By Lananh Nguyen, Nupur Anand and Saeed Azhar
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said on Tuesday that dealmaking in equities, mergers and acquisitions, could exceed 10-year averages next year.
"I think in 2025 we will certainly be at 10-year averages. We might even be ahead of 10-year average," Solomon said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York.
In the weeks since Donald Trump's U.S. presidential election victory, bankers have become more bullish on deals. Some predicted friendly regulators to be installed atop key government agencies, sweeping away regulations regarded by some as onerous, but many said it was too early to tell what economic policies will be implemented by the incoming administration.
"I am quite optimistic that this administration is going to run a very, very pro-growth agenda," Solomon said.
"The first 100 days, obviously, will give us some indication about the balance of whether it's trade policies, immigration policies, energy policies, tax policies - how the combination of those things will come together."
Goldman Sachs has benefited from a rebound in investment banking over the last year, cementing its top spot in global rankings of firms that advise on mergers and acquisitions.
In one of the biggest deals of the year, Goldman advised Cheez-It maker Kellanova, which agreed to be purchased by candy giant Mars in August for nearly $36 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Denis Coleman earlier told the Goldman's financial services conference that he expects "strategic" deals by companies to accelerate in 2025, including large-scale mergers and acquisitions.
Buyouts from private equity firms have been slow, but bankers expect activity to pick up next year.
Meanwhile, Goldman continues to shrink the consumer business that was once championed by Solomon. Its retail operations lost billions of dollars and prompted the bank to sell assets and take writedowns.
Goldman has since shifted its focus back to traditional mainstays of investment banking and trading.
When asked about cryptocurrencies and whether the bank can start trading them, Solomon said that regulations would need to change to permit the bank to do so.
"That's a question you have to ask regulators. At the moment, as a regulated banking institution, we're not allowed to own a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin as a principal," he said.
"We give our clients advice around a variety of these technologies and these issues and will continue to do that, but for the moment our ability to act in these markets is extremely limited from a regulatory perspective."
Solomon, who took the CEO job in 2018, said he will lead the firm as long as the board wants him to remain in the role.
"I've got a great job and I'll be the CEO as long as the board wants me to be the CEO," he said.
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