Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s profit fell 24% in the fourth quarter as the bank set aside more money toward an expected government settlement resolving its ties to a corrupt Malaysian investment fund.
Goldman reported $1.92 billion in profit, or $4.69 a share, even as revenue rose to $9.96 billion. The three-month results wrap a year in which Goldman’s profits fell sharply even as revenue held steady, reflecting self-inflicted legal wounds and the steep costs of the bank’s pivot under Chief Executive David Solomon.
Markets in Your Inbox
Get our Markets newsletter, a pre-markets primer packed with news, trends and ideas. Plus, up-to-the-minute market data. Sign up.
Goldman said it socked away an extra $1.24 billion last year to cover expected legal and regulatory fines. Much of it will likely go toward resolving the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into Goldman’s dealings with the Malaysian fund, known as 1MDB, which the bank is in talks to pay roughly $2 billion and plead guilty to resolve, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.
The legal reserves reduced Goldman’s 2019 per-share earnings by $3.16, or about 13%. Non-compensation expenses also rose as the bank spends heavily on new initiatives and technology.
Goldman’s core businesses of investment banking and brokerage held up well, with its securities traders bouncing back from a poor showing a year prior. Unlike JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., which last quarter were buoyed by their giant consumer-banking businesses, Goldman still relies more on those traditional Wall Street operations, where fees are under pressure and growth is hard to come by.
The firm is trying to diversify, launching a credit card and building a retail brokerage and commercial banking arm. Like any startups, those initiatives are money-losing so far—the bank has poured more than $1.3 billion into its consumer effort, Marcus—and a drag on profits.
Related Video
Mr. Solomon, who just wrapped up his first full year in the job, is stumping to investors that those dollars are well spent and that Goldman will emerge a more diversified firm better able to compete with rivals and weather tough markets.
The bank’s shares are up 20% since October but still trade at a discount to bigger rivals such as JPMorgan and Bank of America Corp. JPMorgan reported record annual profits on Tuesday, while quarterly profits fell at Bank of America, which is keenly sensitive to interest-rate cuts.
Read more
- Bank of America Earnings Slip
- BlackRock’s Assets Blow Past $7 Trillion in Milestone for Investment Giant
- Big Banks Post Big Profits Thanks to Strong U.S. Economy
- Wells Fargo’s Results Sink on Legal Reserves
- JPMorgan Profit Jumps on Strong Trading Quarter
- Investment Banking Propels Citigroup’s Fourth-Quarter Profit
- Goldman Sachs Sheds Some Secrecy to Win Over Skeptical Investors (Jan. 7)
Write to Liz Hoffman at liz.hoffman@wsj.com
Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
"profit" - Google News
January 15, 2020 at 08:13PM
https://ift.tt/30lTLLC
Goldman Profit Falls as Bank Braces for 1MDB Fine - Wall Street Journal
"profit" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2sPbajb
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment