US investment banking giant Goldman Sachs is in talks with the Irish Financial Regulator to obtain a banking licence that would allow it to establish wholesale banking and capital markets units in Dublin. It is also believed that its plans will include the establishment of a private banking operation aimed at wealthy individuals. The bank already has an Irish presence through asset management and securities services businesses. The proposed new Dublin operations are expected to start off with a relatively small number of staff, however, and will only take on more people in response to the amount of business they generate. The bank is understood to have already selected the top management that will head the new division. "Like any international firm, we view Ireland as an attractive market, and we currently conduct operations in asset management and global securities services there," a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman told The Sunday Business Post. Headquartered in New York, Goldman Sachs has established a strong presence in major financial centres such as London, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Former Irish EU commissioner and attorney general Peter Sutherland is chairman of Goldman Sachs International, one of the group's principal business units. The arrival of a heavyweight Goldman Sachs presence would follow similar investments made by other international banking giants such as Merrill Lynch, which set up its biggest operating subsidiary outside the US in Dublin.