Goldman Sachs said its second-quarter profits doubled compared with last year, reflecting a sharp jump in the value of its own investments and increased demand from its clients for trading and investment banking.
The bank’s net income rose to $1.93bn in the three months to July, with revenues up 30 per cent year on year at $8.61bn. That equated to earnings of $3.70 a share, beating the $2.89 forecast by analysts.
Goldman largely shrugged off the market volatility that rocked Wall Street for two weeks towards the end of last month, when Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, indicated that the central bank could roll back its bond-buying programme.