeavour.