A great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity. That’s how Rolling Stone once memorably described Goldman Sachs in a critique of the size and (negative) influence of the Wall Street-headquartered investment banking giant. No doubt Goldman Sachs disagrees. But one thing is for sure. It has its tentacles firmly attached to Australia’s major banks.

From Anthony Miller at Westpac to Clare Morgan at ANZ, the top tiers of the country’s biggest lenders bulge with executives that have Goldman Sachs printed on the CVs. What is the secret sauce? A combination of a tight network and serious high performance, insiders say.