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Results were mixed for some of the nation's biggest banks when they released earnings statements earlier in the week: Citigroup and Bank of America both reported net income losses, while JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo reported big gains.
New York-based investment bank Goldman Sachs reported a slight year-over-year decline in Q4 2014 net earnings, but for the whole year of 2014 the firm reported a slight uptick from 2013, according to the firm's Q4 and year-end earnings statement released on Friday.
Goldman Sachs's net earnings for 2014 were $8.48 billion on $34.53 billion in revenues, compared to a net income of $8.04 billion on $34.21 billion in revenues for all of 2013. Diluted earnings per share rose from $15.46 in 2013 to $17.07 in 2014. The firm was first worldwide in announced and completed mergers and acquisitions for 2014, having advised on announced transactions valued at a combined $1 trillion. Net revenues on investment banking for 2014 totaled $6.46 billion, the second-highest annual total in the firm's history and an increase from $6.0 billion for 2013.
"We are pleased with our performance during a year characterized by mixed global economic and financial conditions," said Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The depth of our global client franchise and our continued discipline on expenses and capital management produced a solid return for our shareholders. Looking ahead, we see evidence of a continued pick up in momentum for the global economy that will improve the opportunity set for 2015."
For Q4 2014, Goldman Sachs reported a net income of $2.17 billion on $7.69 billion in revenues, down slightly from the net earnings of $2.33 billion on $8.78 in revenues for the same quarter a year earlier.
For Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Client Execution, Goldman Sachs reported net revenues of $8.46 billion for 2014, a 2 percent decrease from 2013. The minor decline can be attributed to slightly lower net revenues in interest rate products and mortgages, combined with significantly lower rates for credit products, offset by higher rates in both commodities and currency (significantly higher in the case of commodities). Credit products, interest rate products, and mortgages experienced generally low levels of activity in 2014 due to economic uncertainty.
