Updated: April 14, 10:33 a.m.

Ann Costello, head of Goldman Sachs’ U.S. lobbying operation, is joining the Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

A Goldman Sachs’ spokesperson confirmed the move and said the financial services firm “wishes her the very best.—

The spokesperson declined to comment on how the company would fill Costello’s position.

Bank of New York spokesman Ronald Gruendl confirmed Costello’s move and said she would be based in Washington, D.C.

Costello did not return e-mails and calls.

Goldman’s D.C.-based global head of government affairs is Faryar Shirzad, who was White House deputy assistant for international economic affairs and the deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs in the Bush administration.

Costello ran the day-to-day Washington operation as head of U.S. government affairs.

Costello joined the bank in 1997 as a vice president and was named managing director in 2004. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Costello was a partner at Williams & Jensen.

Costello’s departure is the latest personnel blow in Washington for Goldman.

In late January, the bank lost its most senior Democrat, Marti Thomas, to the Duberstein Group.

Last year, Jud Sommer, its longtime head of the Washington office, and Mark Patterson, its co-head of U.S. government relations, exited.

Sommer became UnitedHealth Group’s top lobbyist, while Patterson, who was a registered lobbyist until April 11, was tapped to serve as chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Goldman Sachs spent more than $5 million in federal lobbying in 2008; the Bank of New York spent only $558,402 in federal lobbying, according to Senate disclosure reports.

The Bank of New York also deregistered its only internal lobbyist, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs Lloyd Brown, at the end of 2008.