高盛业绩抢眼，昔日风采再现

    新高盛（Goldman Sachs）粉墨登场，依稀仍有昔日高盛的风范。

    本周三早间，高盛宣布，2012年最后3个月，公司实现净利润近29亿美元。这一数字比分析师的预测高出了10多亿美元。每股收益5.60美元，同比增长2倍多，也大大超出分析师预期。高盛宣布，2012年全年净利润72亿美元，大大高于上一年的25亿美元。高盛股票在盘前交易中上涨近2%。

    这些利润数据同时也显示了高盛转型的开始。过去约一年时间里，受新法规限制，高盛被迫退出了某些交易业务。此后，它一直在努力强化贷款业务。这个战略在2012年取得了成效。2012年贷款收入增至18亿美元，大大高于上一年的不足1亿美元。这比高盛传统业务的表现好很多。投资银行和投资管理业务的收入基本与上一年持平。

    但在利率处于历史低点时，扩张贷款业务也有它自身的风险。2012年第四季度，高盛的利息收入减少了近20亿美元。

    不过，昔日高盛的一些影子依然挥之不去。高盛从自营交易获得了59亿美元的收入；所谓自营交易，即高盛以自有账户进行的交易。但这笔收入可能很快就要减少一大块。金融危机之后通过的法律拟禁止高盛和其他银行用自有资金进行高风险交易。相关法规完全生效估计至少还要等上一年。

    目前来看，高盛将再一次支付高额奖金。该公司薪酬总额增长6%，逼近130亿美元。按这个数字计算，高盛员工人均薪酬收入399,506美元，高于2011年的约367,000美元。该公司在2012年第四季度还裁掉了200人。

    当季高盛的盈利能力也在显著提升。公司表示，备受关注的银行业指标——权益回报率已升至16.5%。该数据在金融危机前总是在20%左右，2012年初曾经下降到个位数。

    “虽然去年大部分时间经济状况仍然充满了挑战，但我们凭借领先的业务模式、强大的客户基础以及注重自律管理，仍向股东交出了出色的业绩，”高盛CEO劳埃德•布莱克费恩在业绩发布新闻稿中称。“公司的战略定位为业务增长和创造优异回报打下了坚实的基础。”

    高盛发布收益当天，其竞争对手摩根大通（JPMorgan Chase）也发布了好于预期的收益，但由于伦敦鲸（London Whale）丑闻造成的损失，摩根大通CEO杰米•戴蒙的奖金遭到削减。摩根大通股票在盘前交易中略微走低。美国银行（Bank of America）和花旗（Citigroup）计划于周四发布业绩。摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）将于周五发布业绩，为美国大银行收益季画上句号。富国银行（Wells Fargo）已于上周公布了不错的业绩，但按揭再融资活动降温引起了投资者的担忧。（财富中文网）

    译者：早稻米

    Here comes the new Goldman Sachs. And it looks a little bit like the old Goldman Sachs.

    Goldman (GS) said Wednesday morning that it earned nearly $2.9 billion in the last three months of 2012, more than $1 billion more than analysts were expecting. Earnings per share more than tripled from a year ago to $5.60, which was also a lot more than analysts were expecting. For all of 2012, Goldman said it earned $7.2 billion, up from $2.5 billion a year earlier. The stock rose nearly 2% in pre-market trading.

    The earnings also showed the beginnings of a shift at the firm. In the past year or so, Goldman, forced by new regulations to retreat from some of its trading businesses, has been trying to beef up its lending operations. That move paid off in 2012. Revenue from lending rose to $1.8 billion in 2012, from less than $100 million a year ago. That was much better than Goldman did in its traditional businesses. Revenue from investment banking and investment management were basically flat from a year ago.

    But the move into lending, at a time when interest rates are at historic lows, comes with its own risks. The money Goldman made from interest payments dropped nearly $2 billion from the fourth quarter of 2012.

    But there were also signs of the old Goldman as well. The company had $5.9 billion in revenue from so-called principal transactions, which are trades Goldman made for its own account. Much of that revenue could be going away soon though. Regulations passed after the financial crisis are expected to ban Goldman and other banks from making risky trades with its own money. The regulations are not expected to fully go into effect for at least another year.

    It looks like Goldman is paying heftier bonuses again as well. Overall compensation was up 6% to just under $13 billion. That works out to $399,506 per employee. That's up from about $367,000 per employee in 2011. The company also reduced its headcount by 200 staffers in the fourth quarter.

    Goldman also was remarkably more profitable in the quarter. The company said its return on equity, a closely watched metric for banks, rose to 16.5%. That number, which was regularly around 20% for Goldman before the financial crisis, had shrunk to the single digits in early 2012.

    "While economic conditions remained challenging for much of last year, the strengths of our business model and client franchise, coupled with our focus on disciplined management, delivered solid performance for our shareholders," said Goldman's CEO Lloyd Blankfein in a statement released with the earnings. "The firm's strategic position provides a solid basis on which to grow and generate superior returns."

    Goldman's report came on the same day that rival JPMorgan Chase (JPM) also reported better-than-expected earnings -- and that CEO Jamie Dimon had his bonus cut due to the London Whale losses. JPMorgan's stock was slightly lower in pre-market trading. Bank of America (BAC)and Citigroup (C) are on tap to report results on Thursday. Morgan Stanley (MS) will wrap up the round of big bank earnings on Friday. Wells Fargo (WFC) posted healthy results last week but investors were worried about a drop in mortgage refinancing activity.