1MDB scandal may have curbed Goldman's risk appetite

Hong Kong

AN Asian cull makes Goldman Sachs look rattled. The US bank is cutting nearly 30 per cent of its investment banking team in Asia outside of Japan. The region's problems are familiar and longstanding: lumpy deal flow, fierce competition and skimpy fees. But Goldman's pullback suggests the scandal over Malaysia's disgraced 1MDB may have curbed its risk appetite too.

Goldman's headcount for mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity capital markets will go from 300 to slightly more than 200 bankers, Reuters reported.