NEW YORK, Oct 14 — Goldman Sachs Group Inc reported a 94 per cent rise in quarterly profit today that swept past estimates, driven by strength in its bond trading business and lower provisions for credit losses.
With a 29 per cent jump in trading revenue, Goldman easily outperformed rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc as financial market volumes broke records in a recovery from a coronavirus-led selloff.
Bond trading revenue surged 49 per cent to US$2.5 billion (RM10.4 billion), while equities trading rose 10 per cent to US$2.05 billion.
The bank’s net earnings applicable to common shareholders surged to US$3.5 billion in the quarter ended September 30 from US$1.8 billion a year ago. Earnings per share doubled to US$9.68 from US$4.79 a year earlier.
Analysts had expected a profit of US$5.57 per share, on average, according to the IBES estimate from Refinitiv.
Total net revenue jumped 30 per cent to US$10.78 billion and beat estimates of US$9.5 billion.
Unlike rivals such as JPMorgan and Bank of America Corp, Goldman has a relatively small consumer business. Although Goldman is trying to build out its consumer bank, the lack of exposure has protected it from loan defaults during the pandemic.
This quarter, Goldman set aside US$278 million to cover loans that go bad, compared with US$1.59 billion in the same period last year. — Reuters
