Goldman Sachs is revamping its network of investment bankers, shifting partners to satellite offices in such cities as Dallas and Atlanta. Details are expected in coming days. The idea is to have bankers better situated to call on companies based far from Wall Street. And it means that Goldman’s hyper-specialized, industry-focused bankers in New York will now - in some cases - share responsibility for clients with a senior banker in a regional office.

• An added benefit:  in this era of slashing jobs and costs the bank can expect to spend less on banker travel – while drawing ‘out-of-town’ clients tighter into Goldman’s orbit.
• An added risk: some bankers may view such moves as banishment.

However, Goldman is framing the shift as a chance for young partners to climb the ladder faster. Outside the hierarchy in New York, bankers will be freer to build the client relationships that can propel careers forward at Goldman.

The push evokes an earlier era at Goldman, when well-known bankers in regional offices cultivated ties to local companies. Many were generalists whose value lay not in knowing a particular industry or financial product but in having woven themselves into the local business scene.

PLAYING CATCH-UP.   Goldman isn’t a big commercial lender and hasn’t built a nationwide network of branches through acquisitions like rivals JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup. This means it doesn’t already have a legion of commercial bankers in regional offices who help companies manage their day-to-day finances, stay close to executives and drum up lucrative investment-banking business. Instead, Goldman has relied upon its legion of road-warrior bankers to spend weeks on end tending to far-flung clients.

That said, Goldman will proceed one-step-at-a-time, and invariably it will succeed.