Goldman Sachs Is Said to Open Commodities Trading, Sales Office in Houston

Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), the fifth- biggest U.S. bank by assets, will open a physical commodities sales and trading office in Houston, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Goldman Sachs expects to hire about a dozen sales and trading professionals for the office by the end of the year, said the person, who declined to be identified because the information isn?€™t public. Some of the new hires for the office will come from outside the firm and some will relocate from New York and London.

Trey Griggs, who is currently a managing director in energy sales in New York, will relocate to Houston to be the head of commodities for the office, the person said. Ben Freeman, a trader based in London, will relocate to lead commodities trading in Houston.

The New York-based company wants to establish a local trading and sales presence for clients in Houston, according to the person. Physical commodities trading will include crude, refined products, natural gas liquids and coal, the person said. The office is expected to open this summer.

Goldman Sachs doesn?€™t disclose how much money it makes from commodities trading. The business is folded into a larger unit known as fixed-income, currencies and commodities, or FICC, that is Goldman Sachs?€™s largest by revenue, accounting for 35 percent of the firm?€™s revenue in 2010.

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) are the top firms among traders of over-the-counter commodity derivatives, according to a recent report by Greenwich Associates.

The bank?€™s plan to open a Houston office was reported earlier on the SparkSpread website.

To contact the reporters on this story: Leela Landress in Houston at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; Christine Harper in New York at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Authors: Commodities - Yahoo! News Search Results

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