Goldman sees its first half profits slide
GOLDMAN Sachs yesterday revealed profits at its London operations fell to less than £1bn for the first half of the year.
The bank posted a $1.47bn (£925m) profit, compared to $2.72bn last year, with revenues tumbling from $4.42bn in the first half to just $7.34bn.
The bank revealed it paid the Treasury $600m in the one-off bonus tax, but this was offset by a fall of roughly the same amount in the level of corporation tax it paid.
The bank does not break out compensation figures for its interim trading period but its “administrative expenses”, which are largely made up of bankers’ pay, fell sharply to $2.9bn.
However, last week it emerged the bank handed mid-year bonuses worth tens of millions to around 100 of its London-based partners in the form of stock compensation. The bank recently removed a £1m cap on the wages of its partners and is now desperate to hold onto its talented staff.
The bank said tough trading conditions, including sovereign debt crises, put pressure on its operations.
It said: “Several Eurozone countries remained under stress, reflecting fiscal challenges and banking sector concerns. In addition, concerns about sovereign debt risk… intensified during the period, contributing to higher market volatility and funding pressures.”