Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - News) is seeking to acquire up to $50bn in assets from ailing US banks as part of its push into commercial banking, Goldman executives say.

Goldman and Morgan Stanley (AMEX: MWD - News) last week said they would give up their status as independent investment banks and apply to become bank holding companies, a change that would subject them to stricter regulation by the Federal Reserve.

The change marked the end of an era, since Goldman and Morgan Stanley were the only two big investment banks left on Wall Street following the forced sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Bank of America's pending deal to acquire Merrill Lynch.

Goldman is moving quickly to profit from its push into traditional banking by expanding the activities of its Utah industrial loan corporation, a kind of bank that is regulated by authorities in that western US state.

Goldman is moving to shift $150bn of assets to the balance sheet of the Utah bank. These would include loans to private clients and other assets that would be found more typically at a traditional commercial bank.

Goldman also plans to talk to US regulators to identify up to $50bn in assets it could buy from troubled lenders. These, too, would be put under the Utah bank.

The moves would dramatically increase the size of Goldman's Utah bank, which has about $20bn in deposits and $25.7bn in assets.

Goldman's rapid push to build up its Utah bank underscores its determination to acquire cheap assets - and potentially ailing banks - even as it reduces its leverage as it transforms itself into a bank holding company.

David Viniar, Goldman's chief financial officer, has maintained that the bank has the luxury of being proactive because it has already been shedding problem assets.

For example, Goldman has a mere $8bn in securities backed by commercial mortgages. If it sold those securities today, it would be likely to record a gain, officials say.

It has reduced its holdings of loans backing private equity deals from $52bn to $8bn. For example, it sold its loans backing the Cerberus buy-out of Chrysler for 62 cents on the dollar.

It also added to its financial firepower last week by raising $10bn in capital, including $5bn from Warren Buffett. Goldman officials say his involvement represents "a form of cheap insurance" for the bank because of his reputation in the markets.