MOVES-Goldman Sachs' Spain and Portugal co-head Alvaro del Castano to retire after 30 years

Oct 8 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group GS.N said in an internal memo seen by Reuters that Alvaro del Castano, its co-head for Spain and Portugal and in charge of private wealth management in the region, will retire after more than three decades at the bank.

He is leaving the bank after writing opinion pieces critical of U.S. President Donald Trump and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, according to Bloomberg News, which first reported his departure on Wednesday.

Del Castano did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment made via LinkedIn message.

He wrote political columns for Spanish-language publication The Objective, criticizing Trump and Sanchez, the report said.

The articles were deleted earlier this year after Bloomberg News contacted Goldman, which said at the time it was unaware of the columns and that they did not represent the firm's views.

Del Castano joined Goldman Sachs in 1993 as an associate in equity derivatives and later held roles in investment banking. He went on to oversee business development in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America for asset management and was named managing director in 2002.

His departure was announced to staffers last month in an internal memo, the report said.

"Alvaro has had an excellent 30-plus-year career at the firm and has decided to retire from Goldman Sachs. We look forward to continuing to work with him on matters that benefit our clients," a Goldman Sachs spokesperson said.