Goldman Sachs sees 69% drop in Q4 net profit on dealmaking slump

Goldman Sachs on Tuesday reported a bigger-than-expected 69 per cent drop in fourth-quarter profit as it struggled with a slump in dealmaking and weakness in its wealth management business. 

Goldman is curbing its consumer banking ambitions as Chief Executive Officer David Solomon refocuses the bank’s resources to strengthen its core businesses such as investment banking and trading.

Goldman’s investment banking fees fell 48 per cent in the latest quarter, while revenue from its asset and wealth management unit dropped 27 per cent due to lower revenue from equity and debt investments.

It also reported a pre-tax loss of $778 million in its platform solutions unit, which houses transaction banking, credit card and financial technology businesses. Full-year net loss for the platform solutions business was $1.67 billion, the bank said.

Shares of the bank were down 2.5 per cent at $364.56 in premarket trading.

Provision for credit losses was $972 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with $344 million a year earlier. Goldman is planning to stop making unsecured consumer loans, in another sign it was moving away from its consumer business.