The Goldman Sachs Group reported net revenues of $34.53 billion and net earnings of $8.48 billion for the year ended December 31, 2014.
Diluted earnings per common share were $17.07 compared with $15.46 for the year ended December 31, 2013. Return on average common shareholders’ equity (ROE) was 11.2 percent for 2014.
Fourth quarter (Q4) net revenues were $7.69 billion and net earnings were $2.17 billion. Diluted earnings per common share in Q4 were $4.38 compared with $4.60 for the fourth quarter of 2013 and $4.57 for the third quarter of 2014. Annualised Returns on Equity (ROE) was 11.1percent for the fourth quarter of 2014.
“We are pleased with our performance during a year characterised by mixed global economic and financial conditions,” said Lloyd C. Blankfein, chairman/CEO.
“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.”
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Goldman Sachs ranked first in worldwide announced and completed mergers and acquisitions for the year. During the year, the firm advised on announced transactions valued at more than $1 trillion. The firm also ranked first in worldwide equity and equity-related offerings and common stock offerings for the year.
Investment banking produced net revenues of $6.46 billion, its second highest annual performance, as net revenues in underwriting reflected strong results in both debt and equity underwriting and net revenues in Financial Advisory were the highest since 2008.
Investment management generated record net revenues of $6.04 billion, as assets under supervision increased 13 percent from a year ago to a record $1.18 trillion, with net inflows in long-term assets under supervision of $74 billion during 2014.
During 2014, as part of a firm-wide initiative to reduce activities with lower returns, the firm reduced total assets by $55 billion to $856 billion as of December 31, 2014, while improving the firm’s pre-tax margin to 35.8 percent.
The firm increased diluted earnings per common share by 10 percent to $17.07 compared with 2013 and increased book value per common share and tangible book value per common share by 7 percent during the year to $163.01 and $153.79, respectively. The firm maintained strong capital ratios and liquidity, while returning approximately $6.5 billion of capital to shareholders during 2014. The firm’s Common Equity Tier 1 ratio was 12.2 percent as of December 31, 2014, under the Basel III Advanced approach. In addition, the firm’s global core excess liquidity was $183 billion as of December 31, 2014.
Iheanyi Nwachukwu
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