Goldman CEO on how he’s turning the Wall Street powerhouse into a giant digital bank for consumers

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said Thursday that the company is just starting to build out its consumer-facing digital banking offerings.

“We’re building for the long term. I feel good about the progress that we’re making,” the Goldman chief said in an interview with CNBC’s Wilfred Frost. “I think we’re in the early stages of building a digital platform for consumers that gives them more information, more tools are their disposal.”

Solomon highlighted several of Goldman’s forays into the traditional consumer banking industry, including the launch of its Marcus unit and new credit card offering with Apple.

The firm has spent $450 million so far this year on efforts to lure in new customers, including its launch of the Apple Card, the most successful on record in terms of adoption figures, Solomon said.

“Over the last three years we’ve built a digital bank with $55 billion in digital deposits, with $5 billion of loans; 4 to 5 million customers; a brand-new credit card platform and have launched a card with Apple. I feel like that’s pretty good progress over a short period of time.”

Goldman, one of the largest investment banks in the world, fell short of expectations earlier this week when it reported earnings below what Wall Street analysts expected. The bank said profit slumped 26% to $1.88 billion as its investing and lending division missed by the largest degree.