Goldman Sachs, Citigroup post Q4 profits

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) – Goldman Sachs and Citigroup on Wednesday announced strong fourth quarter earnings, joining other big banks that previously posted similar reports.

Goldman Sachs's net income rose 207 percent to $2.35 billion, from $765 million the same quarter of 2015.

Revenues were also up 12.4 percent to $8.17 billion during the October-December period, compared to $7.27 billion during the same period the previous year.

“After a challenging first half, the firm performed well for the remainder of the year as the operating environment improved,” Chairman and CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein said in a statement.

The bank’s revenues declined 40 percent in the first quarter of 2016 and 12.6 percent in the second quarter.

Assets, however, increased 10 percent in the final quarter from a year ago to a record $1.38 trillion, and total operating expenses were at their lowest since 2008, according to the bank's statement.

At Citigroup, net income increased 9.1 percent to $3.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016 -- up from $3.3 billion the same quarter the previous year.

Revenues, on the other hand, declined 8.1 percent to $17 billion. That is down from $18.5 billion.

Citi Holdings revenues, of which majority assets are U.S. mortgages, decreased 79 percent from the prior year period to $657 million, "mainly reflecting the absence of net gains from asset sales," a statement from the bank noted.

JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley also earlier posted fourth quarter gains in net income and revenue.