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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Goldman Sachs made $100m on 131 days of 2009

Goldman Sachs made at least $100 million on 131 days in 2009 – equivalent to once every two days.

The figure was revealed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, in a filing that showed the bank made the profits by taking larger risks than it did in 2008.

Its daily 'value at risk' figure – the amount Goldman Sachs estimated it could lose in a day's trading – stood at $218 million, up from $180 million the previous year.

However, the bank only lost money on 19 occasions in 2009, with the figure never exceeding more than $100 million.

David Hendler, an analyst with CreditSights, told the Financial Times that the figures were not surprising.

"It's impressive, but it's not unexpected," he said. "They were one of the few games in town in 2009."

Last month, Goldman Sachs announced that its chief executive Lloyd Blankfein is to receive a $9 million bonus for his work last year – a lower-than-expected amount and much lower than the $67.9 million he received in 2007.

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