NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Wall Street lender Goldman

Sachs ( GS ) will promote 638 executives to managing director

next year, the highest number since 2021, a company memo said,

as the bank benefits from a pickup in investment banking across

the industry.

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) has been leading Wall Street's rankings for

mergers and acquisitions as its fee volumes surged close to

levels seen in 2021.

The Wall Street firm announces managing director promotions

every two years, and the number of bankers being promoted this

time around exceeds the 608 senior bankers it promoted two years

ago. Of those promoted, 27% were women, which is lower than 31%

in 2023.

"It's been really great in my seat in terms of the work that

we do looking after the positioning performance and also the

investment postures for our hedge fund clients based on our

data," Vincent Lin, co-head of prime insights and analytics at

Goldman, told Reuters. Lin was among the executives elevated to

managing director in the latest round of promotions.

"It's been great to use this opportunity, and the work that we

do to connect with clients to guide them through turbulent times

and also through calmer times," said Lin, adding that Goldman

would look to expand its prime insights team globally across

regions like Asia and Europe in the near term.

More than 70% of the latest promotions come from

revenue-generating businesses, but unlike previous years,

Goldman did not break down how many came from global banking and

markets or global asset and wealth units.

Goldman's managing director level is the last stop before

executives are promoted to the bank's partnership. The latest

round of promotions come as Wall Street bonuses

are expected to

rise for a second straight year for traders and investment

bankers on surging deal volume and market volatility.

MAIN DIVISIONS HEADED BY MEN

Goldman Sachs' main divisions have been headed by men since

2024, when Stephanie Cohen, then global head of platform

solutions division, left the firm.

Among the latest promotions, 31% are Asian, 3% Black and 4%

Hispanic or Latino, the memo from CEO David Solomon and

President John Waldron said.

The bank beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter

profit, as its investment bankers earned higher advisory fees

and rallying markets boosted revenue from managing client

assets.

Goldman has, however, lost more than a dozen senior

investment bankers this year, a higher number than normal, after

internal shake-ups and a sluggish start to 2025 drove them to

seek new opportunities, Reuters reported earlier, citing sources

familiar with the situation.