NEW YORK: Goldman Sachs reported strong third-quarter results Wednesday, nearly doubling profits and reflecting little of the vulnerability that has plagued corners of the real economy during the pandemic.

Key strengths to the money machine at Wall Street’s iconic investment bank included a “significant” increase in initial public offerings and a surge in revenues from its markets division.

The strong Goldman numbers easily eclipsed mixed results from Bank of America and Wells Fargo, which are much more heavily focused on consumer lending. Both Bank of America and Wells Fargo saw a profit hit following Federal Reserve interest rate cuts to support the economy, offset somewhat by much lower reserves set aside for bad loans compared with the prior two quarters.

At Goldman, net income came in at $3.5 billion, up 94 percent from the year-ago period and topping analyst estimates by a wide margin. Revenues rose 30 percent to $10.8 billion.

Goldman set aside $278 million for credit losses, well below the $1.6 billion it allotted for bad loans in the prior quarter, when the most severe Covid-19 restrictions were in effect.

Goldman’s revenue rose in all four divisions compared with the year-ago period. Revenues from equity investments soared 139 percent from the year-ago period.—AFP