Goldman president criticizes barriers to migration amid H-1B row

Samuel Corum/Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloom

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President John Waldron criticized the growth of barriers to movement put up by countries around the world, amid rising concern among American firms about the Trump administration's decision to charge $100,000 for a key type of visa.

"We have a very big global footprint that we need and desire that talent all over the world — and I think the more barriers we put up around the world, the harder it is for companies like ours to do that," Waldron said at an event hosted by the Financial Times in New York, in response to a question that cited US policy and that of countries globally.

"I think it's to be worried about, and I think in a world that is as complicated as this world, it would be much better if we could allow that talent to move around," said Waldron, who didn't specifically reference the H-1B charge.

The executive's comments follow those of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon earlier this week, when he said the move by President Donald Trump to hike the fee on H-1B visas "caught everyone off guard." Goldman is one of the largest employers of H-1B workers in the US financial sector, according to US government data.

Trump slapped the fee on new H-1B petitions last week as a condition of entry to the US. The lack of clarity around the new rules prompted some major technology firms to initially warn employees against foreign travel.

In a wide-ranging interview, Waldron also said he worried the risk premium on artificial-intelligence firms was "too low." And he defended private credit against suggestions that its lightly regulated boom could lead to more problems in the US economy.

"I wouldn't say that the more explosive growth of private credit is going to be the cause of some big credit cycle," Waldron said.

The executive, who is widely expected to become the next Goldman Sachs chief executive, argued that the growth of lending by private funds and non-bank lenders — including his firm's own asset-management arm — will not in itself cause economic problems. Rather, he pointed to economic fundamentals as the place to focus attention.

"I don't think that just because we went from more of it in the banking system to more of it in the private credit system, therefore we're going to have a problem," he said. "I think the problem will come if we have weak economic fundamentals."

If that happens, he said, "you will uncover at that point where the lending was that was more problematic."

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