Goldman Sachs’ Earnings Disappointed by Fallout from Retail Banking Exit

Goldman Sachs (GS) Q3 profit fell as the investment powerhouse revealed a costly exit from retail banking and tried to recover from a prolonged slump in trade execution that coincided with reshuffle of its top management following retirement of its former CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

Net profit was reported at $2.06 billion, down a whopping 33% from $3.07 billion a year earlier. The results were affected by a $506 million write-down on specialist lender GreenSky, which it agreed to sell, as well as a $358 million impairment on real estate investments.

The bank's results for the quarter trailed other large bank rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC), which all reported YoY profit gains. Shares of GS are advancing, however, by 0.12% in today’s, October 17’s, late U.S. premarket.