[TOKYO] Goldman Sachs was among the major global banks to post a lower profit in Japan last year, pulling back from a bumper 2023.
Net income at Goldman Sachs’s local securities arm fell 30 per cent in the year ended Dec 31 to 27.6 billion yen (S$247 million), down from a 14-year high marked in the previous year, a filing showed.
Barclays and Deutsche Bank also posted double-digit declines in profit at their Japan investment banking units in a reversal from the previous year’s stellar showings, owing partly to weak fixed-income trading. In contrast, Bank of America’s local arm returned to profit, while UBS Group’s saw net income jump 82 per cent.
The varied results suggest that 2024 was a tricky year for the world’s largest lenders operating in Japan, as investors adjusted to rising interest rates. The country’s markets saw the most extreme moves in decades in August, with stocks tumbling the most since the October 1987 crash and bond price swings hurting some traders.
“This doesn’t mean that the heat has died down and there will be another period of stagnation,” said Hideyasu Ban, a Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst. “The revenue pool for investment banks has grown as Japan’s economy and market conditions normalise, resulting in improvements in their profit margin.”
Even though its earnings fell, Goldman Sachs’s local unit kept its spot as the most profitable among foreign banks that close their books in December, earning three times more than its closest rival. The drop in profit came as it booked higher liability reserves in line with an increase in trading volume.
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Barclays’ ranking rose by a notch to second place. The UK bank is seeking to strengthen its yen interest rate business to capitalise on Japan’s bond market revival. Its fee-based financing business should be able to generate profits without being significantly affected by market volatility, a spokesperson for Barclays Securities Japan said.
BofA Securities Japan made 7.5 billion yen in profit after losing six billion yen in the previous year. The unit of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender recorded sharp gains from stock and bond trading.
Consolidated profit from UBS Securities Japan and its majority stake at joint venture UBS SuMi Trust Wealth Management surged as markets business, investment banking and wealth services did better, according to a spokesperson.
Citigroup finished the year in third place after net income at its Japan securities arm fell 33 per cent. The headcount at the firm was the highest among the global banks, even as it reduced staffing by the most last year. BLOOMBERG
