Goldman Sachs put the brakes on bonuses in the fourth quarter, propelling the investment bank’s profits to their highest level in three years and defying the tepid global economy and new regulations.
The bank cut pay by 11 per cent to $1.98bn, helped by hundreds of job cuts. Remuneration as a percentage of Goldman’s revenues fell to 21 per cent for the period, one of the lowest ratios since the bank went public in 1999.
As Wall Street’s reporting season kicked off yesterday, earnings at both Goldman and JPMorgan Chase trumped analysts’ forecasts, with Goldman’s profits almost tripling to $2.8bn, thanks to lower expenses, modestly improved markets and higher asset prices that helped boost the value of the bank’s own investment portfolio.