For many Americans, 2020 was a year to forget. For Goldman Sachs Group Inc., it was one of the record books.
Driven by the markets ’rapid recovery from the worst of the pandemic-induced recession, Goldman generated $ 44.56 million in annual revenue, the highest amount since 2009, dating back to the last time the bank sailed with success in a crisis and its consequences. Commercial revenue for 2020 reached a maximum of ten years.
The $ 4.51 billion fourth-quarter earnings the Wall Street firm reported on Tuesday, or $ 12.08 per share, more than doubled Goldman’s earnings for the same quarter last year. Both quarterly net income and quarterly revenue of $ 11.744 billion were far better than the expectations of analysts surveyed by FactSet, who forecast a profit of $ 7.39 per share on revenue of $ 9.99 billion. .
For the US banking industry, 2020 was a year of roller coasters. Markets fell and economic activity declined in the spring as the coronavirus spread across the country. With many companies closed and many consumers out of work, banks clung to widespread defaults. A robust federal spending program helped prevent the worst of economic cases, and in last week’s earnings reports, bank executives indicated the economy has held up better than expected.
On Friday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. it said fourth-quarter profits rose 42 percent to a record $ 12.144 billion after the bank released $ 2.9 billion from its previously set-aside reserve fund to cover the attacked loans. On Tuesday, Bank of America Corp. he said profit fell 22%, but exceeded analysts’ expectations after he released $ 828 million from his loan loss reserves.