New York — Goldman Sachs reported a 40% slump in bond-trading revenue, mirroring a broader weakness in trading activity that has plagued big US banks in the latest quarter. The slump was far worse than JPMorgan Chase’s 19% fall and Citigroup’s 6% drop, leading to Goldman’s worst fixed-income results since the fourth quarter of 2015. Goldman’s revenue from trading fixed income, currency and commodities fell to $1.16bn from $1.93bn. Trading surged a year ago, about the time of the Brexit vote. The fifth-largest US bank by assets is typically more reliant on bond-trading revenue than its peers. That helped the bank earn big profits leading into the 2007-08 financial crisis, but regulations have crimped that business. The Wall Street bank’s net income applicable to common shareholders was nearly flat at $1.63bn in the second quarter ended June 30.
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