GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC (GS) FY 2024 MD&A
This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Introduction
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (Group Inc. or parent company), a Delaware corporation, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, is a leading global financial institution that delivers a broad range of financial services to a large and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, we are headquartered in New York and maintain offices in all major financial centers around the world. We manage and report our activities in three business segments: Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management and Platform Solutions. See “Results of Operations” for further information about our business segments.
When we use the terms “we,” “us” and “our,” we mean Group Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. When we use the term “our subsidiaries,” we mean the consolidated subsidiaries of Group Inc. References to “this Form 10-K” are to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. All references to “the consolidated financial statements” or “Supplemental Financial Information” are to Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. All references to 2024, 2023 and 2022 refer to our years ended, or the dates, as the context requires, December 31, 2024, December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. Any reference to a future year refers to a year ending on December 31 of that year. Certain reclassifications have been made to previously reported amounts to conform to the current presentation.
Group Inc. is a bank holding company and a financial holding company regulated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB).
In this discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations, we have included information that constitutes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts or statements of current conditions, but instead represent only our beliefs regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside our control.
By identifying these statements for you in this manner, we are alerting you to the possibility that our actual results, financial condition, liquidity and capital actions may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results, financial condition, liquidity and capital actions in these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our results, financial condition, liquidity and capital actions to differ from those in these statements include, among others, those described in “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K and “Forward-Looking Statements” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K.
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| 62 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
These statements may relate to, among other things, (i) our future plans and results, including our target return on average common shareholders’ equity (ROE), return on average tangible common shareholders’ equity (ROTE), efficiency ratio, Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio and firmwide total credit alternative assets, and how they can be achieved, (ii) trends in or growth opportunities for our businesses, including the timing, costs, profitability, benefits and other aspects of business and strategic initiatives and their impact on our efficiency ratio, as well as the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence (AI), (iii) our level of future compensation expense, (iv) our Investment banking fees backlog and future advisory and capital markets results, (v) our expected interest income and interest expense, (vi) our expense savings and strategic locations initiatives, (vii) expenses we may incur, including future litigation expense, (viii) the projected growth of our deposits and other funding, asset liability management and funding strategies and related interest expense savings, (ix) our business initiatives, (x) our planned 2025 benchmark debt issuances, (xi) the amount, composition and location of global core liquid assets (GCLA) we expect to hold, (xii) our credit exposures, (xiii) our expected provision for credit losses, (xiv) the adequacy of our allowance for credit losses, (xv) the narrowing of our consumer business, (xvi) the objectives and effectiveness of our business continuity planning (BCP), information security program, risk management and liquidity policies, (xvii) our resolution plan and its implications for stakeholders, (xviii) the design and effectiveness of our resolution capital and liquidity models and triggers and alerts framework, (xix) the results of stress tests, the effect of changes to regulations, and our future status, activities or reporting under banking and financial regulation, (xx) our expected tax rate, (xxi) the future state of our liquidity and regulatory capital ratios, and our prospective capital distributions (including dividends and repurchases), (xxii) our expected stress capital buffer (SCB) and global systemically important bank (G-SIB) surcharge, (xxiii) legal proceedings, governmental investigations or other contingencies, (xxiv) the asset recovery guarantee and our remediation activities related to our 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) settlements, (xxv) the effectiveness of our management of our human capital, (xxvi) our sustainability and carbon neutrality targets and goals, (xxvii) future inflation, (xxviii) the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions and other developments on our business, results and financial position, (xxix) our ability to sell, and the terms of any proposed sales of, Asset & Wealth Management historical principal investments, and our ability to transition the General Motors (GM) credit card program, (xxx) the impact of the conflicts in the Middle East, (xxxi) our ability to manage our commercial real estate exposures, (xxxii) the profitability of Platform Solutions and (xxxiii) the effectiveness of our cybersecurity risk management process.
Executive Overview
We generated net earnings of $14.28 billion for 2024, compared with $8.52 billion for 2023. Diluted earnings per common share (EPS) was $40.54 for 2024, compared with $22.87 for 2023. ROE was 12.7% for 2024, compared with 7.5% for 2023. Book value per common share was $336.77 as of December 2024, 7.4% higher compared with December 2023.
Net revenues were $53.51 billion for 2024, 16% higher than 2023, primarily reflecting higher net revenues in Global Banking & Markets and Asset & Wealth Management. The increase in net revenues in Global Banking & Markets primarily reflected higher net revenues in Equities, significantly higher Investment banking fees and higher net revenues in Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities (FICC). The increase in net revenues in Asset & Wealth Management primarily reflected significantly higher net revenues in Equity investments and higher Management and other fees. Net revenues in Platform Solutions were slightly higher.
Provision for credit losses was $1.35 billion for 2024, compared with $1.03 billion for 2023. Provisions for 2024 reflected net provisions related to the credit card portfolio (primarily driven by net charge-offs). Provisions for 2023 reflected net provisions related to both the credit card portfolio (primarily driven by net charge-offs) and wholesale loans (primarily driven by impairments), partially offset by reserve reductions related to the transfer of the GreenSky loan portfolio to held for sale and the sale of substantially all of the Marcus by Goldman Sachs (Marcus) loan portfolio.
Operating expenses were $33.77 billion for 2024, 2% lower than 2023, reflecting decreases driven by significantly lower expenses, including impairments, related to commercial real estate in consolidated investment entities (CIEs) and other significant expenses recognized in the prior year, including the write-down of identifiable intangible assets related to GreenSky Holdings, LLC (GreenSky), an impairment of goodwill related to Consumer platforms and the FDIC special assessment fee. These decreases were partially offset by higher compensation and benefits expenses (reflecting improved operating performance) and higher transaction based expenses. Our efficiency ratio (total operating expenses divided by total net revenues) was 63.1% for 2024, compared with 74.6% for 2023.
During 2024, we returned a total of $11.80 billion of capital to common shareholders, including $8.00 billion of common share repurchases and $3.80 billion of common stock dividends. As of December 2024, our CET1 capital ratio was 15.0% under the Standardized Capital Rules and 15.3% under the Advanced Capital Rules. See Note 20 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our capital ratios.
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| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 63 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Business Environment
In 2024, the global economy grew, but was impacted throughout the year by broad macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns. Concerns regarding inflation and ongoing geopolitical stresses, including tensions with China and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, remained elevated. Despite these concerns, the economy in the U.S. has remained resilient and equity markets have reacted favorably to the outcomes of national elections. Additionally, markets were focused on policy interest rate cuts by several central banks, including the first rate cut by U.S. Federal Reserve since it began increasing the rate in 2022.
There remains uncertainty and concerns about geopolitical risks, central bank policy and inflation. See “Results of Operations — Segment Assets and Operating Results — Segment Operating Results” for further information about the operating environment for each of our business segments.
Critical Accounting Policies
Fair Value
Fair Value Hierarchy. Trading assets and liabilities, certain investments and loans, and certain other financial assets and liabilities, are included in our consolidated balance sheets at fair value (i.e., marked-to-market), with related gains or losses generally recognized in our consolidated statements of earnings. The use of fair value to measure financial instruments is fundamental to our risk management practices and is our most critical accounting policy.
The fair value of a financial instrument is the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. We measure certain financial assets and liabilities as a portfolio (i.e., based on its net exposure to market and/or credit risks). In determining fair value, the hierarchy under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) gives (i) the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities (level 1 inputs), (ii) the next priority to inputs other than level 1 inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly (level 2 inputs), and (iii) the lowest priority to inputs that cannot be observed in market activity (level 3 inputs). In evaluating the significance of a valuation input, we consider, among other factors, a portfolio’s net risk exposure to that input. Assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to their fair value measurement.
The fair values for substantially all of our financial assets and liabilities are based on observable prices and inputs and are classified in levels 1 and 2 of the fair value hierarchy. Certain level 2 and level 3 financial assets and liabilities may require appropriate valuation adjustments that a market participant would require to arrive at fair value for factors, such as counterparty and our credit quality, funding risk, transfer restrictions, liquidity and bid/offer spreads.
Instruments classified in level 3 of the fair value hierarchy are those which require one or more significant inputs that are not observable. Level 3 financial assets represented 1.2% as of December 2024 and 1.5% as of December 2023 of our total assets. See Notes 4 and 5 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about level 3 financial assets, including changes in level 3 financial assets and related fair value measurements. Absent evidence to the contrary, instruments classified in level 3 of the fair value hierarchy are initially valued at transaction price, which is considered to be the best initial estimate of fair value. Subsequent to the transaction date, we use other methodologies to determine fair value, which vary based on the type of instrument. Estimating the fair value of level 3 financial instruments requires judgments to be made. These judgments include:
•Determining the appropriate valuation methodology and/or model for each type of level 3 financial instrument;
•Determining model inputs based on an evaluation of all relevant empirical market data, including prices evidenced by market transactions, interest rates, credit spreads, volatilities and correlations; and
•Determining appropriate valuation adjustments, including those related to illiquidity or counterparty credit quality.
Regardless of the methodology, valuation inputs and assumptions are only changed when corroborated by substantive evidence.
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| 64 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Controls Over Valuation of Financial Instruments. Market makers and investment professionals in our revenue-producing units are responsible for pricing our financial instruments. Our control infrastructure is independent of the revenue-producing units and is fundamental to ensuring that all of our financial instruments are appropriately valued at market-clearing levels. In the event that there is a difference of opinion in situations where estimating the fair value of financial instruments requires judgment (e.g., calibration to market comparables or trade comparison, as described below), the final valuation decision is made by senior managers in our independent price verification function within Controllers. This independent price verification is critical to ensuring that our financial instruments are properly valued.
Price Verification. All financial instruments at fair value classified in levels 1, 2 and 3 of the fair value hierarchy are subject to our independent price verification process. The objective of price verification is to have an informed and independent opinion with regard to the valuation of financial instruments under review. Instruments that have one or more significant inputs which cannot be corroborated by external market data are classified in level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. Price verification strategies utilized by our independent price verification function within Controllers include:
•Trade Comparison. Analysis of trade data (both internal and external, where available) is used to determine the most relevant pricing inputs and valuations.
•External Price Comparison. Valuations and prices are compared to pricing data obtained from third parties (e.g., brokers or dealers, S&P Global Services, Bloomberg, ICE Data Services, Pricing Direct, TRACE). Data obtained from various sources is compared to ensure consistency and validity. When broker or dealer quotations or third-party pricing vendors are used for valuation or price verification, greater priority is generally given to executable quotations.
•Calibration to Market Comparables. Market-based transactions are used to corroborate the valuation of positions with similar characteristics, risks and components.
•Relative Value Analyses. Market-based transactions are analyzed to determine the similarity, measured in terms of risk, liquidity and return, of one instrument relative to another or, for a given instrument, of one maturity relative to another.
•Collateral Analyses. Margin calls on derivatives are analyzed to determine implied values, which are used to corroborate our valuations.
•Execution of Trades. Where appropriate, market-making desks are instructed to execute trades in order to provide evidence of market-clearing levels.
•Backtesting. Valuations are corroborated by comparison to values realized upon sales.
See Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about fair value measurements.
Review of Net Revenues. We seek to ensure adherence to our pricing policy through a combination of daily procedures, including the explanation and attribution of net revenues based on the underlying factors. Through this process, we independently validate net revenues, identify and resolve potential fair value or trade booking issues on a timely basis and seek to ensure that risks are being properly categorized and quantified.
Review of Valuation Models. Our independent model risk management group (Model Risk), consisting of quantitative professionals who are separate from model developers, performs an independent model review and validation process of our valuation models. New or changed models are reviewed and approved prior to implementation. Models are reviewed annually to assess the impact of any changes in the product or market and any market developments in pricing theories. See “Risk Management — Model Risk Management” for further information about the review and validation of our valuation models.
Allowance for Credit Losses
We estimate and record an allowance for credit losses related to our loans held for investment that are accounted for at amortized cost. To determine the allowance for credit losses, we classify our loans accounted for at amortized cost into wholesale and consumer portfolios. These portfolios represent the level at which we have developed and documented our methodology to determine the allowance for credit losses. The allowance for credit losses is measured on a collective basis for loans that exhibit similar risk characteristics using a modeled approach and on an asset-specific basis for loans that do not share similar risk characteristics.
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| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 65 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The allowance for credit losses takes into account the weighted average of a range of forecasts of future economic conditions over the expected life of the loans and lending commitments. The expected life of each loan or lending commitment is determined based on the contractual term adjusted for extension options or demand features, or is modeled in the case of revolving credit card loans. The forecasts include baseline, favorable and adverse economic scenarios over a three-year period. For loans with expected lives beyond three years, the model reverts to historical loss information based on a non-linear modeled approach. We apply judgment in weighting individual scenarios each quarter based on a variety of factors, including our internally derived economic outlook, market consensus, recent macroeconomic conditions and industry trends. The forecasted economic scenarios consider a number of risk factors relevant to the wholesale and consumer portfolios. Risk factors for wholesale loans include internal credit ratings, industry default and loss data, expected life, macroeconomic indicators (e.g., unemployment rates and GDP), the borrower’s capacity to meet its financial obligations, the borrower’s country of risk and industry, loan seniority and collateral type. In addition, for loans backed by real estate, risk factors include the loan-to-value ratio, debt service ratio and home price index. The allowance for loan losses for wholesale loans that do not share similar risk characteristics, such as nonaccrual loans, is calculated using the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan’s effective rate, the observable market price of the loan, or, in the case of collateral dependent loans, the fair value of the collateral less estimated costs to sell, if applicable. Risk factors for installment and credit card loans include Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) credit scores, delinquency status, loan vintage and macroeconomic indicators.
The allowance for credit losses also includes qualitative components which allow management to reflect the uncertain nature of economic forecasting, capture uncertainty regarding model inputs, and account for model imprecision and concentration risk. The qualitative factors considered by management include, among others, changes and trends in loan portfolios, uncertainties associated with the macroeconomic and geopolitical environments, credit concentrations, changes in volume and severity of past due and criticized loans, idiosyncratic events and deterioration within an industry or region.
Our estimate of credit losses entails judgment about collectability at the reporting dates, and there are uncertainties inherent in those judgments. The allowance for credit losses is subject to a governance process that involves senior management within Risk and Controllers. Personnel within Risk are responsible for forecasting the economic variables that underlie the economic scenarios that are used in the modeling of expected credit losses. While we use the best information available to determine this estimate, future adjustments to the allowance may be necessary based on, among other things, changes in the economic environment or variances between actual results and the original assumptions used. Loans are charged off against the allowance for loan losses when deemed to be uncollectible.
We also record an allowance for credit losses on lending commitments which are held for investment that are accounted for at amortized cost. Such allowance is determined using the same methodology as the allowance for loan losses, while also taking into consideration the probability of drawdowns or funding, and whether such commitments are cancellable by us.
To estimate the potential impact of an adverse macroeconomic environment on our allowance for credit losses, we, among other things, compared the expected credit losses under the weighted average forecast used in the calculation of allowance for credit losses as of December 2024 (which was weighted towards the baseline and adverse economic scenarios) to the expected credit losses under a 100% weighted adverse economic scenario. The adverse economic scenario of the forecast model reflects a global recession in the first quarter of 2025 through the first quarter of 2026, resulting in an economic contraction and rising unemployment rates. A 100% weighting to the adverse economic scenario would have resulted in an approximate $0.9 billion increase in our allowance for credit losses as of December 2024. This hypothetical increase does not take into consideration any potential adjustments to qualitative reserves. The forecasts of macroeconomic conditions are inherently uncertain and do not take into account any other offsetting or correlated effects. The actual credit loss in an adverse macroeconomic environment may differ significantly from this estimate. See Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about the allowance for credit losses.
Use of Estimates
U.S. GAAP requires us to make certain estimates and assumptions. In addition to the estimates we make in connection with fair value measurements and the allowance for credit losses on loans and lending commitments held for investment and accounted for at amortized cost, the use of estimates and assumptions is also important in determining the accounting for goodwill and identifiable intangible assets, provisions for losses that may arise from litigation and regulatory proceedings (including governmental investigations), and accounting for income taxes.
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| 66 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Goodwill is assessed for impairment annually in the fourth quarter or more frequently if events occur or circumstances change that indicate an impairment may exist. When assessing goodwill for impairment, first, a qualitative assessment can be made to determine whether it is more likely than not that the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value. If the results of the qualitative assessment are not conclusive, a quantitative goodwill test is performed. Alternatively, a quantitative goodwill test can be performed without performing a qualitative assessment. Estimating the fair value of our reporting units requires judgment. Critical inputs to the fair value estimates include projected earnings, allocated equity, price-to-earnings multiples and price-to-book multiples. There is inherent uncertainty in the projected earnings. The carrying value of each reporting unit reflects an allocation of total shareholders’ equity and represents the estimated amount of total shareholders’ equity required to support the activities of the reporting unit under currently applicable regulatory capital requirements. During the third quarter of 2024, in connection with the planned sale of our seller financing loan portfolio, we performed a quantitative goodwill test and determined that the goodwill associated with Transaction banking and other was impaired, and accordingly, recorded a $14 million impairment. In the fourth quarter of 2024, we performed our annual assessment of goodwill for impairment, for each of our reporting units with goodwill, by performing a qualitative assessment. As a result of the annual assessment, we determined that it was more likely than not that the estimated fair value of each reporting unit with goodwill exceeded its respective carrying value. Therefore, we determined that goodwill for each reporting unit was not impaired and that a quantitative goodwill test was not required. See Note 12 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our annual assessment of goodwill for impairment. If we experience a prolonged or severe period of weakness in the business environment, financial markets, the performance of one or more of our reporting units or our common stock price, or additional increases in capital requirements, our goodwill could be impaired in the future.
Identifiable intangible assets are tested for impairment when events or changes in circumstances suggest that an asset’s or asset group’s carrying value may not be fully recoverable. Judgment is required to evaluate whether indications of potential impairment have occurred, and to test identifiable intangible assets for impairment, if required. An impairment is recognized if the estimated undiscounted cash flows relating to the asset or asset group is less than the corresponding carrying value. During 2024, in connection with the planned transition of the GM credit card program to another issuer, we classified the GM credit card program to held for sale and recognized a $72 million write-down of identifiable intangible assets. See Note 12 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about identifiable intangible assets.
We also estimate and provide for potential losses that may arise out of litigation and regulatory proceedings to the extent that such losses are probable and can be reasonably estimated. In addition, we estimate the upper end of the range of reasonably possible aggregate loss in excess of the related reserves for litigation and regulatory proceedings where we believe the risk of loss is more than slight. See Notes 18 and 27 to the consolidated financial statements for information about certain judicial, litigation and regulatory proceedings. Significant judgment is required in making these estimates and our final liabilities may ultimately be materially different. Our total estimated liability in respect of litigation and regulatory proceedings is determined on a case-by-case basis and represents an estimate of probable losses after considering, among other factors, the progress of each case, proceeding or investigation, our experience and the experience of others in similar cases, proceedings or investigations, and the opinions and views of legal counsel.
In accounting for income taxes, we recognize tax positions in the financial statements only when it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on examination by the relevant taxing authority based on the technical merits of the position. As of December 2024, our liability for unrecognized tax benefits was $2.16 billion. We use estimates to recognize current and deferred income taxes in the U.S. federal, state and local and non-U.S. jurisdictions in which we operate. The income tax laws in these jurisdictions are complex and can be subject to different interpretations between taxpayers and taxing authorities. Disputes may arise over these interpretations and can be settled by audit, administrative appeals or judicial proceedings. We do not expect that the resolution of any such dispute will have a material impact on our financial condition, but it may be material to the operating results for a particular period, depending, in part, on the operating results for that period. Our interpretations are reevaluated quarterly based on guidance currently available, tax examination experience and the opinions of legal counsel, among other factors. We recognize deferred taxes based on the amount that will more likely than not be realized in the future based on enacted income tax laws. As of December 2024, we had $11.01 billion of deferred tax assets with a related valuation allowance of $2.06 billion. Our estimate for deferred taxes includes estimates for future taxable earnings, including the level and character of those earnings, and various tax planning strategies. See Note 24 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about income taxes.
Recent Accounting Developments
See Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements for information about Recent Accounting Developments.
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| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 67 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Results of Operations
The composition of our net revenues has varied over time as financial markets and the scope of our operations have changed. The composition of net revenues can also vary over the shorter term due to fluctuations in U.S. and global economic and market conditions. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K for further information about the impact of economic and market conditions on our results of operations. For a discussion of our 2023 financial results compared with 2022, see Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Financial Overview
The table below presents an overview of our financial results and selected financial ratios.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions, except per share amounts | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Net revenues | $ | 53,512 | $ | 46,254 | $ | 47,365 | |||
| Pre-tax earnings | $ | 18,397 | $ | 10,739 | $ | 13,486 | |||
| Net earnings | $ | 14,276 | $ | 8,516 | $ | 11,261 | |||
| Net earnings to common | $ | 13,525 | $ | 7,907 | $ | 10,764 | |||
| Diluted EPS | $ | 40.54 | $ | 22.87 | $ | 30.06 | |||
| ROE | 12.7 | % | 7.5 | % | 10.2 | % | |||
| ROTE | 13.5 | % | 8.1 | % | 11.0 | % | |||
| Net earnings to average assets | 0.9 | % | 0.5 | % | 0.7 | % | |||
| Return on shareholders’ equity | 12.0 | % | 7.3 | % | 9.7 | % | |||
| Average equity to average assets | 7.1 | % | 7.5 | % | 7.5 | % | |||
| Dividend payout ratio | 28.4 | % | 45.9 | % | 29.9 | % |
Our target (through-the-cycle) is to achieve ROE within a range of 14% to 16% and ROTE within a range of 15% to 17%.
In the table above:
•Net earnings to common represents net earnings applicable to common shareholders, which is calculated as net earnings less preferred stock dividends.
•ROE is calculated by dividing net earnings to common by average monthly common shareholders’ equity.
•ROTE is calculated by dividing net earnings to common by average monthly tangible common shareholders’ equity. Tangible common shareholders’ equity is calculated as total shareholders’ equity less preferred stock, goodwill and identifiable intangible assets. We believe that tangible common shareholders’ equity is meaningful because it is a measure that we and investors use to assess capital adequacy and that ROTE is meaningful because it measures the performance of businesses consistently, whether they were acquired or developed internally. Tangible common shareholders’ equity and ROTE are non-GAAP measures and may not be comparable to similar non-GAAP measures used by other companies.
The table below presents our average equity and the reconciliation of average common shareholders’ equity to average tangible common shareholders’ equity.
| Average for the Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Total shareholders’ equity | $ | 119,204 | $ | 116,699 | $ | 115,990 | |||
| Preferred stock | (12,430) | (10,895) | (10,703) | ||||||
| Common shareholders’ equity | 106,774 | 105,804 | 105,287 | ||||||
| Goodwill | (5,895) | (6,147) | (5,726) | ||||||
| Identifiable intangible assets | (1,003) | (1,736) | (1,583) | ||||||
| Tangible common shareholders’ equity | $ | 99,876 | $ | 97,921 | $ | 97,978 |
•Net earnings to average assets is calculated by dividing net earnings by average total assets.
•Return on shareholders’ equity is calculated by dividing net earnings by average monthly shareholders’ equity.
•Average equity to average assets is calculated by dividing average total shareholders’ equity by average total assets.
•Dividend payout ratio is calculated by dividing dividends declared per common share by diluted EPS.
Net Revenues
The table below presents our net revenues by line item.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Investment banking | $ | 7,738 | $ | 6,218 | $ | 7,360 | |||
| Investment management | 10,596 | 9,532 | 9,005 | ||||||
| Commissions and fees | 4,086 | 3,789 | 4,034 | ||||||
| Market making | 18,390 | 18,238 | 18,634 | ||||||
| Other principal transactions | 4,646 | 2,126 | 654 | ||||||
| Total non-interest revenues | 45,456 | 39,903 | 39,687 | ||||||
| Interest income | 81,397 | 68,515 | 29,024 | ||||||
| Interest expense | 73,341 | 62,164 | 21,346 | ||||||
| Net interest income | 8,056 | 6,351 | 7,678 | ||||||
| Total net revenues | $ | 53,512 | $ | 46,254 | $ | 47,365 |
In the table above:
•Investment banking consists of revenues (excluding net interest) from financial advisory and underwriting assignments. These activities are included in Global Banking & Markets.
•Investment management consists of revenues (excluding net interest) from providing asset management and wealth advisory services across all major asset classes to a diverse set of clients. These activities are included in Asset & Wealth Management.
•Commissions and fees consists of revenues from executing and clearing client transactions on major stock, options and futures exchanges worldwide, as well as over-the-counter (OTC) transactions. Substantially all of these activities are included in Global Banking & Markets.
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| 68 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
•Market making consists of revenues (excluding net interest) from client execution activities related to making markets in interest rate products, credit products, mortgages, currencies, commodities and equity products. These activities are included in Global Banking & Markets.
•Other principal transactions consists of revenues (excluding net interest) from our equity investing activities, including revenues related to our consolidated investments (included in Asset & Wealth Management), and debt investing and lending activities (included across our three segments).
Operating Environment. During 2024, the operating environment was generally characterized by continued broad macroeconomic concerns, including concerns and uncertainty about inflation, ongoing geopolitical tensions, central bank policy and the potential outcome of national elections. In investment banking, industry-wide underwriting volumes increased compared with 2023, driven by strong levels of debt offerings and improved levels of equity offerings, while industry-wide completed mergers and acquisitions volumes remained below historical averages. In market making, activity levels were mixed, as activity levels in fixed income-related products decreased compared with the prior year, while activity levels in equity-related products increased. Global equity prices were generally higher compared with the end of 2023, and concerns about the commercial real estate market persisted. In the U.S., the rate of unemployment remained low and the pace of growth in consumer spending increased slightly compared with 2023.
If uncertainty and concerns about geopolitical tensions and the economic outlook remain elevated or grow, including those about central bank policy, inflation and the commercial real estate sector, it may lead to a decline in asset prices, a decline in market-making activity levels, a decline in industry-wide investment banking volumes, and net revenues and provision for credit losses would likely be negatively impacted. See “Segment Assets and Operating Results — Segment Operating Results” for information about the operating environment and material trends and uncertainties that may impact our results of operations.
2024 versus 2023
Net revenues in the consolidated statements of earnings were $53.51 billion for 2024, 16% higher than 2023, primarily reflecting significantly higher other principal transactions revenues, net interest income and investment banking revenues and higher investment management revenues.
Non-Interest Revenues. Investment banking revenues in the consolidated statements of earnings were $7.74 billion for 2024, 24% higher than 2023, primarily reflecting significantly higher revenues in debt underwriting, primarily driven by leveraged finance activity, and in equity underwriting, primarily driven by secondary and initial public offerings. In addition, revenues in advisory were higher, reflecting an increase in completed mergers and acquisitions transactions.
Investment management revenues in the consolidated statements of earnings were $10.60 billion for 2024, 11% higher than 2023, primarily due to higher management and other fees, primarily reflecting the impact of higher average assets under supervision (AUS).
Commissions and fees in the consolidated statements of earnings were $4.09 billion for 2024, 8% higher than 2023, due to higher commissions and fees in Equities, reflecting generally higher market volumes and increased transaction fees, partially offset by a loss related to the planned transition of the GM credit card program to another issuer.
Market making revenues in the consolidated statements of earnings were $18.39 billion for 2024, essentially unchanged compared with 2023. Market making revenues from intermediation activities were slightly higher, primarily reflecting significantly higher revenues in equity cash products, currencies and mortgages, offset by significantly lower revenues in commodities and equity derivatives. Market making revenues from financing activities were essentially unchanged, reflecting significantly lower revenues in FICC financing, offset by significantly higher revenues from Equities financing.
Other principal transactions revenues in the consolidated statements of earnings were $4.65 billion for 2024, 119% higher than 2023, primarily reflecting significantly higher net gains from investments in private equities, significantly higher net gains from derivatives related to our funding activities, the impact of the sale of the Marcus loan portfolio in 2023 (including net revenues of approximately $(370) million related to the sale of substantially all of the portfolio) and significantly lower net losses on hedges related to our relationship lending portfolio.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 69 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Net Interest Income. Net interest income in the consolidated statements of earnings was $8.06 billion for 2024, 27% higher than 2023, reflecting an increase in interest income, partially offset by an increase in interest expense. The increase in interest income primarily related to trading assets and investments (each reflecting the impact of higher average balances and higher average interest rates), collateralized agreements and other interest-earning assets (each reflecting the impact of higher average interest rates), partially offset by a decrease in interest income related to deposits with banks (reflecting the impact of lower average balances). The increase in interest expense primarily related to collateralized financings and deposits (each reflecting the impact of higher average balances and higher average interest rates) and other interest-bearing liabilities (reflecting the impact of higher average interest rates). See “Supplemental Financial Information — Statistical Disclosures — Distribution of Assets, Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity” for further information about our sources of net interest income.
Provision for Credit Losses
Provision for credit losses consists of provision for credit losses on financial assets and commitments accounted for at amortized cost, including loans and lending commitments held for investment. See Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about the provision for credit losses on loans and lending commitments.
The table below presents our provision for credit losses.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Provision for credit losses | $ | 1,348 | $ | 1,028 | $ | 2,715 |
2024 versus 2023. Provision for credit losses in the consolidated statements of earnings was $1.35 billion for 2024, compared with $1.03 billion for 2023. Provisions for 2024 reflected net provisions related to the credit card portfolio (primarily driven by net charge-offs). Provisions for 2023 reflected net provisions related to both the credit card portfolio (primarily driven by net charge-offs) and wholesale loans (primarily driven by impairments), partially offset by reserve reductions of $637 million related to the transfer of the GreenSky loan portfolio to held for sale and $442 million related to the sale of substantially all of the Marcus loan portfolio.
Operating Expenses
Our operating expenses are primarily influenced by compensation, headcount and levels of business activity. Compensation and benefits includes salaries, year-end discretionary compensation, amortization of equity awards and other items such as benefits. Discretionary compensation is significantly impacted by, among other factors, the level of net revenues, net of provision for credit losses, overall financial performance, prevailing labor markets, business mix, the structure of our share-based awards and the external environment.
The table below presents our operating expenses by line item and headcount.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits | $ | 16,706 | $ | 15,499 | $ | 15,148 | |||
| Transaction based | 6,724 | 5,698 | 5,312 | ||||||
| Market development | 646 | 629 | 812 | ||||||
| Communications and technology | 1,991 | 1,919 | 1,808 | ||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 2,392 | 4,856 | 2,455 | ||||||
| Occupancy | 973 | 1,053 | 1,026 | ||||||
| Professional fees | 1,652 | 1,623 | 1,887 | ||||||
| Other expenses | 2,683 | 3,210 | 2,716 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | $ | 33,767 | $ | 34,487 | $ | 31,164 | |||
| Headcount at period-end | 46,500 | 45,300 | 48,500 |
2024 versus 2023. Operating expenses in the consolidated statements of earnings were $33.77 billion for 2024, 2% lower than 2023. Our efficiency ratio was 63.1% for 2024, compared with 74.6% for 2023.
Operating expenses, compared with 2023, reflected decreases driven by significantly lower expenses, including impairments ($1.46 billion recognized in 2023), related to commercial real estate in CIEs (largely in depreciation and amortization) and other significant expenses recognized in the prior year, including the write-down of identifiable intangible assets related to GreenSky of $506 million and an impairment of goodwill related to Consumer platforms of $504 million (both in depreciation and amortization), and the FDIC special assessment fee of $529 million (in other expenses). These decreases were partially offset by higher compensation and benefits expenses (reflecting improved operating performance) and higher transaction based expenses. An incremental expense for the FDIC special assessment fee of $71 million was recognized in 2024, as the FDIC notified banks subject to the special assessment fee of the updated estimated cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund resulting from the closures in 2023 of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Net provisions for litigation and regulatory proceedings were $166 million for 2024 compared with $115 million for 2023.
As of December 2024, headcount increased 3% compared with December 2023, primarily due to increases in Asset & Wealth Management, Risk and Compliance, partially offset by the impact of the sale of GreenSky.
Provision for Taxes
The effective income tax rate for 2024 was 22.4%, up from the full year income tax rate of 20.7% for 2023, primarily due to a decrease in the impact of permanent tax benefits for 2024 compared with 2023, partially offset by changes in the geographic mix of earnings.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Anti-Base Erosion Model Rules (Pillar II) aim to ensure that multinationals with revenues in excess of EUR 750 million pay a minimum effective corporate tax rate of 15% (minimum tax) in each jurisdiction in which they operate. The U.K. and other jurisdictions in which we operate have adopted certain portions of the OECD directive (Pillar II legislation) effective beginning in calendar year 2024. The Pillar II legislation did not have a material impact on our effective tax rate for 2024. We expect additional guidance or legislation to be issued by the OECD and various jurisdictions during 2025 which could impact any minimum tax we owe in future periods, possibly materially, and our effective tax rate could increase in 2025 and thereafter. This minimum tax, if any, will be recognized in the period in which it is incurred.
On August 26, 2024, the U.S. Tax Court issued a decision in Varian Medical Systems, Inc. v. Commissioner (Varian decision). The Varian decision reduced the U.S. tax on the deemed repatriation of unremitted foreign earnings of applicable non-U.S. subsidiaries in the transition year of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We are monitoring the Varian decision and evaluating its impact, which could be a material income tax benefit, on the deemed repatriation tax we incurred for the 2018 tax year. No income tax benefit has been recognized in the provision for income taxes as a result of the Varian decision as of December 2024.
We expect our 2025 annual effective tax rate to be approximately 21%.
Segment Assets and Operating Results
Segment Assets. The table below presents assets by segment.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Global Banking & Markets | $ | 1,420,142 | $ | 1,381,247 | |
| Asset & Wealth Management | 193,328 | 191,863 | |||
| Platform Solutions | 62,502 | 68,484 | |||
| Total | $ | 1,675,972 | $ | 1,641,594 |
The allocation process for segment assets is based on the activities of these segments. The allocation of assets includes allocation of GCLA (which consists of unencumbered, highly liquid securities and cash), which is included within cash and cash equivalents, collateralized agreements, trading assets and investments on our balance sheet. Due to the integrated nature of these segments, estimates and judgments are made in allocating these assets. See “Risk Management — Liquidity Risk Management” for further information about our GCLA.
Segment Operating Results. The table below presents our segment operating results.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Global Banking & Markets | |||||||||
| Net revenues | $ | 34,943 | $ | 29,996 | $ | 32,487 | |||
| Provision for credit losses | 40 | 401 | 468 | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits expenses | 9,426 | 8,571 | 8,661 | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | 10,554 | 9,469 | 9,190 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | 19,980 | 18,040 | 17,851 | ||||||
| Pre-tax earnings | $ | 14,923 | $ | 11,555 | $ | 14,168 | |||
| Net earnings to common | $ | 10,998 | $ | 8,703 | $ | 11,458 | |||
| Average common equity | $ | 75,796 | $ | 71,863 | $ | 69,951 | |||
| Return on average common equity | 14.5 | % | 12.1 | % | 16.4 | % | |||
| Asset & Wealth Management | |||||||||
| Net revenues | $ | 16,142 | $ | 13,880 | $ | 13,376 | |||
| Provision for credit losses | (232) | (508) | 519 | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits expenses | 6,595 | 6,144 | 5,927 | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | 5,230 | 6,885 | 5,623 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | 11,825 | 13,029 | 11,550 | ||||||
| Pre-tax earnings | $ | 4,549 | $ | 1,359 | $ | 1,307 | |||
| Net earnings to common | $ | 3,386 | $ | 952 | $ | 979 | |||
| Average common equity | $ | 26,405 | $ | 30,078 | $ | 31,762 | |||
| Return on average common equity | 12.8 | % | 3.2 | % | 3.1 | % | |||
| Platform Solutions | |||||||||
| Net revenues | $ | 2,427 | $ | 2,378 | $ | 1,502 | |||
| Provision for credit losses | 1,540 | 1,135 | 1,728 | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits expenses | 685 | 784 | 560 | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | 1,277 | 2,634 | 1,203 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | 1,962 | 3,418 | 1,763 | ||||||
| Pre-tax earnings/(loss) | $ | (1,075) | $ | (2,175) | $ | (1,989) | |||
| Net earnings/(loss) to common | $ | (859) | $ | (1,748) | $ | (1,673) | |||
| Average common equity | $ | 4,573 | $ | 3,863 | $ | 3,574 | |||
| Return on average common equity | (18.8) | % | (45.2) | % | (46.8) | % | |||
| Total | |||||||||
| Net revenues | $ | 53,512 | $ | 46,254 | $ | 47,365 | |||
| Provision for credit losses | 1,348 | 1,028 | 2,715 | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits expenses | 16,706 | 15,499 | 15,148 | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | 17,061 | 18,988 | 16,016 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | 33,767 | 34,487 | 31,164 | ||||||
| Pre-tax earnings | $ | 18,397 | $ | 10,739 | $ | 13,486 | |||
| Net earnings to common | $ | 13,525 | $ | 7,907 | $ | 10,764 | |||
| Average common equity | $ | 106,774 | $ | 105,804 | $ | 105,287 | |||
| Return on average common equity | 12.7 | % | 7.5 | % | 10.2 | % |
Net revenues in our segments include allocations of interest income and expense based on the funding generated by, or the funding and liquidity requirements of, the respective segments. See Note 25 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our business segments.
The allocation of common shareholders’ equity and preferred stock dividends to each segment is based on the estimated amount of equity required to support the activities of the segment under relevant regulatory capital requirements. Net earnings for each segment is calculated by applying the firmwide tax rate to each segment’s pre-tax earnings.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 71 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Compensation and benefits expenses within our segments reflect, among other factors, our overall performance, as well as the performance of individual businesses. Consequently, pre-tax margins in one segment of our business may be significantly affected by the performance of our other business segments. A description of segment operating results follows.
Global Banking & Markets
Global Banking & Markets generates revenues from the following:
Investment banking fees. We provide advisory and underwriting services and help companies raise capital to strengthen and grow their businesses. Investment banking fees includes the following:
•Advisory. Includes strategic advisory assignments with respect to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings and spin-offs.
•Underwriting. Includes public offerings and private placements in both local and cross-border transactions of a wide range of securities and other financial instruments, including acquisition financing.
FICC. FICC generates revenues from intermediation and financing activities.
•FICC intermediation. Includes client execution activities related to making markets in both cash and derivative instruments, as detailed below.
Interest Rate Products. Government bonds (including inflation-linked securities) across maturities, other government-backed securities, and interest rate swaps, options and other derivatives.
Credit Products. Investment-grade and high-yield corporate securities, credit derivatives, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bank and bridge loans, municipal securities, distressed debt and trade claims.
Mortgages. Commercial mortgage-related securities, loans and derivatives, residential mortgage-related securities, loans and derivatives (including U.S. government agency-issued collateralized mortgage obligations and other securities and loans), and other asset-backed securities, loans and derivatives.
Currencies. Currency options, spot/forwards and other derivatives on G-10 currencies and emerging-market products.
Commodities. Commodity derivatives and, to a lesser extent, physical commodities, involving crude oil and petroleum products, natural gas, agricultural, base, precious and other metals, electricity, including renewable power, environmental products and other commodity products.
•FICC financing. Includes (i) secured lending to our clients through structured credit and asset-backed lending, including warehouse loans backed by mortgages (including residential and commercial mortgage loans), corporate loans and consumer loans (including auto loans and private student loans), (ii) financing through securities purchased under agreements to resell (resale agreements) and (iii) commodity financing to clients through structured transactions.
Equities. Equities generates revenues from intermediation and financing activities.
•Equities intermediation. We make markets in equity securities and equity-related products, including ETFs, convertible securities, options, futures and OTC derivative instruments. We also structure and make markets in derivatives on indices, industry sectors, financial measures and individual company stocks. Our exchange-based market-making activities include making markets in stocks and ETFs, futures and options on major exchanges worldwide. In addition, we generate commissions and fees from executing and clearing institutional client transactions on major stock, options and futures exchanges worldwide, as well as OTC transactions.
•Equities financing. Includes prime financing, which provides financing to our clients for their securities trading activities through margin loans that are generally collateralized by securities or cash. Prime financing also includes services which involve lending securities to cover institutional clients’ short sales and borrowing securities to cover our short sales and to make deliveries into the market. We are also an active participant in broker-to-broker securities lending and third-party agency lending activities. In addition, we execute swap transactions to provide our clients with exposure to securities and indices. Financing activities also include portfolio financing, which clients can utilize to manage their investment portfolios, and other equity financing activities, including securities-based loans to individuals.
Market-Making Activities
As a market maker, we facilitate transactions in both liquid and less liquid markets, primarily for institutional clients, such as corporations, financial institutions, investment funds and governments, to assist clients in meeting their investment objectives and in managing their risks. In this role, we seek to earn the difference between the price at which a market participant is willing to sell an instrument to us and the price at which another market participant is willing to buy it from us, and vice versa (i.e., bid/offer spread). In addition, we maintain (i) market-making positions, typically for a short period of time, in response to, or in anticipation of, client demand, and (ii) positions to actively manage our risk exposures that arise from these market-making activities (collectively, inventory). Our inventory is recorded in trading assets (long positions) or trading liabilities (short positions) in our consolidated balance sheets.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 72 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Our results are influenced by a combination of interconnected drivers, including (i) client activity levels and transactional bid/offer spreads (collectively, client activity), and (ii) changes in the fair value of our inventory and interest income and interest expense related to the holding, hedging and funding of our inventory (collectively, market-making inventory changes). Due to the integrated nature of our market-making activities, disaggregation of net revenues into client activity and market-making inventory changes is judgmental and has inherent complexities and limitations.
The amount and composition of our net revenues vary over time as these drivers are impacted by multiple interrelated factors affecting economic and market conditions, including volatility and liquidity in the market, changes in interest rates, currency exchange rates, credit spreads, equity prices and commodity prices, investor confidence, and other macroeconomic concerns and uncertainties.
In general, assuming all other market-making conditions remain constant, increases in client activity levels or bid/offer spreads tend to result in increases in net revenues, and decreases tend to have the opposite effect. However, changes in market-making conditions can materially impact client activity levels and bid/offer spreads, as well as the fair value of our inventory. For example, a decrease in liquidity in the market could have the impact of (i) increasing our bid/offer spread, (ii) decreasing investor confidence and thereby decreasing client activity levels, and (iii) widening of credit spreads on our inventory positions.
Other. We lend to corporate clients, including through relationship lending and acquisition financing. The hedges related to this lending and financing activity are also reported as part of Other. Other also includes equity and debt investing activities related to our Global Banking & Markets activities.
The table below presents our Global Banking & Markets assets.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 129,687 | $ | 168,857 | |
| Collateralized agreements | 356,637 | 401,554 | |||
| Customer and other receivables | 113,646 | 117,633 | |||
| Trading assets | 508,379 | 435,275 | |||
| Investments | 161,381 | 122,350 | |||
| Loans | 130,670 | 117,464 | |||
| Other assets | 19,742 | 18,114 | |||
| Total | $ | 1,420,142 | $ | 1,381,247 |
The table below presents details about our Global Banking & Markets loans.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Corporate | $ | 22,595 | $ | 24,159 | |
| Real estate | 37,705 | 34,813 | |||
| Securities-based | 4,279 | 3,758 | |||
| Other collateralized | 67,080 | 55,527 | |||
| Installment | 70 | 173 | |||
| Other | 128 | 475 | |||
| Loans, gross | 131,857 | 118,905 | |||
| Allowance for loan losses | (1,187) | (1,441) | |||
| Total loans | $ | 130,670 | $ | 117,464 |
Our average Global Banking & Markets gross loans were $126.87 billion for 2024 and $112.07 billion for 2023.
The table below presents our Global Banking & Markets operating results.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Advisory | $ | 3,534 | $ | 3,299 | $ | 4,704 | |||
| Equity underwriting | 1,677 | 1,153 | 848 | ||||||
| Debt underwriting | 2,521 | 1,764 | 1,808 | ||||||
| Investment banking fees | 7,732 | 6,216 | 7,360 | ||||||
| FICC intermediation | 9,564 | 9,318 | 11,890 | ||||||
| FICC financing | 3,640 | 2,742 | 2,786 | ||||||
| FICC | 13,204 | 12,060 | 14,676 | ||||||
| Equities intermediation | 7,937 | 6,489 | 6,662 | ||||||
| Equities financing | 5,494 | 5,060 | 4,326 | ||||||
| Equities | 13,431 | 11,549 | 10,988 | ||||||
| Other | 576 | 171 | (537) | ||||||
| Total net revenues | 34,943 | 29,996 | 32,487 | ||||||
| Provision for credit losses | 40 | 401 | 468 | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits expenses | 9,426 | 8,571 | 8,661 | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | 10,554 | 9,469 | 9,190 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | 19,980 | 18,040 | 17,851 | ||||||
| Pre-tax earnings | 14,923 | 11,555 | 14,168 | ||||||
| Provision for taxes | 3,343 | 2,392 | 2,338 | ||||||
| Net earnings | 11,580 | 9,163 | 11,830 | ||||||
| Preferred stock dividends | 582 | 460 | 372 | ||||||
| Net earnings to common | $ | 10,998 | $ | 8,703 | $ | 11,458 | |||
| Average common equity | $ | 75,796 | $ | 71,863 | $ | 69,951 | |||
| Return on average common equity | 14.5 | % | 12.1 | % | 16.4 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 73 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents our FICC and Equities net revenues by line item in the consolidated statements of earnings.
| $ in millions | FICC | Equities | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year Ended December 2024 | |||||
| Market making | $ | 9,020 | $ | 9,370 | |
| Commissions and fees | – | 4,289 | |||
| Other principal transactions | 1,203 | 68 | |||
| Net interest income | 2,981 | (296) | |||
| Total | $ | 13,204 | $ | 13,431 | |
| Year Ended December 2023 | |||||
| Market making | $ | 10,632 | $ | 7,606 | |
| Commissions and fees | – | 3,736 | |||
| Other principal transactions | 656 | 81 | |||
| Net interest income | 772 | 126 | |||
| Total | $ | 12,060 | $ | 11,549 | |
| Year Ended December 2022 | |||||
| Market making | $ | 12,422 | $ | 6,212 | |
| Commissions and fees | – | 3,791 | |||
| Other principal transactions | 377 | 41 | |||
| Net interest income | 1,877 | 944 | |||
| Total | $ | 14,676 | $ | 10,988 |
In the table above:
•See “Net Revenues” for information about market making revenues, commissions and fees, other principal transactions revenues and net interest income. See Note 25 to the consolidated financial statements for net interest income by segment.
•The primary driver of net revenues for FICC intermediation for all periods was client activity.
•The increase in net interest income within FICC for 2024 compared with 2023 reflected an increase in interest-earning assets. Due to the nature of activities within FICC and Equities and the composition of their associated balance sheet, we assess the performance of these businesses based on total net revenues, as offsets can occur across revenue line items. For example, cash instruments that generate interest income are, in some cases, hedged or funded by derivatives for which changes in fair value are reflected in market making revenues. Also, certain activities produce market making revenues but incur interest expense related to the funding of the related inventory.
The table below presents our financial advisory and underwriting transaction volumes.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Announced mergers and acquisitions | $ | 1,037 | $ | 933 | $ | 1,173 | |||
| Completed mergers and acquisitions | $ | 901 | $ | 1,012 | $ | 1,356 | |||
| Equity and equity-related offerings | $ | 57 | $ | 43 | $ | 33 | |||
| Debt offerings | $ | 295 | $ | 209 | $ | 223 |
In the table above:
•Volumes are per Dealogic.
•Announced and completed mergers and acquisitions volumes are based on full credit to each of the advisors in a transaction. Equity and equity-related and debt offerings are based on full credit for single book managers and equal credit for joint book managers. Transaction volumes may not be indicative of net revenues in a given period. In addition, transaction volumes for prior periods may vary from amounts previously reported due to the subsequent withdrawal or a change in the value of a transaction.
•Equity and equity-related offerings includes Rule 144A and public common stock offerings, convertible offerings and rights offerings.
•Debt offerings includes non-convertible preferred stock, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and taxable municipal debt. It also includes publicly registered and Rule 144A issues and excludes leveraged loans.
In January 2025, we formed the Capital Solutions Group in Global Banking & Markets, which provides a more comprehensive suite of our financing, origination, structuring and risk management offerings across both public and private markets. This group includes the current capabilities of our financing group and expands its coverage to financial sponsors and alternative asset management firms. It also includes an alternatives origination group focused on sourcing, to provide seamless coverage to our private credit and private equity clients. We believe that a more integrated set of these capabilities will allow us to better serve our clients as these private markets continue to grow.
Operating Environment. During 2024, Global Banking & Markets operated in an environment generally characterized by continued broad macroeconomic concerns, including concerns and uncertainty about inflation, prolonged geopolitical stresses and central bank policy, and the potential outcomes of the national elections.
In investment banking, industry-wide debt underwriting volumes for the year increased significantly compared with the prior year, driven by strong levels of leveraged finance and investment-grade offerings. However, industry-wide equity underwriting volumes, despite improving year-over-year, and industry-wide completed mergers and acquisitions volumes remained below historical averages.
In interest rates, the yields on 10-year U.S. and U.K. government bonds increased during the year. In equities, the S&P 500 Index increased by 23% and the MSCI World Index increased by 16% compared with the end of 2023.
In the future, if market and economic conditions deteriorate, and market-making activity levels decline, industry-wide investment banking volumes decline, or credit spreads related to hedges on our relationship lending portfolio tighten, net revenues in Global Banking & Markets would likely be negatively impacted. In addition, if economic conditions deteriorate or if the creditworthiness of borrowers deteriorates, provision for credit losses would likely be negatively impacted.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 74 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
2024 versus 2023. Net revenues in Global Banking & Markets were $34.94 billion for 2024, 16% higher than 2023.
Investment banking fees were $7.73 billion, 24% higher than 2023, primarily reflecting significantly higher net revenues in Debt underwriting, primarily driven by leveraged finance activity, and in Equity underwriting, primarily driven by secondary and initial public offerings. In addition, net revenues in Advisory were higher, reflecting an increase in completed mergers and acquisitions transactions.
As of December 2024, our Investment banking fees backlog increased compared with the end of 2023, primarily reflecting higher estimated net revenues from potential advisory transactions.
Our backlog represents an estimate of our net revenues from future transactions where we believe that future revenue realization is more likely than not. We believe changes in our backlog may be a useful indicator of client activity levels which, over the long term, impact our net revenues. However, the time frame for completion and corresponding revenue recognition of transactions in our backlog varies based on the nature of the assignment, as certain transactions may remain in our backlog for longer periods of time. In addition, our backlog is subject to certain limitations, such as assumptions about the likelihood that individual client transactions will occur in the future. Transactions may be cancelled or modified, and transactions not included in the estimate may also occur.
Net revenues in FICC were $13.20 billion, 9% higher than 2023, primarily reflecting significantly higher net revenues in FICC financing, primarily driven by mortgages and structured lending. Net revenues in FICC intermediation were slightly higher, driven by significantly higher net revenues in currencies, mortgages and credit products, largely offset by lower net revenues in interest rate products and significantly lower net revenues in commodities.
The increase in FICC intermediation net revenues reflected the impact of improved market-making conditions on our inventory, partially offset by lower client activity. The following provides information about our FICC intermediation net revenues by business, compared with results for 2023:
•Net revenues in currencies, mortgages and credit products reflected the impact of improved market-making conditions on our inventory.
•Net revenues in interest rate products and commodities primarily reflected lower client activity.
Net revenues in Equities were $13.43 billion, 16% higher than 2023, reflecting significantly higher net revenues in Equities intermediation, primarily driven by derivatives, and higher net revenues in Equities financing, driven by prime financing.
Net revenues in Other were $576 million for 2024, compared with $171 million for 2023, with the increase primarily reflecting significantly lower net losses on hedges.
Provision for credit losses was $40 million for 2024, compared with $401 million for 2023. Provisions for 2023 primarily reflected net provisions related to the commercial real estate portfolio.
Operating expenses were $19.98 billion for 2024, 11% higher than 2023, primarily due to significantly higher transaction based expenses and higher compensation and benefits expenses (reflecting improved operating performance). Pre-tax earnings were $14.92 billion for 2024, 29% higher than 2023.
Asset & Wealth Management
Asset & Wealth Management provides investment services to help clients preserve and grow their financial assets and achieve their financial goals. We provide these services to our clients, both institutional and individuals, including investors who primarily access our products through a network of third-party distributors around the world.
We manage client assets across a broad range of investment strategies and asset classes, including equity, fixed income and alternative investments. We provide investment solutions, including those managed on a fiduciary basis by our portfolio managers, as well as those managed by third-party managers. We offer our investment solutions in a variety of structures, including separately managed accounts, mutual funds, private partnerships and other commingled vehicles.
We also provide tailored wealth advisory services, primarily to ultra-high-net worth clients. We operate globally, serving individuals, families, family offices, and foundations and endowments. Our relationships are established directly or introduced through companies that sponsor financial wellness or financial planning programs for their employees, as well as through corporate referrals.
We offer personalized financial planning to individuals and also provide customized investment advisory solutions, and offer structuring and execution capabilities in securities and derivative products across all major global markets. In addition, we offer clients a full range of private banking services, including a variety of deposit alternatives and loans that our clients use to finance investments in both financial and nonfinancial assets, bridge cash flow timing gaps or provide liquidity and flexibility for other needs. We also raise deposits from consumers through Marcus.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 75 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
We invest alongside our clients that invest in investment funds that we raise or manage. We also have investments in alternative assets across a range of asset classes. Our investing activities, which are typically longer-term, include investments in corporate equity, credit, real estate and infrastructure assets.
Asset & Wealth Management generates revenues from the following:
•Management and other fees. We receive fees related to managing assets for institutional and individual clients, providing investing and wealth advisory solutions, providing financial planning and counseling services, and executing brokerage transactions for wealth management clients. The vast majority of revenues in management and other fees consists of asset-based fees on client assets that we manage. For further information about assets under supervision, see “Assets Under Supervision” below. The fees that we charge vary by asset class, client channel and the types of services provided, and are affected by investment performance, as well as asset inflows and redemptions.
•Incentive fees. In certain circumstances, we also receive incentive fees based on a percentage of a fund’s or a separately managed account’s return, or when the return exceeds a specified benchmark or other performance targets. Such fees include overrides, which consist of the increased share of the income and gains derived primarily from our private equity and credit funds when the return on a fund’s investments over the life of the fund exceeds certain threshold returns.
•Private banking and lending. Our private banking and lending activities include issuing loans to our wealth management clients. Such loans are generally secured by commercial and residential real estate, securities or other assets. We also raise deposits from wealth management clients, including through Marcus. Private banking and lending revenues include net interest income allocated to deposits and net interest income earned on loans to individual clients.
•Equity investments. Includes investing activities related to our asset management activities primarily related to public and private equity investments in corporate, real estate and infrastructure assets. We also make investments through CIEs, substantially all of which are engaged in real estate investment activities. In addition, we make investments in connection with our activities to satisfy requirements under the Community Reinvestment Act, primarily through our Urban Investment Group.
•Debt investments. Includes lending activities related to our asset management activities, including investing in corporate debt, lending to middle-market clients, and providing financing for real estate and other assets. These activities include investments in mezzanine debt, senior debt and distressed debt securities.
The table below presents our Asset & Wealth Management assets.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 36,364 | $ | 48,677 | |
| Collateralized agreements | 12,126 | 14,020 | |||
| Customer and other receivables | 19,999 | 14,859 | |||
| Trading assets | 41,724 | 27,324 | |||
| Investments | 23,130 | 24,487 | |||
| Loans | 46,694 | 45,866 | |||
| Other assets | 13,291 | 16,630 | |||
| Total | $ | 193,328 | $ | 191,863 |
The table below presents details about our Asset & Wealth Management loans.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Corporate | $ | 7,377 | $ | 11,715 | |
| Real estate | 18,053 | 16,603 | |||
| Securities-based | 12,198 | 10,863 | |||
| Other collateralized | 8,027 | 6,698 | |||
| Other | 1,951 | 1,121 | |||
| Loans, gross | 47,606 | 47,000 | |||
| Allowance for loan losses | (912) | (1,134) | |||
| Total loans | $ | 46,694 | $ | 45,866 |
In the table above, gross loans included $38 billion of loans as of December 2024 and $33 billion of loans as of December 2023 that were related to Private banking and lending.
The average Asset & Wealth Management gross loans were $45.84 billion for 2024 and $51.98 billion for 2023.
The table below presents our Asset & Wealth Management operating results.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Management and other fees | $ | 10,425 | $ | 9,486 | $ | 8,781 | |||
| Incentive fees | 393 | 161 | 359 | ||||||
| Private banking and lending | 2,881 | 2,576 | 2,458 | ||||||
| Equity investments | 1,359 | 342 | 610 | ||||||
| Debt investments | 1,084 | 1,315 | 1,168 | ||||||
| Total net revenues | 16,142 | 13,880 | 13,376 | ||||||
| Provision for credit losses | (232) | (508) | 519 | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits expenses | 6,595 | 6,144 | 5,927 | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | 5,230 | 6,885 | 5,623 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | 11,825 | 13,029 | 11,550 | ||||||
| Pre-tax earnings | 4,549 | 1,359 | 1,307 | ||||||
| Provision for taxes | 1,019 | 281 | 215 | ||||||
| Net earnings | 3,530 | 1,078 | 1,092 | ||||||
| Preferred stock dividends | 144 | 126 | 113 | ||||||
| Net earnings to common | $ | 3,386 | $ | 952 | $ | 979 | |||
| Average common equity | $ | 26,405 | $ | 30,078 | $ | 31,762 | |||
| Return on average common equity | 12.8 | % | 3.2 | % | 3.1 | % |
In the table above, Management and other fees included fees from alternatives of $2.18 billion for 2024, $2.13 billion for 2023 and $1.85 billion for 2022.
In 2024, we surpassed our target to achieve annual firmwide management and other fees of more than $10 billion, including more than $2 billion from alternatives.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 76 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
In 2024, we achieved our target of pre-tax margins in the mid-twenties for Asset & Wealth Management. We also have a target to achieve ROE in the mid-teens within the medium term (three to five year time horizon from year-end 2022) for Asset & Wealth Management. The pre-tax margin for Asset & Wealth Management was 28% for 2024, including the positive impact of 4 percentage points from the results of historical principal investments.
The table below presents our Asset management and Wealth management net revenues by line item in Asset & Wealth Management.
| $ in millions | Asset management | Wealth management | Asset & Wealth Management | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year Ended December 2024 | ||||||||
| Management and other fees | $ | 4,576 | $ | 5,849 | $ | 10,425 | ||
| Incentive fees | 393 | – | 393 | |||||
| Private banking and lending | – | 2,881 | 2,881 | |||||
| Equity investments | 1,357 | 2 | 1,359 | |||||
| Debt investments | 1,084 | – | 1,084 | |||||
| Total | $ | 7,410 | $ | 8,732 | $ | 16,142 | ||
| Year Ended December 2023 | ||||||||
| Management and other fees | $ | 4,207 | $ | 5,279 | $ | 9,486 | ||
| Incentive fees | 161 | – | 161 | |||||
| Private banking and lending | – | 2,576 | 2,576 | |||||
| Equity investments | (7) | 349 | 342 | |||||
| Debt investments | 1,315 | – | 1,315 | |||||
| Total | $ | 5,676 | $ | 8,204 | $ | 13,880 | ||
| Year Ended December 2022 | ||||||||
| Management and other fees | $ | 3,817 | $ | 4,964 | $ | 8,781 | ||
| Incentive fees | 359 | – | 359 | |||||
| Private banking and lending | – | 2,458 | 2,458 | |||||
| Equity investments | 610 | – | 610 | |||||
| Debt investments | 1,168 | – | 1,168 | |||||
| Total | $ | 5,954 | $ | 7,422 | $ | 13,376 |
The table below presents our Equity investments net revenues by equity type and asset class.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Equity Type | |||||||||
| Private equity | $ | 1,303 | $ | 361 | $ | 2,078 | |||
| Public equity | 56 | (19) | (1,468) | ||||||
| Total | $ | 1,359 | $ | 342 | $ | 610 | |||
| Asset Class | |||||||||
| Real estate | $ | 289 | $ | (181) | $ | 1,482 | |||
| Corporate | 1,070 | 523 | (872) | ||||||
| Total | $ | 1,359 | $ | 342 | $ | 610 |
The table below presents details about our Debt investments net revenues.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Fair value net gains/(losses) | $ | 154 | $ | (61) | $ | (415) | |||
| Net interest income | 930 | 1,376 | 1,583 | ||||||
| Total | $ | 1,084 | $ | 1,315 | $ | 1,168 |
Operating Environment. During 2024, Asset & Wealth Management operated in an environment generally characterized by continued broad macroeconomic concerns, including persistent concerns about the commercial real estate market. However, global equity prices were generally higher compared with the end of 2023, positively affecting assets under supervision.
In the future, if market and economic conditions deteriorate, it may lead to a decline in asset prices, or investors transitioning to asset classes that typically generate lower fees or withdrawing their assets, and net revenues in Asset & Wealth Management would likely be negatively impacted.
2024 versus 2023. Net revenues in Asset & Wealth Management were $16.14 billion for 2024, 16% higher than 2023, primarily reflecting significantly higher net revenues in Equity investments and higher Management and other fees. In addition, net revenues in Private banking and lending and Incentive fees were higher, while net revenues in Debt investments were lower.
The increase in Equity investments net revenues primarily reflected significantly higher net gains from investments in private equities (largely reflecting the impact of net losses in real estate investments in the prior year). The increase in Management and other fees primarily reflected the impact of higher average assets under supervision. The increase in Private banking and lending net revenues primarily reflected the impact of the sale of the Marcus loan portfolio in 2023 (including net revenues of approximately $(370) million related to the sale of substantially all of the portfolio) and the impact of higher direct-to-consumer deposit balances. The increase in Incentive fees was driven by harvesting. The decrease in Debt investments net revenues reflected lower net interest income due to a reduction in the debt investments balance sheet, partially offset by net gains in the current year compared with net losses (particularly in real estate investments) in the prior year.
Provision for credit losses was a net benefit of $232 million for 2024, compared with a net benefit of $508 million for 2023. The net benefit for 2024 reflected a net benefit related to the wholesale portfolio (driven by paydowns). The net benefit for 2023 primarily reflected reserve reductions related to the sale of substantially all of the Marcus loan portfolio and lower balances in corporate loans, partially offset by impairments.
Operating expenses were $11.83 billion for 2024, 9% lower than 2023, due to significantly lower expenses, including impairments, related to commercial real estate in CIEs, partially offset by higher compensation and benefits expenses (reflecting improved operating performance). Pre-tax earnings were $4.55 billion for 2024, compared with $1.36 billion for 2023.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 77 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Assets Under Supervision. AUS includes our institutional clients’ assets, assets sourced through third-party distributors and high-net-worth clients’ assets where we earn a fee for managing assets on a discretionary basis. This includes net assets in our mutual funds, hedge funds, credit funds, private equity funds, real estate funds, and separately managed accounts for institutional and individual investors. AUS also includes client assets invested with third-party managers, private bank deposits and advisory relationships where we earn a fee for advisory and other services, but do not have investment discretion. AUS does not include the self-directed brokerage assets of our clients.
The table below presents information about our firmwide period-end AUS by asset class, client channel, region and vehicle.
| As of December | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||
| Asset Class | ||||||||
| Alternative investments | $ | 336 | $ | 295 | $ | 263 | ||
| Equity | 772 | 658 | 563 | |||||
| Fixed income | 1,184 | 1,122 | 1,010 | |||||
| Total long-term AUS | 2,292 | 2,075 | 1,836 | |||||
| Liquidity products | 845 | 737 | 711 | |||||
| Total AUS | $ | 3,137 | $ | 2,812 | $ | 2,547 | ||
| Client Channel | ||||||||
| Institutional | $ | 1,078 | $ | 1,033 | $ | 905 | ||
| Wealth management | 929 | 798 | 712 | |||||
| Third-party distributed | 1,130 | 981 | 930 | |||||
| Total AUS | $ | 3,137 | $ | 2,812 | $ | 2,547 | ||
| Region | ||||||||
| Americas | $ | 2,235 | $ | 1,951 | $ | 1,806 | ||
| EMEA | 683 | 653 | 548 | |||||
| Asia | 219 | 208 | 193 | |||||
| Total AUS | $ | 3,137 | $ | 2,812 | $ | 2,547 | ||
| Vehicle | ||||||||
| Separate accounts | $ | 1,687 | $ | 1,557 | $ | 1,388 | ||
| Public funds | 1,004 | 901 | 862 | |||||
| Private funds and other | 446 | 354 | 297 | |||||
| Total AUS | $ | 3,137 | $ | 2,812 | $ | 2,547 |
In the table above:
•Liquidity products includes money market funds and private bank deposits.
•EMEA represents Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Total wealth management client assets (consisting of AUS, brokerage assets and Marcus deposits) were approximately $1.6 trillion as of December 2024.
The table below presents changes in our AUS.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Beginning balance | $ | 2,812 | $ | 2,547 | $ | 2,470 | |||
| Net inflows/(outflows): | |||||||||
| Alternative investments | 38 | 25 | 19 | ||||||
| Equity | 15 | (3) | 13 | ||||||
| Fixed income | 53 | 52 | 18 | ||||||
| Total long-term AUS net inflows/(outflows) | 106 | 74 | 50 | ||||||
| Liquidity products | 108 | 27 | 16 | ||||||
| Total AUS net inflows/(outflows) | 214 | 101 | 66 | ||||||
| Acquisitions/(dispositions) | – | (23) | 316 | ||||||
| Net market appreciation/(depreciation) | 111 | 187 | (305) | ||||||
| Ending balance | $ | 3,137 | $ | 2,812 | $ | 2,547 |
In the table above:
•During 2024, our AUS increased $325 billion due to net inflows (across all asset classes) and net market appreciation (primarily in equity assets).
•During 2023, our AUS increased $265 billion due to net market appreciation (primarily in equity and fixed income assets) and net inflows (driven by fixed income assets, liquidity products and alternative investments assets), partially offset by the impact of dispositions (related to the sale of Personal Financial Management (PFM)).
•During 2022, our AUS increased $77 billion due to the impact of acquisitions (primarily related to the acquisition of NN Investment Partners) and net inflows (across all asset classes), partially offset by net market depreciation (primarily in fixed income and equity assets).
The table below presents information about our total AUS net inflows/(outflows) by client channel.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Institutional | $ | 38 | $ | 38 | $ | 16 | |||
| Wealth management | 61 | 31 | 39 | ||||||
| Third-party distributed | 115 | 32 | 11 | ||||||
| Total AUS net inflows/(outflows) | $ | 214 | $ | 101 | $ | 66 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 78 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents information about our average monthly firmwide AUS by asset class.
| Average for the | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Asset Class | |||||||||
| Alternative investments | $ | 314 | $ | 269 | $ | 253 | |||
| Equity | 731 | 610 | 581 | ||||||
| Fixed income | 1,164 | 1,050 | 992 | ||||||
| Total long-term AUS | 2,209 | 1,929 | 1,826 | ||||||
| Liquidity products | 751 | 749 | 693 | ||||||
| Total AUS | $ | 2,960 | $ | 2,678 | $ | 2,519 |
In addition to our AUS, we have discretion over alternative investments where we currently do not earn management fees (non-fee-earning alternative assets).
We earn management fees on client assets that we manage and also receive incentive fees based on a percentage of a fund’s or a separately managed account’s return, or when the return exceeds a specified benchmark or other performance targets. These incentive fees are recognized when it is probable that a significant reversal of such fees will not occur. Our estimated unrecognized incentive fees were $4.12 billion as of December 2024 and $3.77 billion as of December 2023. Such amounts are based on the completion of the funds’ financial statements, which is generally one quarter in arrears. These fees will be recognized, assuming no decline in fair value, if and when it is probable that a significant reversal of such fees will not occur, which is generally when such fees are no longer subject to fluctuations in the market value of the assets.
The table below presents our average effective management fee (which excludes non-asset-based fees) earned on our firmwide AUS by asset class.
| Year Ended December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effective fees (bps) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| Alternative investments | 62 | 64 | 64 | |
| Equity | 55 | 57 | 57 | |
| Fixed income | 17 | 17 | 17 | |
| Liquidity products | 15 | 15 | 14 | |
| Total average effective fee | 31 | 31 | 31 |
The table below presents details about our monthly average AUS for alternative investments and the average effective management fee we earned on such assets.
| $ in billions | Direct strategies | Fund of funds | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year Ended December 2024 | ||||||||
| Average AUS | ||||||||
| Corporate equity | $ | 34 | $ | 84 | $ | 118 | ||
| Credit | 48 | 12 | 60 | |||||
| Real estate | 13 | 14 | 27 | |||||
| Hedge funds and other | 45 | 26 | 71 | |||||
| Funds and discretionary accounts | $ | 140 | $ | 136 | $ | 276 | ||
| Advisory accounts | 38 | |||||||
| Total average AUS for alternative investments | $ | 314 | ||||||
| Effective Fees (bps) | ||||||||
| Corporate equity | 122 | 55 | 75 | |||||
| Credit | 82 | 10 | 71 | |||||
| Real estate | 88 | 32 | 58 | |||||
| Hedge funds and other | 68 | 45 | 59 | |||||
| Funds and discretionary accounts | 88 | 47 | 68 | |||||
| Advisory accounts | 17 | |||||||
| Total average effective fee | 62 | |||||||
| Year Ended December 2023 | ||||||||
| Average AUS | ||||||||
| Corporate equity | $ | 29 | $ | 70 | $ | 99 | ||
| Credit | 44 | 2 | 46 | |||||
| Real estate | 11 | 9 | 20 | |||||
| Hedge funds and other | 42 | 22 | 64 | |||||
| Funds and discretionary accounts | $ | 126 | $ | 103 | $ | 229 | ||
| Advisory accounts | 40 | |||||||
| Total average AUS for alternative investments | $ | 269 | ||||||
| Effective Fees (bps) | ||||||||
| Corporate equity | 125 | 61 | 80 | |||||
| Credit | 80 | 37 | 78 | |||||
| Real estate | 82 | 42 | 64 | |||||
| Hedge funds and other | 67 | 53 | 62 | |||||
| Funds and discretionary accounts | 86 | 57 | 73 | |||||
| Advisory accounts | 16 | |||||||
| Total average effective fee | 64 | |||||||
| Year Ended December 2022 | ||||||||
| Average AUS | ||||||||
| Corporate equity | $ | 27 | $ | 61 | $ | 88 | ||
| Credit | 36 | 2 | 38 | |||||
| Real estate | 10 | 8 | 18 | |||||
| Hedge funds and other | 45 | 22 | 67 | |||||
| Funds and discretionary accounts | $ | 118 | $ | 93 | $ | 211 | ||
| Advisory accounts | 42 | |||||||
| Total average AUS for alternative investments | $ | 253 | ||||||
| Effective Fees (bps) | ||||||||
| Corporate equity | 133 | 61 | 83 | |||||
| Credit | 81 | 51 | 80 | |||||
| Real estate | 87 | 50 | 70 | |||||
| Hedge funds and other | 64 | 49 | 59 | |||||
| Funds and discretionary accounts | 87 | 57 | 74 | |||||
| Advisory accounts | 16 | |||||||
| Total average effective fee | 64 |
In the table above, direct strategies primarily includes our private equity, growth equity, private credit, liquid alternatives and real estate strategies. Fund of funds primarily includes our business which invests in leading private equity, hedge fund, real estate and credit third-party managers as a limited partner, secondary-market investor, co-investor or management company partner.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 79 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents information about our period-end AUS for alternative investments, non-fee-earning alternative investments and total alternative investments.
| $ in billions | AUS | Non-fee-earning alternative assets | Total alternative assets | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||||
| Corporate equity | $ | 131 | $ | 73 | $ | 204 | ||
| Credit | 62 | 79 | 141 | |||||
| Real estate | 30 | 24 | 54 | |||||
| Hedge funds and other | 76 | 3 | 79 | |||||
| Funds and discretionary accounts | 299 | 179 | 478 | |||||
| Advisory accounts | 37 | 2 | 39 | |||||
| Total alternative investments | $ | 336 | $ | 181 | $ | 517 | ||
| As of December 2023 | ||||||||
| Corporate equity | $ | 109 | $ | 77 | $ | 186 | ||
| Credit | 55 | 75 | 130 | |||||
| Real estate | 22 | 32 | 54 | |||||
| Hedge funds and other | 66 | 3 | 69 | |||||
| Funds and discretionary accounts | 252 | 187 | 439 | |||||
| Advisory accounts | 43 | 3 | 46 | |||||
| Total alternative investments | $ | 295 | $ | 190 | $ | 485 | ||
| As of December 2022 | ||||||||
| Corporate equity | $ | 94 | $ | 76 | $ | 170 | ||
| Credit | 44 | 73 | 117 | |||||
| Real estate | 18 | 36 | 54 | |||||
| Hedge funds and other | 65 | 2 | 67 | |||||
| Funds and discretionary accounts | 221 | 187 | 408 | |||||
| Advisory accounts | 42 | – | 42 | |||||
| Total alternative investments | $ | 263 | $ | 187 | $ | 450 |
In the table above:
•Corporate equity primarily includes private equity.
•Total alternative assets included uncalled capital that is available for future investing of $61 billion as of December 2024 and $58 billion as of December 2023.
•Non-fee-earning alternative assets primarily includes investments that we hold on our balance sheet, our unfunded commitments, unfunded commitments of our clients (where we do not charge fees on commitments), credit facilities collateralized by fund assets and employee funds. Our calculation of non-fee-earning alternative assets may not be comparable to similar calculations used by other companies.
•Non-fee-earning alternative assets primarily includes our direct investing strategies, including private equity, growth equity, private credit and real estate strategies.
Our target is to grow our total credit alternative assets to $300 billion by the end of 2028.
The table below presents information about third-party commitments raised in our alternatives business from the beginning of 2020 through 2024.
| As of | ||
|---|---|---|
| $ in billions | December 2024 | |
| Included in AUS | $ | 242 |
| Included in non-fee-earning alternative assets | 81 | |
| Third-party commitments raised | $ | 323 |
In the table above, commitments included in non-fee-earning alternative assets included approximately $61 billion, which will begin to earn fees (and become AUS) if and when the commitments are drawn and assets are invested. In 2024, we raised $72 billion in third-party commitments in our alternatives business, including $28 billion in corporate equity, $19 billion in credit, $6 billion in real estate and $19 billion in hedge funds and other. Since 2019, we have raised $323 billion of third-party commitments in our alternatives business and expect fundraising in 2025 to be consistent with levels achieved in recent years.
The table below presents information about alternative investments in Asset & Wealth Management that we hold on our balance sheet by asset type.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Loans | $ | 8.5 | $ | 12.9 | |
| Debt securities | 9.0 | 10.8 | |||
| Equity securities | 13.4 | 13.2 | |||
| Other | 5.6 | 9.3 | |||
| Total | $ | 36.5 | $ | 46.2 |
The table below presents further information about our alternative investments in Asset & Wealth Management that we hold on our balance sheet.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Client co-invest | $ | 18.4 | $ | 21.3 | |
| Firmwide initiatives | 8.7 | 8.6 | |||
| Historical principal investments: | |||||
| Loans | 1.6 | 3.5 | |||
| Debt securities | 2.6 | 3.6 | |||
| Equity securities | 3.5 | 4.0 | |||
| Other | 1.7 | 5.2 | |||
| Total historical principal investments | 9.4 | 16.3 | |||
| Total | $ | 36.5 | $ | 46.2 |
In the table above:
•Client co-invest primarily includes our investments in funds that we raise and manage or where we have invested alongside our clients.
•Firmwide initiatives primarily includes our investments related to the Community Reinvestment Act and our corporate engagement programs, such as One Million Black Women.
•Historical principal investments includes our remaining balance sheet alternative investments portfolio that we plan to reduce. This portfolio was approximately $30 billion as of December 2022 and we expect to sell down the vast majority of this portfolio by the end of 2026. The impact of historical principal investments to our pre-tax earnings was $939 million for 2024. Attributed equity associated with historical principal investments was approximately $4.0 billion as of December 2024.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents the rollforward of our alternative investments categorized as historical principal investments for 2024.
| Historical | ||
|---|---|---|
| principal | ||
| $ in billions | investments | |
| Beginning balance | $ | 16.3 |
| Additions | 0.7 | |
| Dispositions | (7.9) | |
| Net markups/(markdowns) | 0.3 | |
| Ending balance | $ | 9.4 |
In the table above, dispositions included approximately $400 million of investments that were transferred out of historical principal investments into client co-invest.
Loans and Debt Securities. The table below presents the concentration of loans and debt securities within our alternative investments by accounting classification, region and industry.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Loans | $ | 8.5 | $ | 12.9 | |
| Debt securities | 9.0 | 10.8 | |||
| Total | $ | 17.5 | $ | 23.7 | |
| Accounting Classification | |||||
| Debt securities at fair value | 51 | % | 45 | % | |
| Loans at amortized cost | 45 | % | 49 | % | |
| Loans at fair value | 3 | % | 3 | % | |
| Loans held for sale | 1 | % | 3 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | |
| Region | |||||
| Americas | 54 | % | 52 | % | |
| EMEA | 35 | % | 37 | % | |
| Asia | 11 | % | 11 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | |
| Industry | |||||
| Consumer & Retail | 11 | % | 11 | % | |
| Financial Institutions | 9 | % | 6 | % | |
| Healthcare | 12 | % | 15 | % | |
| Industrials | 14 | % | 18 | % | |
| Natural Resources & Utilities | 2 | % | 2 | % | |
| Real Estate | 13 | % | 11 | % | |
| Technology, Media & Telecommunications | 29 | % | 28 | % | |
| Other | 10 | % | 9 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
Equity Securities. The table below presents the concentration of equity securities within our alternative investments by region and industry.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Equity securities | $ | 13.4 | $ | 13.2 | |
| Region | |||||
| Americas | 68 | % | 70 | % | |
| EMEA | 17 | % | 15 | % | |
| Asia | 15 | % | 15 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | |
| Industry | |||||
| Consumer & Retail | 5 | % | 6 | % | |
| Financial Institutions | 15 | % | 11 | % | |
| Healthcare | 6 | % | 6 | % | |
| Industrials | 7 | % | 10 | % | |
| Natural Resources & Utilities | 14 | % | 13 | % | |
| Real Estate | 27 | % | 30 | % | |
| Technology, Media & Telecommunications | 24 | % | 22 | % | |
| Other | 2 | % | 2 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
In the table above:
•Equity securities included $12.6 billion as of December 2024 and $12.1 billion as of December 2023 of private equity positions, and $0.8 billion as of December 2024 and $1.1 billion as of December 2023 of public equity positions that converted from private equity upon the initial public offerings of the underlying companies.
•The concentrations for real estate equity securities as of December 2024 were 14% for multifamily (13% as of December 2023), 5% for mixed use (8% as of December 2023), 3% for industrials (3% as of December 2023), 2% for office (2% as of December 2023) and 3% for other real estate equity securities (4% as of December 2023).
The table below presents the concentration of equity securities within our alternative investments by vintage.
| Vintage | ||
|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||
| 2017 or earlier | 22 | % |
| 2018 - 2020 | 28 | % |
| 2021 - thereafter | 50 | % |
| Total | 100 | % |
| As of December 2023 | ||
| 2016 or earlier | 25 | % |
| 2017 - 2019 | 26 | % |
| 2020 - thereafter | 49 | % |
| Total | 100 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 81 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Other. Other investments include tax credit investments (accounted for under the proportional amortization method of accounting) of $3.2 billion as of December 2024 and $3.4 billion as of December 2023. Additionally, other investments includes CIEs, which held assets (generally accounted for at historical cost less depreciation) of $2.4 billion as of December 2024 and $5.9 billion as of December 2023, and were funded with liabilities of approximately $1.2 billion as of December 2024 and $3.5 billion as of December 2023. Substantially all such liabilities were nonrecourse, thereby reducing our equity at risk.
The table below presents the concentration of CIE assets, net of financings, within our alternative investments by region and asset class.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in billions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| CIE assets, net of financings | $ | 1.2 | $ | 2.4 | |
| Region | |||||
| Americas | 72 | % | 61 | % | |
| EMEA | 15 | % | 25 | % | |
| Asia | 13 | % | 14 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | |
| Asset Class | |||||
| Hospitality | 7 | % | 6 | % | |
| Industrials | 23 | % | 16 | % | |
| Multifamily | 15 | % | 13 | % | |
| Office | 29 | % | 24 | % | |
| Retail | 6 | % | 7 | % | |
| Senior Housing | 4 | % | 15 | % | |
| Student Housing | 1 | % | 7 | % | |
| Other | 15 | % | 12 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
The table below presents the concentration of CIE assets, net of financings, within our alternative investments by vintage.
| Vintage | ||
|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||
| 2017 or earlier | 29 | % |
| 2018 - 2020 | 37 | % |
| 2021 - thereafter | 34 | % |
| Total | 100 | % |
| As of December 2023 | ||
| 2016 or earlier | 12 | % |
| 2017 - 2019 | 57 | % |
| 2020 - thereafter | 31 | % |
| Total | 100 | % |
Platform Solutions
Platform Solutions includes our consumer platforms and transaction banking and other.
Platform Solutions generates revenues from the following:
Consumer platforms. Our Consumer platforms business issues credit cards, and raises deposits from Apple Card customers. Consumer platforms revenues primarily includes net interest income earned on credit card lending activities. See “Regulatory and Other Matters — Other Matters — Narrowing our Focus on Consumer-Related Activities” for further information.
Transaction banking and other. We provide transaction banking and other services, such as deposit-taking, payment solutions and other cash management services, for corporate and institutional clients. Transaction banking revenues include net interest income attributed to transaction banking deposits. See “Regulatory and Other Matters — Other Matters — Narrowing our Focus on Consumer-Related Activities” for further information.
The table below presents our Platform Solutions assets.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 16,041 | $ | 24,043 | |
| Collateralized agreements | 5,944 | 7,651 | |||
| Customer and other receivables | 72 | 3 | |||
| Trading assets | 20,452 | 14,911 | |||
| Investments | 3 | 2 | |||
| Loans | 18,836 | 20,028 | |||
| Other assets | 1,154 | 1,846 | |||
| Total | $ | 62,502 | $ | 68,484 |
The table below presents details about our Platform Solutions loans.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Installment | $ | – | $ | 3,125 | |
| Credit cards | 21,403 | 19,361 | |||
| Other | – | 17 | |||
| Loans, gross | 21,403 | 22,503 | |||
| Allowance for loan losses | (2,567) | (2,475) | |||
| Total loans | $ | 18,836 | $ | 20,028 |
The average Platform Solutions gross loans were $20.48 billion for 2024 and $21.48 billion for 2023.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 82 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents our Platform Solutions operating results.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Consumer platforms | $ | 2,147 | $ | 2,072 | $ | 1,176 | |||
| Transaction banking and other | 280 | 306 | 326 | ||||||
| Total net revenues | 2,427 | 2,378 | 1,502 | ||||||
| Provision for credit losses | 1,540 | 1,135 | 1,728 | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits expenses | 685 | 784 | 560 | ||||||
| Other operating expenses | 1,277 | 2,634 | 1,203 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | 1,962 | 3,418 | 1,763 | ||||||
| Pre-tax earnings/(loss) | (1,075) | (2,175) | (1,989) | ||||||
| Provision/(benefit) for taxes | (241) | (450) | (328) | ||||||
| Net earnings/(loss) | (834) | (1,725) | (1,661) | ||||||
| Preferred stock dividends | 25 | 23 | 12 | ||||||
| Net earnings/(loss) to common | $ | (859) | $ | (1,748) | $ | (1,673) | |||
| Average common equity | $ | 4,573 | $ | 3,863 | $ | 3,574 | |||
| Return on average common equity | (18.8) | % | (45.2) | % | (46.8) | % |
Our target is to achieve pre-tax breakeven by the end of 2025 for Platform Solutions.
Operating Environment. The operating environment for Platform Solutions is mainly impacted by the economic environment in the U.S., which, during 2024, was generally characterized by concerns about inflation (although some measures had begun to improve), a continued low rate of unemployment and a slight increase in the pace of growth in consumer spending compared with 2023.
In the future, if economic conditions deteriorate, it may lead to a decrease in consumer spending or a deterioration in consumer credit, and net revenues and provision for credit losses in Platform Solutions would likely be negatively impacted.
2024 versus 2023. Net revenues in Platform Solutions were $2.43 billion for 2024, 2% higher than 2023.
Notwithstanding our strategic decision to narrow the focus on consumer-related activities, Consumer platforms net revenues were slightly higher compared with 2023, reflecting higher average credit card balances and higher average deposit balances, largely offset by the impact of the planned transition of the GM credit card program to another issuer. Transaction banking and other net revenues were lower, primarily reflecting lower net revenues related to the seller financing loan portfolio that was sold during 2024. See “Regulatory and Other Matters — Other Matters — Narrowing our Focus on Consumer-Related Activities” for further information.
Provision for credit losses was $1.54 billion for 2024, compared with $1.14 billion for 2023. Provisions for 2024 reflected net provisions related to the credit card portfolio (primarily driven by net charge-offs). The net provision for 2023 reflected net provisions related to the credit card portfolio (primarily driven by net charge-offs), partially offset by a net release related to the GreenSky loan portfolio (including a reserve reduction related to the transfer of the portfolio to held for sale).
Operating expenses were $1.96 billion for 2024, 43% lower than 2023, primarily due to the write-down of identifiable intangible assets related to GreenSky and an impairment of goodwill related to Consumer platforms in the prior year period. Pre-tax loss was $1.08 billion for 2024, compared with a pre-tax loss of $2.18 billion for 2023.
Geographic Data
See Note 25 to the consolidated financial statements for a summary of our total net revenues, pre-tax earnings and net earnings by geographic region.
Balance Sheet and Funding Sources
Balance Sheet Management
One of our risk management disciplines is our ability to manage the size and composition of our balance sheet. While our asset base changes due to client activity, market fluctuations and business opportunities, the size and composition of our balance sheet also reflects factors, including (i) our overall risk tolerance, (ii) the amount of capital we hold and (iii) our funding profile, among other factors. See “Capital Management and Regulatory Capital — Capital Management” for information about our capital management process.
Although our balance sheet fluctuates on a day-to-day basis, our total assets at quarter-end are generally not materially different from those occurring within our reporting periods.
In order to ensure appropriate risk management, we seek to maintain a sufficiently liquid balance sheet and have processes in place to dynamically manage our assets and liabilities, which include (i) balance sheet planning, (ii) setting balance sheet targets, (iii) monitoring of key metrics and (iv) scenario analyses.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 83 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Balance Sheet Planning. We prepare a balance sheet plan that combines our projected total assets and composition of assets with our expected funding sources over a three-year time horizon. This plan is reviewed quarterly and may be adjusted in response to changing business needs or market conditions. The objectives of this planning process are:
•To develop our balance sheet projections, taking into account the general state of the financial markets and expected business activity levels, as well as regulatory requirements;
•To allow Corporate Treasury to evaluate balance sheet targets of our revenue-producing units and requests to change such targets in the context of our overall balance sheet constraints, including our liability profile and capital levels, and key metrics; and
•To inform the target amount, tenor and type of funding to raise, based on our projected assets and contractual maturities.
Corporate Treasury and Risk, along with our revenue-producing units, review current and prior period information and expectations for the year to prepare our balance sheet plan. The specific information reviewed includes asset and liability size and composition, target utilization, risk and performance measures, and capital usage.
Our consolidated balance sheet plan, including our balance sheets by business, funding projections and projected key metrics, is reviewed and approved by the Firmwide Asset Liability Committee. See “Risk Management — Overview and Structure of Risk Management” for an overview of our risk management structure.
Setting Balance Sheet Targets. We set balance sheet targets with the aim of ensuring that our consolidated balance sheet, as well as the balance sheets for our businesses remain within our risk appetite. The Firmwide Asset Liability Committee has the responsibility to review and approve balance sheet targets at least quarterly. Our balance sheet targets are set at levels which are close to actual operating levels, rather than at levels which reflect our maximum risk appetite, in order to ensure prompt escalation and discussion among our revenue-producing units, Corporate Treasury and Risk. Requests for changes in targets are evaluated after giving consideration to their impact on our key metrics. Compliance with targets is monitored by our revenue-producing units, Corporate Treasury and Risk.
Monitoring of Key Metrics. We monitor key balance sheet metrics both by business and on a consolidated basis, including asset and liability size and composition, target utilization and risk measures. We attribute assets to businesses and review and analyze movements resulting from new business activity, as well as market fluctuations.
Scenario Analyses. We conduct various scenario analyses, including as part of the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) and U.S. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Stress Tests (DFAST), as well as our resolution and recovery planning. See “Capital Management and Regulatory Capital — Capital Management” for further information about these scenario analyses. These scenarios cover short- and long-term time horizons using various macroeconomic and firm-specific assumptions, based on a range of economic scenarios. We use these analyses to assist us in developing our longer-term balance sheet management strategy, including the level and composition of assets, funding and capital. Additionally, these analyses help us develop approaches for maintaining appropriate funding, liquidity and capital across a variety of situations, including a severely stressed environment.
Balance Sheet Analysis and Metrics
As of December 2024, total assets in our consolidated balance sheets were $1.68 trillion, an increase of $34.38 billion from December 2023, reflecting increases in trading assets of $93.05 billion (primarily due to an increase in government obligations, reflecting the impact of our and our clients’ activities), investments of $37.68 billion (primarily due to an increase in U.S. government obligations accounted for as available-for-sale) and loans of $12.84 billion (primarily reflecting our clients’ activities), partially offset by decreases in cash and cash equivalents of $59.49 billion (primarily reflecting our activity) and collateralized agreements of $48.52 billion (primarily reflecting our activity). See “Liquidity Risk Management — Cash Flows” for further information about cash and cash equivalents.
As of December 2024, total liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets were $1.55 trillion, an increase of $29.29 billion from December 2023, primarily reflecting increases in collateralized financings of $35.03 billion (reflecting the impact of our and our clients’ activities), and deposits of $4.60 billion (due to an increase in consumer deposits, partially offset by decreases in transaction banking deposits and other deposits), partially offset by decreases in customer and other payables of $7.47 billion (primarily reflecting our clients’ activities) and borrowings of $5.48 billion (driven by net maturities).
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 84 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Our total securities sold under agreements to repurchase (repurchase agreements), accounted for as collateralized financings, were $274.38 billion as of December 2024 and $249.89 billion as of December 2023, which were 5% higher as of December 2024 and 21% higher as of December 2023 than the average daily amount of repurchase agreements over the respective quarters, and 9% higher as of December 2024 and 26% higher as of December 2023 than the average daily amount of repurchase agreements over the respective years. As of December 2024, the increase in our repurchase agreements relative to the average daily amount of repurchase agreements during the quarter and year resulted from lower levels of our and our clients’ activities at the end of the period.
The level of our repurchase agreements fluctuates between and within periods, primarily due to providing clients with access to highly liquid collateral, such as certain government and agency obligations, through collateralized financing activities.
The table below presents information about our balance sheet and leverage ratios.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Total assets | $ | 1,675,972 | $ | 1,641,594 | |
| Unsecured long-term borrowings | $ | 242,634 | $ | 241,877 | |
| Total shareholders’ equity | $ | 121,996 | $ | 116,905 | |
| Leverage ratio | 13.7x | 14.0x | |||
| Debt-to-equity ratio | 2.0x | 2.1x |
In the table above:
•The leverage ratio equals total assets divided by total shareholders’ equity and measures the proportion of equity and debt we use to finance assets. This ratio is different from the leverage ratios included in Note 20 to the consolidated financial statements.
•The debt-to-equity ratio equals unsecured long-term borrowings divided by total shareholders’ equity.
The table below presents information about our shareholders’ equity and book value per common share, including the reconciliation of common shareholders’ equity to tangible common shareholders’ equity.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions, except per share amounts | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Total shareholders’ equity | $ | 121,996 | $ | 116,905 | |
| Preferred stock | (13,253) | (11,203) | |||
| Common shareholders’ equity | 108,743 | 105,702 | |||
| Goodwill | (5,853) | (5,916) | |||
| Identifiable intangible assets | (847) | (1,177) | |||
| Tangible common shareholders’ equity | $ | 102,043 | $ | 98,609 | |
| Book value per common share | $ | 336.77 | $ | 313.56 | |
| Tangible book value per common share | $ | 316.02 | $ | 292.52 |
In the table above:
•Tangible common shareholders’ equity is calculated as total shareholders’ equity less preferred stock, goodwill and identifiable intangible assets. We believe that tangible common shareholders’ equity is meaningful because it is a measure that we and investors use to assess capital adequacy. Tangible common shareholders’ equity is a non-GAAP measure and may not be comparable to similar non-GAAP measures used by other companies.
•Book value per common share and tangible book value per common share are based on common shares outstanding and restricted stock units granted to employees with no future service requirements and not subject to performance or market conditions (collectively, basic shares) of 322.9 million as of December 2024 and 337.1 million as of December 2023. We believe that tangible book value per common share (tangible common shareholders’ equity divided by basic shares) is meaningful because it is a measure that we and investors use to assess capital adequacy. Tangible book value per common share is a non-GAAP measure and may not be comparable to similar non-GAAP measures used by other companies.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 85 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Funding Sources
Our primary sources of funding are deposits, collateralized financings, unsecured short- and long-term borrowings, and shareholders’ equity. We seek to maintain broad and diversified funding sources globally across products, programs, markets, currencies and creditors to avoid funding concentrations.
The table below presents information about our funding sources.
| As of December | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| Deposits | $ | 433,013 | 35 | % | $ | 428,417 | 36 | % | ||
| Collateralized financings | 358,590 | 29 | % | 323,564 | 27 | % | ||||
| Unsecured short-term borrowings | 69,709 | 6 | % | 75,945 | 6 | % | ||||
| Unsecured long-term borrowings | 242,634 | 20 | % | 241,877 | 21 | % | ||||
| Total shareholders’ equity | 121,996 | 10 | % | 116,905 | 10 | % | ||||
| Total | $ | 1,225,942 | 100 | % | $ | 1,186,708 | 100 | % |
Our funding is primarily raised in U.S. dollar, Euro, British pound and Japanese yen. We generally distribute our funding products through our own sales force and third-party distributors to a large, diverse creditor base in a variety of markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia. We believe that our relationships with our creditors are critical to our liquidity. Our creditors include banks, governments, securities lenders, corporations, pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds and individuals. We have imposed various internal guidelines to monitor creditor concentration across our funding programs.
Deposits. Our deposits provide us with a diversified source of funding and reduce our reliance on wholesale funding. We raise deposits, including savings, demand and time deposits, from consumers, private bank clients, through internal and third-party broker-dealers, transaction banking clients and other institutional clients. Substantially all of our deposits are raised through Goldman Sachs Bank USA (GS Bank USA), Goldman Sachs International Bank (GSIB) and Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE (GSBE).
The table below presents the types and sources of deposits.
| $ in millions | Savings and Demand | Time | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||||
| Consumer | $ | 126,694 | $ | 54,541 | $ | 181,235 | ||
| Private bank | 90,013 | 6,489 | 96,502 | |||||
| Brokered certificates of deposit | – | 41,014 | 41,014 | |||||
| Deposit sweep programs | 30,927 | – | 30,927 | |||||
| Transaction banking | 60,925 | 1,820 | 62,745 | |||||
| Other | 1,776 | 18,814 | 20,590 | |||||
| Total | $ | 310,335 | $ | 122,678 | $ | 433,013 | ||
| As of December 2023 | ||||||||
| Consumer | $ | 120,211 | $ | 36,903 | $ | 157,114 | ||
| Private bank | 86,457 | 6,855 | 93,312 | |||||
| Brokered certificates of deposit | – | 46,860 | 46,860 | |||||
| Deposit sweep programs | 31,916 | – | 31,916 | |||||
| Transaction banking | 68,177 | 3,643 | 71,820 | |||||
| Other | 1,568 | 25,827 | 27,395 | |||||
| Total | $ | 308,329 | $ | 120,088 | $ | 428,417 |
In the table above:
•Savings and demand accounts consist of money market deposit accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts and demand deposit accounts that have no stated maturity or expiration date.
•Time deposits had a weighted average maturity of approximately 0.6 years as of both December 2024 and December 2023.
•Consumer deposits consist of deposits from both Marcus and Apple Card customers.
•Deposit sweep programs include contractual agreements with U.S. broker-dealers who sweep client cash to FDIC-insured deposits.
•Transaction banking deposits consist of deposits that we raised through our cash management services business for corporate and other institutional clients.
•Other deposits are substantially all from institutional clients.
•Deposits insured by the FDIC were $234.54 billion as of December 2024 and $221.52 billion as of December 2023.
•Deposits insured by non-U.S. insurance programs were $25.98 billion as of December 2024 and $26.00 billion as of December 2023.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 86 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
See Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our deposits, including a maturity profile of our time deposits.
Secured Funding. We fund a significant amount of inventory and a portion of investments on a secured basis. Secured funding includes collateralized financings in the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our collateralized financings, including its maturity profile. We may also pledge our inventory and investments as collateral for securities borrowed under a securities lending agreement. We also use our own inventory and investments to cover transactions in which we or our clients have sold securities that have not yet been purchased. Secured funding is less sensitive to changes in our credit quality than unsecured funding, due to our posting of collateral to our lenders. Nonetheless, we analyze the refinancing risk of our secured funding activities, taking into account trade tenors, maturity profiles, counterparty concentrations, collateral eligibility and counterparty rollover probabilities. We seek to mitigate our refinancing risk by executing term trades with staggered maturities, diversifying counterparties, raising excess secured funding and pre-funding residual risk through our GCLA.
We seek to raise secured funding with a term appropriate for the liquidity of the assets that are being financed, and we seek longer maturities for secured funding collateralized by asset classes that may be harder to fund on a secured basis, especially during times of market stress. Our secured funding, excluding funding collateralized by liquid government and agency obligations, is primarily executed for tenors of one month or greater and is primarily executed through term repurchase agreements and securities loaned contracts.
Assets that may be harder to fund on a secured basis during times of market stress include certain financial instruments in the following categories: mortgage- and other asset-backed loans and securities, non-investment-grade corporate debt securities, equity securities and emerging market securities.
We also raise financing through other types of collateralized financings, such as secured loans and notes. GS Bank USA has access to funding from the Federal Home Loan Bank. Our outstanding borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank were $5.04 billion as of December 2024 and we had no outstanding borrowings as of December 2023. Additionally, we have access to funding through the Federal Reserve discount window, but we do not rely on this funding in our liquidity planning and stress testing.
Unsecured Short-Term Borrowings. A significant portion of our unsecured short-term borrowings was originally long-term debt that is scheduled to mature within one year of the reporting date. We use unsecured short-term borrowings, including U.S. and non-U.S. hybrid financial instruments and commercial paper, to finance liquid assets and for other cash management purposes. In accordance with regulatory requirements, Group Inc. does not issue debt with an original maturity of less than one year, other than to its subsidiaries. See Note 14 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our unsecured short-term borrowings.
Unsecured Long-Term Borrowings. Unsecured long-term borrowings, including structured notes, are raised through syndicated U.S. registered offerings, U.S. registered and Rule 144A medium-term note programs, offshore medium-term note offerings and other debt offerings. We issue in different tenors, currencies and products to maximize the diversification of our investor base.
The table below presents our quarterly unsecured long-term borrowings maturity profile.
| $ in millions | First Quarter | Second Quarter | Third Quarter | Fourth Quarter | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||||||||||
| 2026 | $ | 10,016 | $ | 6,947 | $ | 8,179 | $ | 11,788 | $ | 36,930 | ||||
| 2027 | $ | 13,058 | $ | 8,700 | $ | 8,091 | $ | 11,289 | 41,138 | |||||
| 2028 | $ | 11,495 | $ | 6,191 | $ | 4,542 | $ | 6,976 | 29,204 | |||||
| 2029 | $ | 4,490 | $ | 10,308 | $ | 6,912 | $ | 11,026 | 32,736 | |||||
| 2030 - thereafter | 102,626 | |||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 242,634 |
The weighted average maturity of our unsecured long-term borrowings as of December 2024 was approximately seven years. To mitigate refinancing risk, we seek to limit the principal amount of debt maturing over the course of any monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual time horizon. We enter into interest rate swaps to convert a portion of our unsecured long-term borrowings into floating-rate obligations to manage our exposure to interest rates. See Note 14 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our unsecured long-term borrowings.
Shareholders’ Equity. Shareholders’ equity is a stable and perpetual source of funding. See Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our shareholders’ equity.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 87 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Capital Management and Regulatory Capital
Capital adequacy is of critical importance to us. We have in place a comprehensive capital management policy that provides a framework, defines objectives and establishes guidelines to assist us in maintaining the appropriate level and composition of capital in both business-as-usual and stressed conditions.
Capital Management
We determine the appropriate amount and composition of our capital by considering multiple factors, including our current and future regulatory capital requirements, the results of our capital planning and stress testing process, the results of resolution capital models and other factors, such as rating agency guidelines, subsidiary capital requirements, the business environment and conditions in the financial markets.
We manage our capital requirements and the levels of our capital usage principally by setting targets on our balance sheet and risk-weighted assets (RWAs), in each case at both the firmwide and business levels.
We principally manage the level and composition of our capital through issuances and repurchases of our common stock.
We may issue, redeem or repurchase our preferred stock and subordinated debt or other forms of capital as business conditions warrant. Prior to such redemptions or repurchases, we must receive approval from the FRB. See Notes 14 and 19 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our subordinated debt and preferred stock.
Capital Planning and Stress Testing Process. As part of capital planning, we project sources and uses of capital given a range of business environments, including stressed conditions. Our stress testing process is designed to identify and measure material risks associated with our business activities, including market risk, credit risk, operational risk and liquidity risk, as well as our ability to generate revenues.
Our capital planning process incorporates an internal capital adequacy assessment with the objective of ensuring that we are appropriately capitalized relative to the risks in our businesses. We incorporate stress scenarios into our capital planning process with a goal of holding sufficient capital to ensure we remain adequately capitalized after experiencing a severe stress event. Our assessment of capital adequacy is viewed in tandem with our assessment of liquidity adequacy and is integrated into our overall risk management structure, governance and policy framework.
Our stress tests incorporate our internally designed stress scenarios, including our internally developed severely adverse scenario, and those required by the FRB, and are designed to capture our specific vulnerabilities and risks. We provide further information about our stress test processes and a summary of the results on our website as described in “Business — Available Information” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K.
As required by the FRB’s CCAR rules, we submit an annual capital plan for review by the FRB. The purpose of the FRB’s review is to ensure that we have a robust, forward-looking capital planning process that accounts for our unique risks and that permits continued operation during times of economic and financial stress.
The FRB evaluates us based, in part, on whether we have the capital necessary to continue operating under the baseline and severely adverse scenarios provided by the FRB and those developed internally. This evaluation also takes into account our process for identifying risk, our controls and governance for capital planning, and our guidelines for making capital planning decisions. In addition, the FRB evaluates our plan to make capital distributions (i.e., dividend payments and repurchases or redemptions of stock, subordinated debt or other capital securities) and issue capital, across the range of macroeconomic scenarios and firm-specific assumptions. The FRB determines the SCB applicable to us based on its own annual stress test. The SCB under the Standardized approach is calculated as (i) the difference between our starting and minimum projected CET1 capital ratios under the supervisory severely adverse scenario and (ii) our planned common stock dividends for each of the fourth through seventh quarters of the planning horizon, expressed as a percentage of RWAs.
Based on our 2024 CCAR submission, the FRB increased our SCB from 5.5% to 6.2%, resulting in a Standardized CET1 capital ratio requirement of 13.7% for the period from October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025. See “Share Repurchase Program” for further information about common stock repurchases and dividends and “Consolidated Regulatory Capital” for further information about the G-SIB surcharge. We published a summary of our annual DFAST results in June 2024. See “Business — Available Information” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K.
GS Bank USA is required to conduct stress tests on an annual basis and publish a summary of certain results. GS Bank USA published a summary of its annual DFAST results in June 2024. See “Business — Available Information” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 88 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Goldman Sachs International (GSI), GSIB and GSBE also have their own capital planning and stress testing processes, which incorporate internally designed stress tests developed in accordance with the guidelines of their respective regulators.
Contingency Capital Plan. As part of our comprehensive capital management policy, we maintain a contingency capital plan. Our contingency capital plan provides a framework for analyzing and responding to a perceived or actual capital deficiency, including, but not limited to, identification of drivers of a capital deficiency, as well as mitigants and potential actions. It outlines the appropriate communication procedures to follow during a crisis period, including internal dissemination of information, as well as timely communication with external stakeholders.
Capital Attribution. We assess the capital usage of each of our businesses based on our attributed equity framework. This framework considers many factors, including our internal assessment of risks as well as the regulatory capital requirements related to our business activities.
We review and make any necessary adjustments to our attributed equity in January each year, to reflect, among other things, our most recent stress test results and changes to our regulatory capital requirements. On January 1, 2024, our allocation of attributed equity changed (relative to the allocation as of December 2023) as follows: attributed equity increased by approximately $1.6 billion for Platform Solutions, while attributed equity decreased by approximately $1.2 billion for Asset & Wealth Management and approximately $0.4 billion for Global Banking & Markets. On January 1, 2025, our allocation of attributed equity changed (relative to the allocation as of December 2024) as follows: attributed equity increased by approximately $0.4 billion for Global Banking & Markets, while attributed equity decreased by approximately $0.3 billion for Asset & Wealth Management and approximately $0.1 billion for Platform Solutions. See “Results of Operations — Segment Assets and Operating Results — Segment Operating Results” for information about our average quarterly attributed equity by segment.
Share Repurchase Program. We use our share repurchase program to help maintain the appropriate level of common equity. On an annual basis, we submit a Board of Directors of Group Inc. (Board) approved capital plan to the Federal Reserve, which includes planned share repurchases for each quarter. The share repurchases are effected primarily through regular open-market purchases (which may include repurchase plans designed to comply with Rule 10b5-1 and accelerated share repurchases), the amounts and timing of which are determined primarily by our current and projected capital position, and capital deployment opportunities, but which may also be influenced by general market conditions and the prevailing price and trading volumes of our common stock.
In 2023, the Board approved a share repurchase program authorizing repurchases of up to $30 billion of our common stock. The program has no set expiration or termination date. See “Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities” in Part II, Item 5 of this Form 10-K and Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our share repurchase program, and see above for information about our capital planning and stress testing process.
During 2024, we returned a total of $11.80 billion of capital to common shareholders, including $8.00 billion of common share repurchases and $3.80 billion of common stock dividends. Consistent with our capital management philosophy, we will continue prioritizing deployment of capital for our clients where returns are attractive and distribute any excess capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, while targeting a 50 to 100 basis point buffer above our capital requirement.
We are subject to a one percent non-deductible federal excise tax (buyback tax) that is applicable to the fair market value of certain corporate share repurchases. The fair market value of share repurchases subject to the tax is reduced by the fair market value of any applicable stock issued during the calendar year, including stock issued to employees. The buyback tax did not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows for 2024.
Resolution Capital Models. In connection with our resolution planning efforts, we have established a Resolution Capital Adequacy and Positioning framework, which is designed to ensure that our major subsidiaries (GS Bank USA, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (GS&Co.), GSI, GSIB, GSBE, Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. (GSJCL), Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. and Goldman Sachs Asset Management International) have access to sufficient loss-absorbing capacity (in the form of equity, subordinated debt and unsecured senior debt) so that they are able to wind down following a Group Inc. bankruptcy filing in accordance with our preferred resolution strategy.
In addition, we have established a triggers and alerts framework, which is designed to provide the Board with information needed to make an informed decision on whether and when to commence bankruptcy proceedings for Group Inc.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 89 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Rating Agency Guidelines
The credit rating agencies assign credit ratings to the obligations of Group Inc., which directly issues or guarantees substantially all of our senior unsecured debt obligations. GS&Co. and GSI have been assigned long- and short-term issuer ratings by certain credit rating agencies. GS Bank USA, GSIB and GSBE have also been assigned long- and short-term issuer ratings, as well as ratings on their long- and short-term bank deposits. In addition, credit rating agencies have assigned ratings to debt obligations of certain other subsidiaries of Group Inc.
The level and composition of our capital are among the many factors considered in determining our credit ratings. Each agency has its own definition of eligible capital and methodology for evaluating capital adequacy, and assessments are generally based on a combination of factors rather than a single calculation. See “Risk Management — Liquidity Risk Management — Credit Ratings” for further information about credit ratings of Group Inc., GS Bank USA, GSIB, GSBE, GS&Co. and GSI.
Consolidated Regulatory Capital
We are subject to consolidated regulatory capital requirements which are calculated in accordance with the regulations of the FRB (Capital Framework). Under the Capital Framework, we are an “Advanced approaches” banking organization and have been designated as a G-SIB. In managing our capital, we consider a number of different capital requirements, the most binding of which can vary over time.
The capital requirements calculated under the Capital Framework include the capital conservation buffer requirements, which are comprised of a 2.5% buffer (under the Advanced Capital Rules), the SCB (under the Standardized Capital Rules), a countercyclical capital buffer (under both Capital Rules) and the G-SIB surcharge (under both Capital Rules). Our G-SIB surcharge is 3.0% for both 2024 and 2025 and is expected to be 3.5% beginning in 2026. The G-SIB surcharge and countercyclical capital buffer in the future may differ due to additional guidance from our regulators and/or positional changes, and our SCB can change significantly from year to year based on the results of the annual supervisory stress tests. Our target is to maintain capital ratios equal to the regulatory requirements plus a buffer of 50 to 100 basis points.
See Note 20 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about our risk-based capital ratios and leverage ratios, and the Capital Framework.
Total Loss-Absorbing Capacity (TLAC)
We are also subject to the FRB’s TLAC and related requirements. Failure to comply with the TLAC and related requirements would result in restrictions being imposed by the FRB and could limit our ability to repurchase shares, pay dividends and make certain discretionary compensation payments.
The table below presents TLAC and external long-term debt requirements.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| TLAC to RWAs | 22.0 | % | 22.0 | % |
| TLAC to leverage exposure | 9.5 | % | 9.5 | % |
| External long-term debt to RWAs | 9.0 | % | 9.0 | % |
| External long-term debt to leverage exposure | 4.5 | % | 4.5 | % |
In the table above:
•The TLAC to RWAs requirement included (i) the 18% minimum, (ii) the 2.5% buffer, (iii) the countercyclical capital buffer, which the FRB has set to zero percent and (iv) the 1.5% G-SIB surcharge (Method 1).
•The TLAC to leverage exposure requirement includes (i) the 7.5% minimum and (ii) the 2.0% leverage exposure buffer.
•The external long-term debt to RWAs requirement includes (i) the 6% minimum and (ii) the 3.0% G-SIB surcharge (Method 2).
•The external long-term debt to total leverage exposure is the 4.5% minimum.
The table below presents information about our TLAC and external long-term debt ratios.
| For the Three MonthsEnded or as of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| TLAC | $ | 275,904 | $ | 278,188 | |
| External long-term debt | $ | 150,682 | $ | 154,300 | |
| RWAs | $ | 688,541 | $ | 692,737 | |
| Leverage exposure | $ | 2,120,756 | $ | 1,995,756 | |
| TLAC to RWAs | 40.1 | % | 40.2 | % | |
| TLAC to leverage exposure | 13.0 | % | 13.9 | % | |
| External long-term debt to RWAs | 21.9 | % | 22.3 | % | |
| External long-term debt to leverage exposure | 7.1 | % | 7.7 | % |
In the table above:
•TLAC includes common and preferred stock, and eligible long-term debt issued by Group Inc. Eligible long-term debt represents unsecured debt, which has a remaining maturity of at least one year and satisfies additional requirements.
•External long-term debt consists of eligible long-term debt subject to a haircut if it is due to be paid between one and two years.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 90 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
•In accordance with the TLAC rules, the higher of Standardized or Advanced RWAs are used in the calculation of TLAC and external long-term debt ratios and applicable requirements. RWAs represent Standardized RWAs as of both December 2024 and December 2023.
•Leverage exposure consists of average adjusted total assets and certain off-balance sheet exposures.
See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about TLAC.
Subsidiary Capital Requirements
Many of our subsidiaries, including our bank and broker-dealer subsidiaries, are subject to separate regulation and capital requirements of the jurisdictions in which they operate.
Bank Subsidiaries. GS Bank USA is our primary U.S. banking subsidiary and GSIB and GSBE are our primary non-U.S. banking subsidiaries. These entities are subject to regulatory capital requirements. See Note 20 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about the regulatory capital requirements for GS Bank USA.
•GSIB. GSIB is our U.K. bank subsidiary regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). GSIB is subject to the U.K. capital framework, which is largely based on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s (Basel Committee) capital framework for strengthening international capital standards (Basel III). The eligible retail deposits of GSIB are covered by the U.K. Financial Services Compensation Scheme to the extent provided by law.
The table below presents GSIB’s risk-based capital requirements.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Risk-based capital requirements | ||||
| CET1 capital ratio | 11.9 | % | 10.1 | % |
| Tier 1 capital ratio | 14.7 | % | 12.4 | % |
| Total capital ratio | 18.4 | % | 15.4 | % |
The table below presents information about GSIB’s risk-based capital ratios.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Risk-based capital and risk-weighted assets | |||||
| CET1 capital | $ | 4,336 | $ | 3,936 | |
| Tier 1 capital | $ | 4,336 | $ | 3,936 | |
| Tier 2 capital | $ | 826 | $ | 826 | |
| Total capital | $ | 5,162 | $ | 4,762 | |
| RWAs | $ | 17,767 | $ | 16,546 | |
| Risk-based capital ratios | |||||
| CET1 capital ratio | 24.4 | % | 23.8 | % | |
| Tier 1 capital ratio | 24.4 | % | 23.8 | % | |
| Total capital ratio | 29.1 | % | 28.8 | % |
In the table above, the risk-based capital ratios as of December 2024 reflected profits that are still subject to annual audit by GSIB’s external auditors and approval by GSIB’s Board of Directors for inclusion in risk-based capital. These profits contributed 213 basis points to the CET1 capital ratio as of December 2024.
The table below presents GSIB’s leverage ratio requirement and leverage ratio.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Leverage ratio requirement | 3.7 | % | 3.6 | % |
| Leverage ratio | 8.9 | % | 7.4 | % |
In the table above, the leverage ratio as of December 2024 reflected profits that are still subject to annual audit by GSIB’s external auditors and approval by GSIB’s Board of Directors for inclusion in risk-based capital. These profits contributed 87 basis points to the leverage ratio as of December 2024.
GSIB is subject to minimum reserve requirements at central banks in certain of the jurisdictions in which it operates. As of both December 2024 and December 2023, GSIB was in compliance with these requirements.
•GSBE. GSBE is our German bank subsidiary supervised by the European Central Bank, BaFin and Deutsche Bundesbank. GSBE is a non-U.S. banking subsidiary of GS Bank USA and is also subject to standalone regulatory capital requirements noted below. GSBE is subject to the capital requirements prescribed in the amended E.U. Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) and E.U. Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR), which are largely based on Basel III. The deposits of GSBE are covered by the German statutory deposit protection program to the extent provided by law. In addition, GSBE has elected to participate in the German voluntary deposit protection program which provides further insurance for certain eligible deposits beyond the coverage of the German statutory deposit program.
The table below presents GSBE’s risk-based capital requirements.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Risk-based capital requirements | ||||
| CET1 capital ratio | 10.3 | % | 10.0 | % |
| Tier 1 capital ratio | 12.3 | % | 12.1 | % |
| Total capital ratio | 15.0 | % | 14.8 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 91 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents information about GSBE’s risk-based capital ratios.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Risk-based capital and risk-weighted assets | |||||
| CET1 capital | $ | 13,871 | $ | 14,212 | |
| Tier 1 capital | $ | 13,871 | $ | 14,212 | |
| Tier 2 capital | $ | 21 | $ | 22 | |
| Total capital | $ | 13,892 | $ | 14,234 | |
| RWAs | $ | 43,426 | $ | 39,797 | |
| Risk-based capital ratios | |||||
| CET1 capital ratio | 31.9 | % | 35.7 | % | |
| Tier 1 capital ratio | 31.9 | % | 35.7 | % | |
| Total capital ratio | 32.0 | % | 35.8 | % |
In the table above, the risk-based capital ratios as of December 2024 reflected profits that are still subject to annual audit by GSBE’s external auditors and approval by GSBE’s shareholder (GS Bank USA) for inclusion in risk-based capital. These profits contributed 151 basis points to the CET1 capital ratio as of December 2024.
The table below presents GSBE’s leverage ratio requirement and leverage ratio.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Leverage ratio requirement | 3.0 | % | 3.0 | % |
| Leverage ratio | 9.8 | % | 11.4 | % |
In the table above, the leverage ratio as of December 2024 reflected profits that are still subject to annual audit by GSBE’s external auditors and approval by GSBE’s shareholder (GS Bank USA) for inclusion in risk-based capital. These profits contributed 54 basis points to the leverage ratio as of December 2024.
GSBE is subject to minimum reserve requirements at central banks in certain of the jurisdictions in which it operates. As of both December 2024 and December 2023, GSBE was in compliance with these requirements.
GSBE is a registered swap dealer with the CFTC and a registered security-based swap dealer with the SEC. As of both December 2024 and December 2023, GSBE was subject to and in compliance with applicable capital requirements for swap dealers and security-based swap dealers.
U.S. Regulated Broker-Dealer Subsidiaries. GS&Co., our primary U.S. regulated broker-dealer subsidiary, is also a registered futures commission merchant and a registered swap dealer with the CFTC, and a registered security-based swap dealer with the SEC, and therefore is subject to regulatory capital requirements imposed by the SEC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., the CFTC, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the National Futures Association. Rule 15c3-1 of the SEC and Rules 1.17 and Part 23 Subpart E of the CFTC specify uniform minimum net capital requirements, as defined, for their registrants, and also effectively require that a significant part of the registrants’ assets be kept in relatively liquid form. GS&Co. has elected to calculate its SEC minimum capital requirements in accordance with the “Alternative Net Capital Requirement” as permitted by Rule 15c3-1 of the SEC.
GS&Co. had regulatory net capital, as defined by Rule 15c3-1 of the SEC, of $21.31 billion as of December 2024 and $20.25 billion as of December 2023, which exceeded the greater of the minimum amounts required under Rule 15c3-1 of the SEC and Rules 1.17 and Part 23 Subpart E of the CFTC by $15.87 billion as of December 2024 and $15.07 billion as of December 2023. In addition to its alternative minimum net capital requirements, GS&Co. is also required to hold tentative net capital in excess of $5 billion and net capital in excess of $1 billion in accordance with Rule 15c3-1. GS&Co. is also required to notify the SEC in the event that its tentative net capital is less than $6 billion. As of both December 2024 and December 2023, GS&Co. had tentative net capital and net capital in excess of both the minimum and the notification requirements.
Non-U.S. Regulated Broker-Dealer Subsidiaries. Our principal non-U.S. regulated broker-dealer subsidiaries include GSI and GSJCL.
GSI, our U.K. broker-dealer, is regulated by the PRA and the FCA. GSI is subject to the U.K. capital framework, which is largely based on Basel III.
The table below presents GSI’s risk-based capital requirements.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Risk-based capital requirements | ||||
| CET1 capital ratio | 9.1 | % | 9.1 | % |
| Tier 1 capital ratio | 11.0 | % | 11.0 | % |
| Total capital ratio | 13.6 | % | 13.7 | % |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 92 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents information about GSI’s risk-based capital ratios.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Risk-based capital and risk-weighted assets | |||||
| CET1 capital | $ | 32,697 | $ | 32,403 | |
| Tier 1 capital | $ | 38,197 | $ | 37,903 | |
| Tier 2 capital | $ | 6,874 | $ | 6,877 | |
| Total capital | $ | 45,071 | $ | 44,780 | |
| RWAs | $ | 265,944 | $ | 257,956 | |
| Risk-based capital ratios | |||||
| CET1 capital ratio | 12.3 | % | 12.6% | ||
| Tier 1 capital ratio | 14.4 | % | 14.7% | ||
| Total capital ratio | 16.9 | % | 17.4% |
In the table above, the risk-based capital ratios as of December 2024 reflected profits that are still subject to annual audit by GSI's external auditors and approval by GSI’s Board of Directors for inclusion in risk-based capital. These profits contributed 14 basis points to the CET1 capital ratio as of December 2024.
The table below presents GSI’s leverage ratio requirement and leverage ratio.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Leverage ratio requirement | 3.5 | % | 3.5 | % |
| Leverage ratio | 5.3 | % | 4.9 | % |
In the table above, the leverage ratio as of December 2024 reflected profits that are still subject to annual audit by GSI’s external auditors and approval by GSI’s Board of Directors for inclusion in risk-based capital. These profits contributed 3 basis points to the leverage ratio as of December 2024.
GSI is a registered swap dealer with the CFTC and a registered security-based swap dealer with the SEC. As of both December 2024 and December 2023, GSI was subject to and in compliance with applicable capital requirements for swap dealers and security-based swap dealers.
GSJCL, our Japanese broker-dealer, is regulated by Japan’s Financial Services Agency. GSJCL and certain other non-U.S. subsidiaries are also subject to capital requirements promulgated by authorities of the countries in which they operate. As of both December 2024 and December 2023, these subsidiaries were in compliance with their local capital requirements.
Regulatory and Other Matters
Regulatory Matters
Our businesses are subject to extensive regulation and supervision worldwide. Regulations have been adopted or are being considered by regulators and policy makers worldwide. Given that many of the new and proposed rules are highly complex, the full impact of regulatory reform will not be known until the rules are implemented and market practices develop under the final regulations.
See “Business — Regulation” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about the laws, rules and regulations and proposed laws, rules and regulations that apply to us and our operations.
Other Matters
Narrowing our Focus on Consumer-Related Activities. During 2023 and 2024, we narrowed our focus with respect to consumer-related activities by taking the following actions:
•We completed the sale of substantially all of the Marcus loan portfolio in 2023 (included within Asset & Wealth Management).
•We sold our PFM business in 2023 (included within Asset & Wealth Management).
•We sold the majority of the GreenSky loan portfolio in 2023 and, during 2024, completed the sale of GreenSky (included within Platform Solutions).
•During 2024, we entered into an agreement to transition the GM credit card program (included within Platform Solutions) to another issuer. The transition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025.
•During 2024, we sold our seller financing loan portfolio (included within Platform Solutions). This portfolio consisted of loans that were extended to small- and medium-sized retailers.
We remain committed to supporting the products and servicing customers through the various transition arrangements for our consumer-related activities.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 93 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents the impact to pre-tax earnings of the items that we sold or have announced the decision to sell (with respect to the narrowing of our focus on consumer-related activities).
| Year Ended December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Marcus loan portfolio | $ | – | $ | 233 | |
| PFM | – | 276 | |||
| GreenSky | (27) | (1,227) | |||
| GM credit card program | (557) | (65) | |||
| Seller financing loan portfolio | (84) | (28) | |||
| Total | $ | (668) | $ | (811) |
In the table above, pre-tax earnings related to GreenSky, the GM credit card program and the seller financing loan portfolio were included within Platform Solutions and the pre-tax earnings related to the Marcus loan portfolio and PFM were included within Asset & Wealth Management.
We have the following remaining consumer-related activities within Platform Solutions:
•We issue credit cards to and raise deposits from Apple Card customers.
•We will continue to support existing GM customers and issue credit cards to new GM customers until the transition of the GM credit card program to another issuer is completed.
Future decisions we may make in connection with the narrowing of our focus on consumer-related activities could have a material impact on our results of operations in the period such decisions are made.
See “Results of Operations — Platform Solutions” for the drivers of changes in our net revenues for Consumer platforms.
Impact of Los Angeles County Wildfires. In January 2025, a series of wildfires started in Los Angeles County that spread throughout the region. We are in ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders to assess the health and safety conditions of our office locations and the well-being of our employees. We are monitoring the ongoing developments of the wildfires and the potential impact on the broader economy. As of the date of this filing, the wildfires did not have a material impact on our results of operations.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
In the ordinary course of business, we enter into various types of off-balance sheet arrangements. Our involvement in these arrangements can take many different forms, including:
•Purchasing or retaining residual and other interests in special purpose entities, such as mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securitization vehicles;
•Holding senior and subordinated debt, interests in limited and general partnerships, and preferred and common stock in other nonconsolidated vehicles;
•Entering into interest rate, foreign currency, equity, commodity and credit derivatives, including total return swaps; and
•Providing guarantees, indemnifications, commitments, letters of credit and representations and warranties.
We enter into these arrangements for a variety of business purposes, including securitizations. The securitization vehicles that purchase mortgages, corporate bonds and other types of financial assets are critical to the functioning of several significant investor markets, including the mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities markets, since they offer investors access to specific cash flows and risks created through the securitization process.
We also enter into these arrangements to underwrite client securitization transactions; provide secondary market liquidity; make investments in performing and nonperforming debt, distressed loans, power-related assets, equity securities, real estate and other assets; and provide investors with credit-linked and asset-repackaged notes.
The table below presents where information about our various off-balance sheet arrangements may be found in this Form 10-K. In addition, see Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements for information about our consolidation policies.
| Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement | Disclosure in Form 10-K | |
|---|---|---|
| Variable interests and other obligations, including contingent obligations, arising from variable interests in nonconsolidated variable interest entities | See Note 17 to the consolidated financial statements. | |
| Guarantees, and lending and other commitments | See Note 18 to the consolidated financial statements. | |
| Derivatives | See “Risk Management — Credit Risk Management — Credit Exposures — OTC Derivatives” and Notes 4, 5, 7 and 18 to the consolidated financial statements. |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 94 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Risk Management
Risks are inherent in our businesses and include liquidity, market, credit, operational, cybersecurity, model, legal, compliance, conduct, regulatory and reputational risks. For further information about our risk management processes, see “Overview and Structure of Risk Management,” and for information about our areas of risk, see “Liquidity Risk Management,” “Market Risk Management,” “Credit Risk Management,” “Operational Risk Management,” “Cybersecurity Risk Management,” “Model Risk Management” and “Other Risk Management,” as well as “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
Overview and Structure of Risk Management
Overview
Effective risk management is critical to our success. Accordingly, we have established an enterprise risk management framework that employs a comprehensive, integrated approach to risk management and is designed to enable comprehensive risk management processes through which we identify, assess, monitor and manage the risks we assume in conducting our activities. Our risk management structure is built around three core components: governance, processes and people.
Governance. Risk management governance starts with the Board, which both directly and through its committees, including its Risk Committee, oversees our approach to managing our risks through the enterprise risk management framework. The Board is also responsible for the annual review and approval of our risk appetite statement. The risk appetite statement describes the levels and types of risk we are willing to accept or to avoid in order to achieve our objectives included in our strategy and business plan, while remaining in compliance with regulatory requirements. The Board reviews our strategy and business plan and is ultimately responsible for overseeing and providing direction about our strategy and risk appetite.
The Board, including through its committees, receives regular briefings on firmwide risks, including liquidity risk, market risk, credit risk, operational risk, model risk and climate risk, from our chief risk officer, on cybersecurity threats and risks from our chief information security officer (CISO), on compliance risk and conduct risk from our chief compliance officer, on legal and regulatory enforcement matters from our chief legal officer, and on other matters impacting our reputation from the chair and/or vice-chairs of our Firmwide Reputational Risk Committee. The chief risk officer reports to our chief executive officer and to the Risk Committee of the Board. As part of the review of the firmwide risk portfolio, the chief risk officer regularly advises the Risk Committee of the Board of relevant risk metrics and material exposures, including risk limits and thresholds established in our risk appetite statement.
Enterprise Risk, which reports to our chief risk officer, is responsible for ensuring that our enterprise risk management framework provides the Board, our risk committees and senior management with a consistent and integrated approach to managing our various risks in a manner consistent with our risk appetite.
Our first line of defense consists of our revenue-producing units, Conflicts Resolution, Controllers, Engineering, Corporate Treasury and certain other corporate functions. The first line of defense is responsible for its risk-generating activities, as well as for the design and execution of controls to mitigate such risks.
Our Risk and Compliance functions are considered our second line of defense and provide independent assessment, oversight and challenge of the risks taken by our first line of defense, as well as lead and participate in firmwide risk committees.
Internal Audit is considered our third line of defense, and our director of Internal Audit reports to the Audit Committee of the Board and administratively to our chief executive officer. Internal Audit includes professionals with a broad range of audit and industry experience, including risk management expertise. Internal Audit is responsible for independently assessing and validating the effectiveness of key controls, including those within the risk management framework, and providing timely reporting to the Audit Committee of the Board, senior management and regulators.
The three lines of defense structure promotes the accountability of first line risk takers, provides a framework for effective challenge by the second line and empowers independent review from the third line.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 95 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Processes. We maintain various processes that are critical components of our risk management framework, including (i) risk identification and assessment, (ii) risk appetite, limits, thresholds and alerts, (iii) control monitoring and testing, and (iv) risk reporting.
•Risk Identification and Assessment. We believe the identification and assessment of our risks is a critical step in providing our Board and senior management transparency and insight into the range and materiality of our risks. We have a comprehensive data collection process, including firmwide policies and procedures that require all employees to report and escalate risk events. Our approach for risk identification and assessment is comprehensive across all risk types, is dynamic and forward-looking to reflect and adapt to our changing risk profile and business environment, leverages subject matter expertise, and allows for prioritization of our most critical risks. We perform risk assessments periodically with the aim of ensuring that our material financial and nonfinancial risks are mitigated through controls to an acceptable tolerance level in accordance with our risk appetite. Our risk assessments include, among other things, the use of stress testing as well as an assessment of our internal control processes designed to mitigate such risks.
Firmwide stress testing is an important part of our risk management process. It allows us to quantify our exposure to tail risks, highlight potential loss concentrations, undertake risk/reward analysis, and assess and mitigate our risk positions. Firmwide stress tests are performed on a regular basis and are designed to ensure a comprehensive analysis of our vulnerabilities and idiosyncratic risks combining financial and nonfinancial risks, including, but not limited to, credit, market, liquidity and funding, operational and compliance, strategic, systemic and emerging risks into our stress scenarios. We also perform ad hoc stress tests in anticipation of market events or conditions. Stress tests are also used to assess capital adequacy as part of our capital planning and stress testing process. See “Capital Management and Regulatory Capital — Capital Management” for further information.
We maintain a daily discipline of marking substantially all of our inventory to current market levels. We carry our inventory at fair value, with changes in valuation reflected immediately in our risk management systems and in net revenues. We do so because we believe this discipline is one of the most effective tools for assessing and managing risk and that it provides transparent and realistic insight into our inventory exposures.
•Risk Appetite, Limits, Thresholds and Alerts. We apply risk limits, thresholds and alerts to control and monitor risk across transactions, products, businesses and markets. The Board, directly or indirectly through its Risk Committee, approves limits, thresholds and alerts included in our risk appetite statement at firmwide, business and product levels. In addition, the Firmwide Risk Appetite Committee, through delegated authority from the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee, is responsible for approving our risk limits, thresholds and alerts policy, subject to the overall limits directly or indirectly approved by the Board, and monitoring these limits.
The Firmwide Risk Appetite Committee is responsible for approving and monitoring limits at firmwide, business and product levels. Certain limits may be set at levels that will require periodic adjustment, rather than at levels that reflect our maximum risk appetite. This fosters an ongoing dialogue about risk among our first and second lines of defense, committees and senior management, as well as rapid escalation of risk-related matters. The Firmwide Risk Appetite Committee also authorizes Risk to set limits and thresholds to support monitoring and oversight at a more granular level. For example, Market Risk sets limits at certain product and desk levels, and Credit Risk sets limits for individual counterparties and their subsidiaries, industries and countries. Limits are reviewed regularly and amended on a permanent or temporary basis to reflect changes to our strategic business plan, as well as changing market conditions, business conditions or risk tolerance. Risks limits are monitored by the respective Risk functions.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 96 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
•Control Monitoring and Testing. We perform control monitoring and testing to measure the effectiveness of our key controls and to ensure that we are in compliance with policies, codes of conduct, control standards and regulatory requirements. Monitoring and testing is performed by dedicated teams within the first and second lines of defense. These teams establish procedures, develop risk-based annual plans, perform control testing and escalate identified issues.
Issues identified by the dedicated teams, as well as self-identified issues by our employees, are assessed for appropriate escalation and resolution. Where material or thematic issues exist, we develop a plan to remediate them, as appropriate, and monitor the remediation activities.
•Risk Reporting. Effective risk reporting depends on our ability to get the right information to the right people at the right time. Risk reporting is designed to be both forward- and backward-looking and consider detailed information on existing and emerging risk exposures. Risk reporting may include stress testing and scenario analysis, information about the risk profiles for financial and nonfinancial risks, utilization of risk limits and thresholds, details of new and emerging risks identified through our risk identification processes, details of issues, significant internal and external events, and information related to the effectiveness of our controls and remediation plans. As such, we focus on the rigor and effectiveness of our risk systems, with the objective of ensuring that our risk management technology systems provide us with complete, accurate and timely information. Our risk reporting process is designed to take into account information about both existing and emerging risks, thereby enabling our risk committees and senior management to perform their responsibilities with the appropriate level of insight into risk exposures.
We make extensive use of risk committees and councils that meet regularly and serve as an important means to facilitate and foster ongoing discussions to manage and mitigate risks.
We maintain strong and proactive communication about risk and we have a culture of collaboration in decision-making among our first and second lines of defense, committees and senior management. While our first line of defense is accountable and responsible for management of their risk, we dedicate extensive resources to our second line of defense in order to reinforce the importance of having effective oversight and challenge, and a strong culture of escalation and accountability across all functions.
People. Even the best technology serves only as a tool for helping to make informed decisions in real time about the risks we are taking. Ultimately, effective risk management requires our people to interpret our risk data on an ongoing and timely basis and adjust risk positions accordingly. The experience of our professionals, and their understanding of the nuances and limitations of each risk measure, guides us in assessing exposures and maintaining them within prudent levels.
We reinforce a culture of effective risk management, consistent with our risk appetite, in our training and development programs, as well as in the way we evaluate performance, and recognize and reward our people. Our training and development programs, including certain sessions led by our most senior leaders, are focused on the importance of risk management, client relationships and reputational excellence. As part of our performance review process, we assess reputational excellence, including how an employee exercises good risk management and reputational judgment, and adheres to our code of conduct and compliance policies. Our review and reward processes are designed to communicate and reinforce to our professionals the link between behavior and how people are recognized, the need to focus on our clients and our reputation, and the need to always act in accordance with our highest standards.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 97 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Structure
Ultimate oversight of risk is the responsibility of our Board. The Board oversees risk both directly and through its committees, including its Risk Committee. We also have a series of committees that generally consist of senior managers, including from both our first and second lines of defense, with specific risk management mandates that have oversight or decision-making responsibilities for risk management activities. We have an established policy for these committees so that appropriate information barriers are in place. Our primary risk committees, most of which also have additional sub-committees, councils or working groups, are described below. In addition to these committees, we have other risk committees that provide oversight for different businesses, activities, products, regions and entities. All of our committees have responsibility for considering the impact on our reputation of the transactions and activities that they oversee.
Membership of our risk committees is reviewed regularly and updated to reflect changes in the responsibilities of the committee members. Accordingly, the length of time that members serve on the respective committees varies as determined by the committee chairs and based on the responsibilities of the members.
The chart below presents an overview of our risk management governance structure.
Management Committee. The Management Committee oversees our global activities. It provides this oversight directly and through delegated authority. This committee consists of our most senior leaders, and is chaired by our chief executive officer. Most members of the Management Committee are also members of other committees. The following are the committees that are principally involved in firmwide risk management.
Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee. The Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee is responsible for overseeing all of our financial and nonfinancial risks. As part of such oversight, the committee is responsible for the ongoing review, approval and monitoring of our enterprise risk management framework, as well as our risk limits, and thresholds and alerts policy, through delegated authority to the Firmwide Risk Appetite Committee. The Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee also reviews new significant strategic business initiatives to determine whether they are consistent with our risk appetite and risk management capabilities. Additionally, the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee performs enhanced reviews of significant risk events, the top residual and emerging risks, and the overall risk and control environment in each of our business units in order to propose uplifts, identify elements that are common to all business units and analyze the consolidated residual risks that we face. This committee, which reports to the Management Committee, is co-chaired by our president and chief operating officer and our chief risk officer, who are appointed as chairs by our chief executive officer, and the vice-chair is our chief financial officer, who is appointed as vice-chair by the chairs of the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee. The Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee also periodically provides updates to, and receives guidance from, the Risk Committee of the Board. The following are the primary committees that report to the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee:
•Firmwide New Activity Committee. The Firmwide New Activity Committee is responsible for reviewing new activities and, upon referral by the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee, significant strategic business initiatives. Additionally, the Firmwide New Activity Committee may review previously approved activities that are significant and/or that have changed in complexity and/or structure or present different reputational and suitability concerns over time to consider whether these activities remain appropriate. This committee is chaired by our controller and chief accounting officer, who is appointed as chair by the chairs of the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee.
•Firmwide Technology Risk Committee. The Firmwide Technology Risk Committee is responsible for reviewing matters related to the design, development, deployment and use of technology. This committee oversees cybersecurity matters, as well as technology risk management frameworks and methodologies, and monitors their effectiveness. This committee is co-chaired by our CISO and our chief technology officer, who are appointed as chairs by the chairs of the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee. To assist the Firmwide Technology Risk Committee in carrying out its mandate, the Firmwide Artificial Intelligence Risk and Controls Committee, which oversees risks associated with the use of AI, reports to the Firmwide Technology Risk Committee.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 98 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
•Firmwide Compliance and Operational Risk Committee. The Firmwide Compliance and Operational Risk Committee is responsible for overseeing compliance and operational risk. This committee is co-chaired by our chief administrative officer for EMEA, our head of Operational Risk, and our chief compliance officer, who are appointed as chairs by the chairs of the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee.
•Firmwide Risk Appetite Committee. The Firmwide Risk Appetite Committee (through delegated authority from the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee) is responsible for the ongoing approval and monitoring of risk frameworks, policies and parameters related to our risk management processes, as well as limits, thresholds and alerts, at firmwide, business and product levels. In addition, this committee is responsible for overseeing our financial and model risks and reviews the results of stress tests and scenario analyses. To assist the Firmwide Risk Appetite Committee in carrying out its mandate, a number of other risk committees with dedicated oversight for stress testing, model risks, Volcker Rule compliance, as well as our investments or other capital commitments that may give rise to financial risk, report into the Firmwide Risk Appetite Committee. This committee is chaired by our chief risk officer, who is appointed as chair by the chairs of the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee. The Firmwide Capital Committee and Firmwide Commitments Committee report to the Firmwide Risk Appetite Committee.
•Firmwide Reputational Risk Committee. The Firmwide Reputational Risk Committee is responsible for assessing reputational risks arising from opportunities that have been identified as having potential heightened reputational risk, including transactions identified pursuant to the criteria established by the Firmwide Reputational Risk Committee and as determined by committee leadership. This committee is also responsible for overseeing client-related business standards and addressing client-related reputational risk. This committee is chaired by our president and chief operating officer, who is appointed as chair by our chief executive officer, and the vice-chairs are our chief legal officer and the head of Conflicts Resolution, who are appointed as vice-chairs by the chair of the Firmwide Reputational Risk Committee. This committee periodically provides updates to, and receives guidance from, the Public Responsibilities Committee of the Board. The Firmwide Suitability Committee reports to the Firmwide Reputational Risk Committee.
•Firmwide Data Governance Committee. The Firmwide Data Governance Committee is responsible for overseeing the firmwide data governance framework, and its implementation, to help ensure that data governance and data quality are appropriate. This committee is co-chaired by our chief information officer and our chief risk officer, who are appointed as chairs by the chairs of the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee.
Firmwide Asset Liability Committee. The Firmwide Asset Liability Committee reviews and approves the strategic direction for our financial resources, including capital, liquidity, funding and balance sheet. This committee has oversight responsibility for asset liability management, including interest rate and currency risk, funds transfer pricing, capital allocation and incentives, and credit ratings. This committee makes recommendations as to any adjustments to asset liability management and financial resource allocation in light of current events, risks, exposures, and regulatory requirements and approves related policies. This committee is co-chaired by our chief financial officer and our global treasurer, who are appointed as chairs by our chief executive officer, and reports to the Management Committee.
Liquidity Risk Management
Overview
Liquidity risk is the risk that we will be unable to fund ourselves or meet our liquidity needs in the event of firm-specific, broader industry or market liquidity stress events. We have in place a comprehensive and conservative set of liquidity and funding policies. Our principal objective is to be able to fund ourselves and to enable our core businesses to continue to serve clients and generate revenues, even under adverse circumstances.
Corporate Treasury is responsible for our liquidity, including developing and executing our liquidity and funding strategy.
Liquidity Risk, which is part of our second line of defense and reports to our chief risk officer, has primary responsibility for assessing, monitoring and managing our liquidity risk by providing independent firmwide oversight and challenge across our global businesses. Liquidity Risk is also responsible for the establishment of stress testing and limits frameworks.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 99 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Liquidity Risk Management Principles
We manage liquidity risk according to three principles: (i) hold sufficient excess liquidity in the form of GCLA to cover outflows during a stressed period, (ii) maintain appropriate Asset-Liability Management and (iii) maintain a viable Contingency Funding Plan.
GCLA. GCLA is liquidity that we maintain to meet a broad range of potential cash outflows and collateral needs in a stressed environment. A primary liquidity principle is to pre-fund our estimated potential cash and collateral needs during a liquidity crisis and hold this liquidity in the form of unencumbered, highly liquid securities and cash. We believe that the securities held in our GCLA would be readily convertible to cash in a matter of days, through liquidation, by entering into repurchase agreements or from maturities of resale agreements, and that this cash would allow us to meet immediate obligations without needing to sell other assets or depend on additional funding from credit-sensitive markets.
Our GCLA reflects the following principles:
•The first days or weeks of a liquidity crisis are the most critical to a company’s survival;
•Focus must be maintained on all potential cash and collateral outflows, not just disruptions to financing flows. Our businesses are diverse, and our liquidity needs are determined by many factors, including market movements, collateral requirements and client commitments, all of which can change dramatically in a difficult funding environment;
•During a liquidity crisis, credit-sensitive funding, including unsecured debt, certain deposits and some types of secured financing agreements, may be unavailable, and the terms (e.g., interest rates, collateral provisions and tenor) or availability of other types of secured financing may change and certain deposits may be withdrawn; and
•As a result of our policy to pre-fund liquidity that we estimate may be needed in a crisis, we hold more unencumbered securities and have larger funding balances than our businesses would otherwise require. We believe that our liquidity is stronger with greater balances of highly liquid unencumbered securities, even though it increases our total assets and our funding costs.
We maintain our GCLA across Group Inc., Goldman Sachs Funding LLC (Funding IHC) and Group Inc.’s major broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries, asset types and clearing agents with the goal of providing us with sufficient operating liquidity to ensure timely settlement in all major markets, even in a difficult funding environment. In addition to the GCLA, we maintain cash balances and securities in several of our other entities, primarily for use in specific currencies, entities or jurisdictions where we do not have immediate access to parent company liquidity.
Asset-Liability Management. Our liquidity risk management policies are designed to ensure we have a sufficient amount of financing, even when funding markets experience persistent stress. We manage the maturities and diversity of our funding across markets, products and counterparties, and seek to maintain a diversified funding profile with an appropriate tenor, taking into consideration the characteristics and liquidity profile of our assets.
Our approach to asset-liability management includes:
•Conservatively managing the overall characteristics of our funding book, with a focus on maintaining long-term, diversified sources of funding in excess of our current requirements. See “Balance Sheet and Funding Sources — Funding Sources” for further information;
•Actively managing and monitoring our asset base, with particular focus on the liquidity, holding period and ability to fund assets on a secured basis. We assess our funding requirements and our ability to liquidate assets in a stressed environment while appropriately managing risk. This enables us to determine the most appropriate funding products and tenors. See “Balance Sheet and Funding Sources — Balance Sheet Management” for further information about our balance sheet management process and “— Funding Sources — Secured Funding” for further information about asset classes that may be harder to fund on a secured basis; and
•Raising secured and unsecured financing that has a long tenor relative to the liquidity profile of our assets. This reduces the risk that our liabilities will come due in advance of our ability to generate liquidity from the sale of our assets. Because we maintain a highly liquid balance sheet, the holding period of certain of our assets may be materially shorter than their contractual maturity dates.
Our goal is to ensure that we maintain sufficient liquidity to fund our assets and meet our contractual and contingent obligations in normal times, as well as during periods of market stress. Through our dynamic balance sheet management process, we use actual and projected asset balances to determine secured and unsecured funding requirements. Funding plans are reviewed and approved by the Firmwide Asset Liability Committee. In addition, Risk and the Firmwide Asset Liability Committee review our total unsecured long-term borrowings and total shareholders’ equity to help ensure that we maintain a level of long-term funding that is sufficient to meet our long-term financing requirements. In a liquidity crisis, we would begin by liquidating and monetizing our GCLA before selling other assets. However, we recognize that orderly asset sales may be prudent or necessary in a severe or persistent liquidity crisis.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Subsidiary Funding Policies
The majority of our unsecured borrowings is raised by Group Inc., which provides the necessary funds to Funding IHC and other subsidiaries, some of which are regulated, to meet their asset financing, liquidity and capital requirements. In addition, Group Inc. provides its regulated subsidiaries with the necessary capital to meet their regulatory requirements. The benefits of this approach to subsidiary funding are enhanced control and greater flexibility to meet the funding requirements of our subsidiaries. Funding is also raised at the subsidiary level through a variety of products, including deposits, secured funding and unsecured borrowings.
Our intercompany funding policies assume that a subsidiary’s funds or securities are not freely available to its parent, Funding IHC or other subsidiaries unless (i) legally provided for and (ii) there are no additional regulatory, tax or other restrictions. In particular, many of our subsidiaries are subject to laws that authorize regulatory bodies to block or reduce the flow of funds from those subsidiaries to Group Inc. or Funding IHC. Regulatory action of that kind could impede access to funds that Group Inc. needs to make payments on its obligations. Accordingly, we assume that the capital provided to our regulated subsidiaries is not available to Group Inc. or other subsidiaries and any other financing provided to our regulated subsidiaries is not available to Group Inc. or Funding IHC until the maturity of such financing.
Group Inc. has provided substantial amounts of equity and subordinated indebtedness, directly or indirectly, to its regulated subsidiaries. For example, as of December 2024, Group Inc. had $38.69 billion of equity and subordinated indebtedness invested in GS&Co., its principal U.S. registered broker-dealer; $47.21 billion invested in GSI, a regulated U.K. broker-dealer; $2.08 billion invested in GSJCL, a regulated Japanese broker-dealer; $62.81 billion invested in GS Bank USA, a regulated New York State-chartered bank; and $5.30 billion invested in GSIB, a regulated U.K. bank. Group Inc. also provides financing, directly or indirectly, in the form of: $131.82 billion of unsubordinated loans (including secured loans of $59.97 billion) and $32.92 billion of collateral and cash deposits to these entities as of December 2024. In addition, as of December 2024, Group Inc. had significant amounts of capital invested in and loans to its other regulated subsidiaries.
Contingency Funding Plan. We maintain a contingency funding plan to provide a framework for analyzing and responding to a liquidity crisis situation or periods of market stress. Our contingency funding plan outlines a list of potential risk factors, key reports and metrics that are reviewed on an ongoing basis to assist in assessing the severity of, and managing through, a liquidity crisis and/or market dislocation. The contingency funding plan also describes in detail our potential responses if our assessments indicate that we have entered a liquidity crisis, which include pre-funding for what we estimate will be our potential cash and collateral needs, as well as utilizing secondary sources of liquidity. Mitigants and action items to address specific risks which may arise are also described and assigned to individuals responsible for execution.
The contingency funding plan identifies key groups of individuals and their responsibilities, which include fostering effective coordination, control and distribution of information, implementing liquidity maintenance activities and managing internal and external communication, all of which are critical in the management of a crisis or period of market stress.
Stress Tests
In order to determine the appropriate size of our GCLA, we model liquidity outflows over a range of scenarios and time horizons. One of our primary internal liquidity risk models, referred to as the Modeled Liquidity Outflow, quantifies our liquidity risks over a 30-day stress scenario. We also consider other factors, including, but not limited to, an assessment of our potential intraday liquidity needs through an additional internal liquidity risk model, referred to as the Intraday Liquidity Model, the results of our long-term stress testing models, our resolution liquidity models and other applicable regulatory requirements and a qualitative assessment of our condition, as well as the financial markets. The results of the Modeled Liquidity Outflow, the Intraday Liquidity Model, the long-term stress testing models and the resolution liquidity models are reported to senior management on a regular basis. We also perform firmwide stress tests. See “Overview and Structure of Risk Management” for information about firmwide stress tests.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 101 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Modeled Liquidity Outflow. Our Modeled Liquidity Outflow is based on conducting multiple scenarios that include combinations of market-wide and firm-specific stress. These scenarios are characterized by the following qualitative elements:
•Severely challenged market environments, which include low consumer and corporate confidence, financial and political instability, and adverse changes in market values, including potential declines in equity markets and widening of credit spreads; and
•A firm-specific crisis potentially triggered by material losses, reputational damage (including, as a result of, the dissemination of negative information through social media), litigation and/or a ratings downgrade.
The following are key modeling elements of our Modeled Liquidity Outflow:
•Liquidity needs over a 30-day scenario;
•A two-notch downgrade of our long-term senior unsecured credit ratings;
•Changing conditions in funding markets, which limit our access to unsecured and secured funding;
•No support from additional government funding facilities. Although we have access to various central bank funding programs, we do not assume reliance on additional sources of funding in a liquidity crisis; and
•A combination of contractual outflows and contingent outflows arising from both our on- and off-balance sheet arrangements. Contractual outflows include, among other things, upcoming maturities of unsecured debt, term deposits and secured funding. Contingent outflows include, among other things, the withdrawal of customer credit balances in our prime brokerage business, increase in variation margin requirements due to adverse changes in the value of our exchange-traded and OTC-cleared derivatives, draws on unfunded commitments and withdrawals of deposits that have no contractual maturity. See notes to the consolidated financial statements for further information about contractual outflows, including Note 11 for collateralized financings, Note 13 for deposits, Note 14 for unsecured long-term borrowings and Note 15 for operating lease payments, and “Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements” for further information about our various types of off-balance sheet arrangements.
Intraday Liquidity Model. Our Intraday Liquidity Model measures our intraday liquidity needs in a scenario where access to sources of intraday liquidity may become constrained. The intraday liquidity model considers a variety of factors, including historical settlement activity.
Long-Term Stress Testing. We utilize longer-term stress tests to take a forward view on our liquidity position through prolonged stress periods in which we experience a severe liquidity stress and recover in an environment that continues to be challenging. We are focused on ensuring conservative asset-liability management to prepare for a prolonged period of potential stress, seeking to maintain a diversified funding profile with an appropriate tenor, taking into consideration the characteristics and liquidity profile of our assets.
Resolution Liquidity Models. In connection with our resolution planning efforts, we have established our Resolution Liquidity Adequacy and Positioning framework, which estimates liquidity needs of our major subsidiaries in a stressed environment. The liquidity needs are measured using our Modeled Liquidity Outflow assumptions and include certain additional inter-affiliate exposures. We have also established our Resolution Liquidity Execution Need framework, which measures the liquidity needs of our major subsidiaries to stabilize and wind down following a Group Inc. bankruptcy filing in accordance with our preferred resolution strategy.
In addition, we have established a triggers and alerts framework, which is designed to provide the Board with information needed to make an informed decision on whether and when to commence bankruptcy proceedings for Group Inc.
Limits
We use liquidity risk limits at various levels and across liquidity risk types to manage the size of our liquidity exposures. Limits are measured relative to acceptable levels of risk given our liquidity risk tolerance. See “Overview and Structure of Risk Management” for information about the limit approval process.
Limits are monitored by Corporate Treasury and Liquidity Risk. Liquidity Risk is responsible for identifying and escalating to senior management and/or the appropriate risk committee, on a timely basis, instances where limits have been exceeded.
GCLA and Unencumbered Metrics
GCLA. Based on the results of our internal liquidity risk models, described above, as well as our consideration of other factors, including, but not limited to, a qualitative assessment of our condition, as well as the financial markets, we believe our liquidity position as of both December 2024 and December 2023 was appropriate. We strictly limit our GCLA to a narrowly defined list of securities and cash because they are highly liquid, even in a difficult funding environment. We do not include other potential sources of excess liquidity in our GCLA, such as less liquid unencumbered securities or committed credit facilities.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 102 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents information about our GCLA.
| Average for the | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Months | Year Ended | |||||||||||
| Ended December | December | |||||||||||
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||
| Denomination | ||||||||||||
| U.S. dollar | $ | 311,839 | $ | 282,414 | $ | 300,535 | $ | 282,307 | ||||
| Non-U.S. dollar | 110,252 | 131,176 | 128,645 | 124,691 | ||||||||
| Total | $ | 422,091 | $ | 413,590 | $ | 429,180 | $ | 406,998 | ||||
| Asset Class | ||||||||||||
| Overnight cash deposits | $ | 143,563 | $ | 204,929 | $ | 184,370 | $ | 231,066 | ||||
| U.S. government obligations | 177,721 | 150,806 | 163,983 | 133,000 | ||||||||
| U.S. agency obligations | 46,979 | 22,895 | 32,102 | 16,387 | ||||||||
| Non-U.S. government obligations | 53,828 | 34,960 | 48,725 | 26,545 | ||||||||
| Total | $ | 422,091 | $ | 413,590 | $ | 429,180 | $ | 406,998 | ||||
| Entity Type | ||||||||||||
| Group Inc. and Funding IHC | $ | 60,609 | $ | 65,952 | $ | 65,965 | $ | 66,803 | ||||
| Major broker-dealer subsidiaries | 113,996 | 117,818 | 117,204 | 114,824 | ||||||||
| Major bank subsidiaries | 247,486 | 229,820 | 246,011 | 225,371 | ||||||||
| Total | $ | 422,091 | $ | 413,590 | $ | 429,180 | $ | 406,998 |
In the table above:
•The U.S. dollar-denominated GCLA consists of (i) unencumbered U.S. government and agency obligations (including highly liquid U.S. agency mortgage-backed obligations), all of which are eligible as collateral in Federal Reserve open market operations and (ii) certain overnight U.S. dollar cash deposits.
•The non-U.S. dollar-denominated GCLA consists of non-U.S. government obligations (only unencumbered German, French, Japanese and U.K. government obligations) and certain overnight cash deposits in highly liquid currencies.
We maintain our GCLA to enable us to meet current and potential liquidity requirements of our parent company, Group Inc., and its subsidiaries. Our Modeled Liquidity Outflow and Intraday Liquidity Model incorporate a requirement for Group Inc., as well as a standalone requirement for each of our major broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries. Funding IHC is required to provide the necessary liquidity to Group Inc. during the ordinary course of business, and is also obligated to provide capital and liquidity support to major subsidiaries in the event of our material financial distress or failure. Liquidity held directly in each of our major broker-dealer and bank subsidiaries is intended for use only by that subsidiary to meet its liquidity requirements and is assumed not to be available to Group Inc. or Funding IHC unless (i) legally provided for and (ii) there are no additional regulatory, tax or other restrictions. In addition, the Modeled Liquidity Outflow and Intraday Liquidity Model also incorporate a broader assessment of standalone liquidity requirements for other subsidiaries and we hold a portion of our GCLA directly at Group Inc. or Funding IHC to support such requirements.
Other Unencumbered Assets. In addition to our GCLA, we have a significant amount of other unencumbered cash and financial instruments, including other government obligations, high-grade money market securities, corporate obligations, marginable equities, loans and cash deposits not included in our GCLA. The fair value of our unencumbered assets averaged $295.49 billion for the three months ended December 2024, $286.51 billion for the three months ended December 2023, $292.22 billion for the year ended December 2024 and $281.95 billion for the year ended December 2023. We do not consider these assets liquid enough to be eligible for our GCLA.
Liquidity Regulatory Framework
We are subject to a minimum Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) under the LCR rule approved by the U.S. federal bank regulatory agencies. The LCR rule requires organizations to maintain an adequate ratio of eligible high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) to expected net cash outflows under an acute, short-term liquidity stress scenario. Eligible HQLA excludes HQLA held by subsidiaries that is in excess of their minimum requirement and is subject to transfer restrictions. We are required to maintain a minimum LCR of 100%. We expect that fluctuations in client activity, business mix and the market environment will impact our LCR.
The table below presents information about our average daily LCR.
| Average for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | September | December | ||||||
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Total HQLA | $ | 407,348 | $ | 434,256 | $ | 401,721 | ||
| Eligible HQLA | $ | 352,494 | $ | 369,119 | $ | 326,181 | ||
| Net cash outflows | $ | 279,368 | $ | 277,825 | $ | 255,106 | ||
| LCR | 126 | % | 133 | % | 128 | % |
In the table above, our average quarterly LCR represents the average of our daily LCRs during the quarter.
We are also subject to a minimum Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) under the NSFR rule approved by the U.S. federal bank regulatory agencies. The NSFR rule requires large U.S. banking organizations to maintain available stable funding (ASF) above their required stable funding (RSF) over a one-year time horizon. Total ASF excludes ASF held by subsidiaries that is in excess of their minimum requirement and is subject to transfer restrictions. We are required to maintain a minimum NSFR of 100%. We expect that fluctuations in client activity, business mix and the market environment will impact our NSFR.
The table below presents information about our average daily NSFR.
| Average for the Three Months Ended | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | September | December | ||||||
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||
| Total ASF | $ | 692,474 | $ | 673,860 | $ | 628,734 | ||
| Total RSF | $ | 595,352 | $ | 577,525 | $ | 542,089 | ||
| NSFR | 116 | % | 117 | % | 116 | % |
In the table above, our average quarterly NSFR represents the average of our daily NSFRs during the quarter.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 103 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The following provides information about our subsidiary liquidity regulatory requirements:
•GS Bank USA. GS Bank USA is subject to a minimum LCR of 100% under the LCR rule approved by the U.S. federal bank regulatory agencies. As of December 2024, GS Bank USA’s LCR exceeded the minimum requirement. The NSFR requirement described above also applies to GS Bank USA. As of December 2024, GS Bank USA’s NSFR exceeded the minimum requirement.
•GSI and GSIB. GSI and GSIB are subject to a minimum LCR of 100% under the LCR rule approved by the U.K. regulatory authorities. GSI’s and GSIB’s average monthly LCR for the trailing twelve-month period ended December 2024 exceeded the minimum requirement. GSI and GSIB are subject to the applicable NSFR requirement in the U.K. As of December 2024, both GSI’s and GSIB’s NSFR exceeded the minimum requirement.
•GSBE. GSBE is subject to a minimum LCR of 100% under the LCR rule approved by the European Parliament and Council. GSBE’s average monthly LCR for the trailing twelve-month period ended December 2024 exceeded the minimum requirement. GSBE is subject to the applicable NSFR requirement in the E.U. As of December 2024, GSBE’s NSFR exceeded the minimum requirement.
•Other Subsidiaries. We monitor local regulatory liquidity requirements of our subsidiaries to ensure compliance. For many of our subsidiaries, these requirements either have changed or are likely to change in the future due to the implementation of the Basel Committee’s framework for liquidity risk measurement, standards and monitoring, as well as other regulatory developments.
The implementation of these rules and any amendments adopted by the regulatory authorities could impact our liquidity and funding requirements and practices in the future.
Credit Ratings
We rely on the short- and long-term debt capital markets to fund a significant portion of our day-to-day operations, and the cost and availability of debt financing is influenced by our credit ratings. Credit ratings are also important when we are competing in certain markets, such as OTC derivatives, and when we seek to engage in longer-term transactions. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K for information about the risks associated with a reduction in our credit ratings.
The table below presents the unsecured credit ratings and outlook of Group Inc.
| As of December 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DBRS | Fitch | Moody’s | R&I | S&P | |
| Short-term debt | R-1 (middle) | F1 | P-1 | a-1 | A-2 |
| Long-term debt | A (high) | A | A2 | A | BBB+ |
| Subordinated debt | A | BBB+ | Baa2 | A- | BBB |
| Trust preferred | A | BBB- | Baa3 | N/A | BB+ |
| Preferred stock | BBB (high) | BBB- | Ba1 | N/A | BB+ |
| Ratings outlook | Stable | Stable | Stable | Stable | Stable |
In the table above:
•The ratings and outlook are by DBRS, Inc. (DBRS), Fitch, Inc. (Fitch), Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s), Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I), and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P).
•The ratings for trust preferred relate to the guaranteed preferred beneficial interests issued by Goldman Sachs Capital I.
•The DBRS, Fitch, Moody’s and S&P ratings for preferred stock include the APEX issued by Goldman Sachs Capital II and Goldman Sachs Capital III.
The table below presents the unsecured credit ratings and outlook of GS Bank USA, GSIB, GSBE, GS&Co. and GSI.
| As of December 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitch | Moody’s | S&P | |
| GS Bank USA | |||
| Short-term debt | F1 | P-1 | A-1 |
| Long-term debt | A+ | A1 | A+ |
| Short-term bank deposits | F1+ | P-1 | N/A |
| Long-term bank deposits | AA- | A1 | N/A |
| Ratings outlook | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| GSIB | |||
| Short-term debt | F1 | P-1 | A-1 |
| Long-term debt | A+ | A1 | A+ |
| Short-term bank deposits | F1 | P-1 | N/A |
| Long-term bank deposits | A+ | A1 | N/A |
| Ratings outlook | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| GSBE | |||
| Short-term debt | F1 | P-1 | A-1 |
| Long-term debt | A+ | A1 | A+ |
| Short-term bank deposits | N/A | P-1 | N/A |
| Long-term bank deposits | N/A | A1 | N/A |
| Ratings outlook | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| GS&Co. | |||
| Short-term debt | F1 | N/A | A-1 |
| Long-term debt | A+ | N/A | A+ |
| Ratings outlook | Stable | N/A | Stable |
| GSI | |||
| Short-term debt | F1 | P-1 | A-1 |
| Long-term debt | A+ | A1 | A+ |
| Ratings outlook | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 104 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
We believe our credit ratings are primarily based on the credit rating agencies’ assessment of:
•Our liquidity, market, credit and operational risk management practices;
•Our level and variability of earnings;
•Our capital base;
•Our franchise, reputation and management;
•Our corporate governance; and
•The external operating and economic environment, including, in some cases, the assumed level of government support or other systemic considerations, such as potential resolution.
Certain of our derivatives have been transacted under bilateral agreements with counterparties who may require us to post collateral or terminate the transactions based on changes in our credit ratings. We manage our GCLA to ensure we would, among other potential requirements, be able to make the additional collateral or termination payments that may be required in the event of a two-notch reduction in our long-term credit ratings, as well as collateral that has not been called by counterparties, but is available to them. See Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about derivatives with credit-related contingent features and the additional collateral or termination payments related to our net derivative liabilities under bilateral agreements that could have been called by counterparties in the event of a one- or two-notch downgrade in our credit ratings.
Cash Flows
As a global financial institution, our cash flows are complex and bear little relation to our net earnings and net assets. Consequently, we believe that traditional cash flow analysis is less meaningful in evaluating our liquidity position than the liquidity and asset-liability management policies described above. Cash flow analysis may, however, be helpful in highlighting certain macro trends and strategic initiatives in our businesses.
Year Ended December 2024. Our cash and cash equivalents decreased by $59.49 billion to $182.09 billion at the end of 2024, primarily due to net cash used for investing activities and operating activities, partially offset by financing activities. The net cash used for investing activities primarily reflected net purchases of U.S. government obligations accounted for as available-for-sale securities and an increase in net lending activities (reflecting increases in other collateralized loans). The net cash used for operating activities primarily reflected cash outflows from trading assets, partially offset by cash inflows from collateralized transactions (reflecting both an increase in collateralized financings and a decrease in collateralized agreements). The net cash provided by financing activities primarily reflected cash inflows from other secured financings and deposits (reflecting increases in consumer deposits, partially offset by decreases in transaction banking deposits and other deposits), partially offset by common stock repurchases and net repayments of unsecured long-term borrowings.
Year Ended December 2023. Our cash and cash equivalents decreased by $248 million to $241.58 billion at the end of 2023, due to net cash used for investing and operating activities, partially offset by net cash provided by financing activities and the effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents. The net cash used for investing activities primarily reflected net purchases of U.S. government obligations accounted for as held-to-maturity securities. The net cash used for operating activities primarily reflected cash outflows from trading assets and customer and other receivables and payables, net (reflecting a decrease in customer and other payables, partially offset by a decrease in customer and other receivables), partially offset by cash inflows from collateralized transactions (reflecting an increase in collateralized financings, partially offset by an increase in collateralized agreements), net earnings and trading liabilities. The net cash provided by financing activities primarily reflected cash inflows from deposits (reflecting increases in consumer deposits, brokered certificates of deposit and other deposits, partially offset by decreases in deposits sweep program balances and private bank deposits), partially offset by net repayments of unsecured long-term borrowings. The increase in cash and cash equivalents as a result of changes in foreign exchange rates was due to the U.S. dollar weakening during 2023.
For an analysis of cash flows for the year ended December 2022, see Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 105 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Market Risk Management
Overview
Market risk is the risk of an adverse impact to our earnings due to changes in market conditions. Our assets and liabilities that give rise to market risk primarily include positions held for market making for our clients and for our investing and financing activities, and these positions change based on client demands and our investment opportunities. We employ a variety of risk measures, each described in the respective sections below, to monitor market risk. Categories of market risk include the following:
•Interest rate risk: results from exposures to changes in the level, slope and curvature of yield curves, the volatilities of interest rates, prepayment speeds and credit spreads;
•Equity price risk: results from exposures to changes in prices and volatilities of individual equities, baskets of equities and equity indices;
•Currency rate risk: results from exposures to changes in spot prices, forward prices and volatilities of currency rates; and
•Commodity price risk: results from exposures to changes in spot prices, forward prices and volatilities of commodities, such as crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, electricity, and precious and base metals.
Market Risk, which is part of our second line of defense and reports to our chief risk officer, has primary responsibility for assessing, monitoring and managing our market risk by providing independent firmwide oversight and challenge across our global businesses.
Managers in revenue-producing units, Corporate Treasury and Market Risk discuss market information, positions and estimated loss scenarios on an ongoing basis. Managers in revenue-producing units and Corporate Treasury are accountable for managing risk within prescribed limits. These managers have in-depth knowledge of their positions, markets and the instruments available to hedge their exposures.
Market Risk Management Process
Our process for managing market risk includes the critical components of our risk management framework described in the “Overview and Structure of Risk Management,” as well as the following:
•Monitoring compliance with established market risk limits and reporting our exposures;
•Diversifying exposures;
•Controlling position sizes; and
•Evaluating mitigants, such as economic hedges in related securities or derivatives.
Our market risk management systems enable us to perform an independent calculation of Value-at-Risk (VaR), Earnings-at-Risk (EaR) and other stress measures, capture risk measures at individual position levels, attribute risk measures to individual risk factors of each position, report many different views of the risk measures (e.g., by desk, business, product type or entity) and produce ad hoc analyses in a timely manner.
Risk Measures
We produce risk measures and monitor them against established market risk limits. These measures reflect an extensive range of scenarios and the results are aggregated at product, business and firmwide levels.
We use a variety of risk measures to estimate the size of potential losses for small, moderate and more extreme market moves over both short- and long-term time horizons. Our primary risk measures are VaR, EaR and other stress tests.
Our risk reports detail key risks, drivers and changes for each desk and business, and are distributed daily to senior management of both our revenue-producing units and Risk.
Value-at-Risk. VaR is the potential loss in value due to adverse market movements over a defined time horizon with a specified confidence level. For assets and liabilities included in VaR, see “Financial Statement Linkages to Market Risk Measures.” We typically employ a one-day time horizon with a 95% confidence level. We use a single VaR model, which captures risks, including those related to interest rates, equity prices, currency rates and commodity prices. As such, VaR facilitates comparison across portfolios of different risk characteristics. VaR also captures the diversification of aggregated risk at the firmwide level.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 106 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
We are aware of the inherent limitations to VaR and therefore use a variety of risk measures in our market risk management process. Inherent limitations to VaR include:
•VaR does not estimate potential losses over longer time horizons where moves may be extreme;
•VaR does not take account of the relative liquidity of different risk positions; and
•Previous moves in market risk factors may not produce accurate predictions of all future market moves.
To comprehensively capture our exposures and relevant risks in our VaR calculation, we use historical simulations with full valuation of market factors at the position level by simultaneously shocking the relevant market factors for that position. These market factors include spot prices, credit spreads, funding spreads, yield curves, volatility and correlation, and are updated periodically based on changes in the composition of positions, as well as variations in market conditions. We sample from five years of historical data to generate the scenarios for our VaR calculation. The historical data is weighted so that the relative importance of the data reduces over time. This gives greater importance to more recent observations and reflects current asset volatilities, which improves the accuracy of our estimates of potential loss. As a result, even if our positions included in VaR were unchanged, our VaR would increase with increasing market volatility and vice versa.
Given its reliance on historical data, VaR is most effective in estimating risk exposures in markets in which there are no sudden fundamental changes or shifts in market conditions.
Our VaR measure does not include:
•Positions that are not accounted for at fair value, such as held-to-maturity securities and loans, deposits and unsecured borrowings that are accounted for at amortized cost;
•Available-for-sale securities for which the related unrealized fair value gains and losses are included in accumulated other comprehensive income/(loss);
•Positions that are best measured and monitored using sensitivity measures; and
•The impact of changes in counterparty and our own credit spreads on derivatives, as well as changes in our own credit spreads on financial liabilities for which the fair value option was elected.
We perform daily backtesting of our VaR model (i.e., comparing daily net revenues for positions included in VaR to the VaR measure calculated as of the prior business day) at the firmwide level and for each of our businesses and major regulated subsidiaries.
Earnings-at-Risk. We manage our interest rate risk using the EaR metric. EaR measures the estimated impact of changes in interest rates to our net revenues and preferred stock dividends over a defined time horizon. EaR complements the VaR metric, which measures the impact of interest rate changes that have an immediate impact on the fair values of our assets and liabilities (i.e., mark-to-market changes). Our exposure to interest rate risk occurs due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
•Differences in maturity or repricing dates of assets, liabilities, preferred stock and certain off-balance sheet instruments.
•Differences in the amounts of assets, liabilities, preferred stock and certain off-balance sheet instruments with the same maturity or repricing dates.
•Certain interest rate sensitive fees.
Corporate Treasury manages the aggregated interest rate risk from all businesses using both cash and derivatives instruments, including available-for-sale and held-to-maturity securities and interest rate derivatives. We measure EaR over a one-year time horizon following a 100- and 200-basis point instantaneous parallel shock in both short- and long-term interest rates. This sensitivity is calculated relative to a baseline market scenario, which takes into consideration, among other things, the market’s expectation of forward rates, as well as our expectation of future business activity. These scenarios include contractual elements of assets, liabilities, preferred stock, and certain off-balance sheet instruments, such as rates of interest, principal repayment schedules, maturity and reset dates, and any interest rate ceilings or floors, as well as assumptions with respect to our balance sheet size and composition, prepayment behavior and deposit repricing. Deposit repricing is captured by evaluating the change in deposit rate paid relative to the change in market rates (deposit beta) and we calibrate the deposit betas used in our models by using a number of factors, including observed historical behavior, future expectations, funding needs and the competitive landscape. We continuously monitor the performance of our key assumptions against observed behavior and regularly review their sensitivity on our risk metrics.
We manage EaR with a goal to reduce potential volatility resulting from changes in interest rates so it remains within our EaR risk appetite. Our EaR scenario is regularly evaluated and updated, if necessary, to reflect changes in our business plans, market conditions and other macroeconomic factors. While management uses the best information available to estimate EaR, actual results may differ materially as a result of, among other things, changes in the economic environment or assumptions used in the process. We also measure the sensitivity of the economic value of our equity (EVE) to changes in interest rates. Compared to EaR, EVE provides a longer-term measurement of the interest rate risk exposure, primarily on non-trading assets and liabilities, by capturing the net impact of changes in interest rates to the present value of their cash flows.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 107 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Corporate Treasury is responsible for our aggregated interest rate risk, including assessing and monitoring EaR and EVE sensitivity, and interest rate risk stress tests and assumptions.
Risk, which is part of our second line of defense and reports to our chief risk officer, has primary responsibility for assessing, monitoring and managing our interest rate risk (including EaR and EVE sensitivity) by providing independent firmwide oversight and challenge across our global businesses.
Stress Testing. Stress testing is a method of determining the effect of various hypothetical stress scenarios. We use stress tests to examine risks of specific portfolios, as well as the potential impact of our significant risk exposures. We use a variety of stress testing techniques to calculate the potential loss from a wide range of market moves on our portfolios, including firmwide stress tests, sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis. The results of our various stress tests are analyzed together for risk management purposes. See “Overview and Structure of Risk Management” for information about firmwide stress tests.
Sensitivity analysis is used to quantify the impact of a market move in a single risk factor across all positions (e.g., equity prices or credit spreads) using a variety of defined market shocks, ranging from those that could be expected over a one-day time horizon up to those that could take many months to occur. We also use sensitivity analysis to quantify the impact of the default of any single entity, which captures the risk of large or concentrated exposures.
Scenario analysis is used to quantify the impact of a specified event, including how the event impacts multiple risk factors simultaneously. For example, for sovereign stress testing we calculate potential direct exposure associated with our sovereign positions, as well as the corresponding debt, equity and currency exposures associated with our non-sovereign positions that may be impacted by the sovereign distress. When conducting scenario analysis, we often consider a number of possible outcomes for each scenario, ranging from moderate to severely adverse market impacts. In addition, these stress tests are constructed using both historical events and forward-looking hypothetical scenarios.
Unlike VaR measures, which have an implied probability because they are calculated at a specified confidence level, there may not be an implied probability that our stress testing scenarios will occur. Instead, stress testing is used to model both moderate and more extreme moves in underlying market factors. When estimating potential loss, we generally assume that our positions cannot be reduced or hedged (although experience demonstrates that we are generally able to do so).
Limits
We use market risk limits at various levels to manage the size of our market exposures. These limits are set based on VaR, EaR and on a range of stress tests relevant to our exposures. See “Overview and Structure of Risk Management” for information about the limit approval process.
Limits are monitored by Corporate Treasury and Risk. Risk is responsible for identifying and escalating to senior management and/or the appropriate risk committee, on a timely basis, instances where limits have been exceeded (e.g., due to positional changes or changes in market conditions, such as increased volatilities or changes in correlations). Such instances are remediated by a reduction in the positions we hold and/or a temporary or permanent increase to the limit, if warranted.
Metrics
We analyze VaR at the firmwide level and a variety of more detailed levels, including by risk category, business and region. Diversification effect in the tables below represents the difference between total VaR and the sum of the VaRs for the four risk categories. This effect arises because the four market risk categories are not perfectly correlated. Substantially all positions in VaR are included within Global Banking & Markets.
The table below presents our average daily VaR.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Categories | |||||||||
| Interest rates | $ | 81 | $ | 96 | |||||
| Equity prices | 37 | 29 | |||||||
| Currency rates | 26 | 24 | |||||||
| Commodity prices | 19 | 19 | |||||||
| Diversification effect | (71) | (69) | |||||||
| Total | $ | 92 | $ | 99 |
Our average daily VaR decreased to $92 million in 2024 from $99 million in 2023, due to lower levels of volatility, partially offset by increased exposures. The total decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in the interest rates category, partially offset by an increase in the equity prices category.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 108 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents our period-end VaR.
| As of December | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | ||||
| Categories | ||||||
| Interest rates | $ | 84 | $ | 93 | ||
| Equity prices | 41 | 25 | ||||
| Currency rates | 38 | 15 | ||||
| Commodity prices | 14 | 14 | ||||
| Diversification effect | (86) | (54) | ||||
| Total | $ | 91 | $ | 93 |
Our period-end VaR decreased to $91 million as of December 2024 from $93 million as of December 2023, due to lower levels of volatility, partially offset by increased exposures. The total decrease was driven by an increase in the diversification effect and a decrease in the interest rates category, partially offset by an increase in the currency rates and equity prices categories.
During 2024, there was a permanent increase to the firmwide VaR risk limit due to higher levels of volatility and increased exposures. The firmwide VaR risk limit was not exceeded during this period. During 2023, the firmwide VaR risk limit was not exceeded and there were no permanent changes to the firmwide VaR risk limit. However, the firmwide VaR risk limit was temporarily changed on four occasions as a result of changes in the market environment in the first half of 2023.
The table below presents our high and low VaR.
| Year Ended December | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| $ in millions | High | Low | High | Low | |||||||||||
| Categories | |||||||||||||||
| Interest rates | $ | 121 | $ | 57 | $ | 148 | $ | 70 | |||||||
| Equity prices | $ | 65 | $ | 25 | $ | 49 | $ | 22 | |||||||
| Currency rates | $ | 47 | $ | 10 | $ | 47 | $ | 9 | |||||||
| Commodity prices | $ | 31 | $ | 12 | $ | 32 | $ | 11 | |||||||
| Firmwide | |||||||||||||||
| VaR | $ | 116 | $ | 75 | $ | 142 | $ | 79 |
The chart below presents our daily VaR for 2024.
The table below presents, by number of business days, the frequency distribution of our daily net revenues for positions included in VaR.
| Year Ended December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| $100 | 62 | 52 | |||
| $75 – $100 | 39 | 40 | |||
| $50 – $75 | 57 | 52 | |||
| $25 – $50 | 46 | 47 | |||
| $0 – $25 | 31 | 22 | |||
| $(25) – $0 | 12 | 30 | |||
| $(50) – $(25) | 3 | 4 | |||
| $(75) – $(50) | – | 2 | |||
| $(100) – $(75) | – | – | |||
| $(100) | 2 | 1 | |||
| Total | 252 | 250 |
Daily net revenues for positions included in VaR are compared with VaR calculated as of the end of the prior business day. Net losses incurred on a single day for such positions exceeded our 95% one-day VaR (i.e., a VaR exception) on two occasions during 2024 and on one occasion during 2023.
During periods in which we have significantly more positive net revenue days than net revenue loss days, we expect to have fewer VaR exceptions because, under normal conditions, our business model generally produces positive net revenues. In periods in which our franchise revenues are adversely affected, we generally have more loss days, resulting in more VaR exceptions. The daily net revenues for positions included in VaR used to determine VaR exceptions reflect the impact of any intraday activity, including bid/offer net revenues, which are more likely than not to be positive by their nature.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 109 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Sensitivity Measures
Certain portfolios and individual positions are not included in VaR because VaR is not the most appropriate risk measure. Other sensitivity measures we use to analyze market risk are described below.
10% Sensitivity Measures. The table below presents our market risk by asset category for positions accounted for at fair value or accounted for at the lower of cost or fair value, that are not included in VaR.
| As of December | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | ||||
| Equity | $ | 1,567 | $ | 1,562 | ||
| Debt | 1,904 | 2,446 | ||||
| Total | $ | 3,471 | $ | 4,008 |
In the table above:
•The market risk of these positions is determined by estimating the potential reduction in net revenues of a 10% decline in the value of the underlying positions.
•Equity positions relate to private and public equity securities, which primarily include investments in corporate, real estate and infrastructure assets. Substantially all such equity positions are included within Asset & Wealth Management.
•Debt positions include mezzanine and senior debt, and corporate and real estate loans, substantially all of which are included within Asset & Wealth Management. Debt positions also included approximately $1.8 billion as of December 2024 and approximately $2.0 billion as of December 2023 of GM co-branded credit card loans, and approximately $3.0 billion as of December 2023 of GreenSky loans that were classified as held for sale. These held for sale loans were included within Platform Solutions.
•Funded equity and debt positions are included in our consolidated balance sheets in investments and loans, and the related hedges are included in our consolidated balance sheets in derivatives. See Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about investments, Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about loans and Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about derivatives.
•These measures do not reflect the diversification effect across asset categories or across other market risk measures.
Credit and Funding Spread Sensitivity on Derivatives and Financial Liabilities. VaR excludes the impact of changes in counterparty credit spreads, our own credit spreads and unsecured funding spreads on derivatives, as well as changes in our own credit spreads (debt valuation adjustment) on financial liabilities for which the fair value option was elected. The estimated sensitivity to a one basis point increase in credit spreads (counterparty and our own) and unsecured funding spreads on derivatives (including hedges) was a loss of $2 million as of both December 2024 and December 2023. In addition, the estimated sensitivity to a one basis point increase in our own credit spreads on financial liabilities for which the fair value option was elected was a gain of $43 million as of December 2024 and $42 million as of December 2023. However, the actual net impact of a change in our own credit spreads is also affected by the liquidity, duration and convexity (as the sensitivity is not linear to changes in yields) of those financial liabilities for which the fair value option was elected, as well as the relative performance of any hedges undertaken.
Earnings-at-Risk. The table below presents the impact of a parallel shift in rates on our net revenues and preferred stock dividends over the next 12 months relative to the baseline scenario.
| As of December | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | |||
| +100 basis points parallel shift in rates | $ | 140 | $ | 225 | |
| -100 basis points parallel shift in rates | $ | (270) | $ | (232) | |
| +200 basis points parallel shift in rates | $ | 196 | $ | 445 | |
| -200 basis points parallel shift in rates | $ | (525) | $ | (475) |
In the table above, the EaR metric utilized various assumptions, including, among other things, balance sheet size and composition, prepayment behavior and deposit repricing, all of which have inherent uncertainties. The EaR metric does not represent a forecast of our net revenues and preferred stock dividends. We expect our EaR to be more sensitive to short-term interest rates than long-term rates.
Other Market Risk Considerations
We make investments in securities that are accounted for as available-for-sale, held-to-maturity or under the equity method which are included in investments in the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements for further information.
Direct investments in real estate are accounted for at cost less accumulated depreciation. See Note 12 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about other assets.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 110 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Financial Statement Linkages to Market Risk Measures
We employ a variety of risk measures, each described in the respective sections above, to monitor market risk across the consolidated balance sheets and consolidated statements of earnings. The related gains and losses on these positions are included in market making, other principal transactions, interest income and interest expense in the consolidated statements of earnings, and debt valuation adjustment and unrealized gains/(losses) on available-for-sale securities in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
The table below presents certain assets and liabilities accounted for at fair value or accounted for at the lower of cost or fair value in our consolidated balance sheets and the market risk measures used to assess those assets and liabilities.
| Assets or Liabilities | Market Risk Measures |
|---|---|
| Collateralized agreements and financings | VaR |
| Customer and other receivables | 10% Sensitivity Measures |
| Trading assets and liabilities | VaR Credit Spread Sensitivity10% Sensitivity Measures |
| Investments | VaR10% Sensitivity Measures |
| Loans | VaR10% Sensitivity Measures |
| Other assets and liabilities | VaR |
| Deposits | VaRCredit Spread Sensitivity |
| Unsecured borrowings | VaRCredit Spread Sensitivity |
In addition to the above, we measure the interest rate risk for all positions within our consolidated balance sheets using the EaR metric.
Credit Risk Management
Overview
Credit risk represents the potential for loss due to the default or deterioration in credit quality of a counterparty (e.g., an OTC derivatives counterparty or a borrower) or an issuer of securities or other instruments we hold. Our exposure to credit risk comes mostly from client transactions in OTC derivatives and loans and lending commitments. Credit risk also comes from cash placed with banks, securities financing transactions (i.e., resale and repurchase agreements and securities borrowing and lending activities) and customer and other receivables.
Credit Risk, which is part of our second line of defense and reports to our chief risk officer, has primary responsibility for assessing, monitoring and managing our credit risk by providing independent firmwide oversight and challenge across our global businesses. In addition, we hold other positions that give rise to credit risk (e.g., bonds and secondary bank loans). These credit risks are captured as a component of market risk measures, which are monitored and managed by Market Risk. We also enter into derivatives to manage market risk exposures. Such derivatives also give rise to credit risk, which is monitored and managed by Credit Risk.
Credit Risk Management Process
Our process for managing credit risk includes the critical components of our risk management framework described in the “Overview and Structure of Risk Management,” as well as the following:
•Monitoring compliance with established credit risk limits and reporting our credit exposures and credit concentrations;
•Establishing or approving underwriting standards;
•Assessing the likelihood that a counterparty will default on its payment obligations;
•Measuring our current and potential credit exposure and losses resulting from a counterparty default;
•Using credit risk mitigants, including collateral and hedging; and
•Maximizing recovery through active workout and restructuring of claims.
We also perform credit analyses, which incorporate initial and ongoing evaluations of the capacity and willingness of a counterparty to meet its financial obligations. For substantially all of our credit exposures, the core of our process is an annual counterparty credit evaluation or more frequently if deemed necessary as a result of events or changes in circumstances. We determine an internal credit rating for the counterparty by considering the results of the credit evaluations and assumptions with respect to the nature of and outlook for the counterparty’s industry and the economic environment. For collateralized loans, we also take into consideration collateral received or other credit support arrangements when determining an internal credit rating. Senior personnel, with expertise in specific industries, inspect and approve credit reviews and internal credit ratings.
Our risk assessment process may also include, where applicable, reviewing certain key metrics, including, but not limited to, delinquency status, collateral value, FICO credit scores and other risk factors.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 111 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Our credit risk management systems capture credit exposure to individual counterparties and on an aggregate basis to counterparties and their subsidiaries. These systems also provide management with comprehensive information about our aggregate credit risk by product, internal credit rating, industry, country and region.
Risk Measures
We measure our credit risk based on the potential loss in the event of non-payment by a counterparty using current and potential exposure. For derivatives and securities financing transactions, current exposure represents the amount presently owed to us after taking into account applicable netting and collateral arrangements, while potential exposure represents our estimate of the future exposure that could arise over the life of a transaction based on market movements within a specified confidence level. Potential exposure also takes into account netting and collateral arrangements. For loans and lending commitments, the primary measure is a function of the notional amount of the position.
Stress Tests
We conduct regular stress tests to calculate the credit exposures, including potential concentrations that would result from applying shocks to counterparty credit ratings or credit risk factors (e.g., currency rates, interest rates, equity prices). These shocks cover a wide range of moderate and more extreme market movements, including shocks to multiple risk factors, consistent with the occurrence of a severe market or economic event. In the case of sovereign default, we estimate the direct impact of the default on our sovereign credit exposures, changes to our credit exposures arising from potential market moves in response to the default, and the impact of credit market deterioration on corporate borrowers and counterparties that may result from the sovereign default. Unlike potential exposure, which is calculated within a specified confidence level, stress testing does not generally assume a probability of these events occurring. We also perform firmwide stress tests. See “Overview and Structure of Risk Management” for information about firmwide stress tests.
To supplement these regular stress tests, as described above, we also conduct tailored stress tests on an ad hoc basis in response to specific events that we deem significant. We also utilize these stress tests to estimate the indirect impact of certain hypothetical events on our country exposures, such as the impact of credit market deterioration on corporate borrowers and counterparties along with the shocks to the risk factors described above. The parameters of these shocks vary based on the scenario reflected in each stress test. We review estimated losses produced by the stress tests in order to understand their magnitude, highlight potential loss concentrations, and assess and seek to mitigate our exposures, where necessary.
Limits
We use credit risk limits at various levels, as well as underwriting standards to manage the size and nature of our credit exposures. Limits for industries and countries are based on our risk appetite and are designed to allow for regular monitoring, review, escalation and management of credit risk concentrations. See “Overview and Structure of Risk Management” for information about the limit approval process.
Credit Risk is responsible for monitoring these limits, and identifying and escalating to senior management and/or the appropriate risk committee, on a timely basis, instances where limits have been exceeded.
Risk Mitigants
To reduce our credit exposures on derivatives and securities financing transactions, we may enter into netting agreements with counterparties that permit us to offset receivables and payables with such counterparties. We may also reduce credit risk with counterparties by entering into agreements that enable us to obtain collateral from them on an upfront or contingent basis and/or to terminate transactions if the counterparty’s credit rating falls below a specified level. We monitor the fair value of the collateral to ensure that our credit exposures are appropriately collateralized. We seek to minimize exposures where there is a significant positive correlation between the creditworthiness of our counterparties and the market value of collateral we receive.
For loans and lending commitments, depending on the credit quality of the borrower and other characteristics of the transaction, we employ a variety of potential risk mitigants. Risk mitigants include collateral provisions, guarantees, covenants, structural seniority of the bank loan claims and, for certain lending commitments, provisions in the legal documentation that allow us to adjust loan amounts, pricing, structure and other terms as market conditions change. The type and structure of risk mitigants employed can significantly influence the degree of credit risk involved in a loan or lending commitment.
When we do not have sufficient visibility into a counterparty’s financial strength or when we believe a counterparty requires support from its parent, we may obtain third-party guarantees of the counterparty’s obligations. We may also seek to mitigate our credit risk using credit derivatives or participation agreements.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 112 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Credit Exposures
As of December 2024, our aggregate credit exposure decreased slightly compared with December 2023, primarily reflecting a decrease in cash deposits with central banks, partially offset by an increase in loans and lending commitments. The percentage of our credit exposures arising from non-investment-grade counterparties (based on our internally determined public rating agency equivalents) increased compared with December 2023, primarily reflecting a decrease in investment-grade credit exposure related to cash deposits with central banks. Our credit exposures are described further below.
Cash and Cash Equivalents. Our credit exposure on cash and cash equivalents arises from our unrestricted cash, and includes both interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing deposits. We seek to mitigate the risk of credit loss, by placing substantially all of our deposits with highly rated banks and central banks.
The table below presents our credit exposure from unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, and the concentration by industry, region and internally determined public rating agency equivalents.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| Cash and Cash Equivalents | $167,253 | $224,493 | ||
| Industry | ||||
| Financial Institutions | 10 | % | 9 | % |
| Sovereign | 90 | % | 91 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Region | ||||
| Americas | 67 | % | 50 | % |
| EMEA | 24 | % | 34 | % |
| Asia | 9 | % | 16 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||
| AAA | 79 | % | 65 | % |
| AA | 6 | % | 15 | % |
| A | 14 | % | 20 | % |
| BBB | 1 | % | – | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
The table above excludes cash segregated for regulatory and other purposes of $14.84 billion as of December 2024 and $17.08 billion as of December 2023.
OTC Derivatives. Our credit exposure on OTC derivatives arises primarily from our market-making activities. As a market maker, we enter into derivative transactions to provide liquidity to clients and to facilitate the transfer and hedging of their risks. We also enter into derivatives to manage market risk exposures. We manage our credit exposure on OTC derivatives using the credit risk process, measures, limits and risk mitigants described above.
We generally enter into OTC derivatives transactions under bilateral collateral arrangements that require the daily exchange of collateral. As credit risk is an essential component of fair value, we include a credit valuation adjustment (CVA) in the fair value of derivatives to reflect counterparty credit risk, as described in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements. CVA is a function of the present value of expected exposure, the probability of counterparty default and the assumed recovery upon default.
The table below presents our net credit exposure from OTC derivatives and the concentration by industry and region.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| OTC derivative assets | $41,655 | $42,950 | ||
| Collateral (not netted under U.S. GAAP) | (15,821) | (14,420) | ||
| Net credit exposure | $25,834 | $28,530 | ||
| Industry | ||||
| Consumer & Retail | 3 | % | 3 | % |
| Diversified Industrials | 10 | % | 11 | % |
| Financial Institutions | 19 | % | 21 | % |
| Funds | 28 | % | 20 | % |
| Healthcare | 1 | % | 2 | % |
| Municipalities & Nonprofit | 2 | % | 4 | % |
| Natural Resources & Utilities | 16 | % | 17 | % |
| Sovereign | 11 | % | 14 | % |
| Technology, Media & Telecommunications | 8 | % | 6 | % |
| Other (including Special Purpose Vehicles) | 2 | % | 2 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Region | ||||
| Americas | 43 | % | 48 | % |
| EMEA | 49 | % | 45 | % |
| Asia | 8 | % | 7 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
Our credit exposure (before any potential recoveries) to OTC derivative counterparties that defaulted during 2024 remained low, representing less than 2% of our total credit exposure from OTC derivatives.
In the table above:
•OTC derivative assets, included in the consolidated balance sheets, are reported on a net-by-counterparty basis (i.e., the net receivable for a given counterparty) when a legal right of setoff exists under an enforceable netting agreement (counterparty netting) and are accounted for at fair value, net of cash collateral received under enforceable credit support agreements (cash collateral netting).
•Collateral represents cash collateral and the fair value of securities collateral, primarily U.S. and non-U.S. government and agency obligations, received under credit support agreements, that we consider when determining credit risk, but such collateral is not eligible for netting under U.S. GAAP.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 113 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
The table below presents the distribution of our net credit exposure from OTC derivatives by tenor.
| $ in millions | Investment- Grade | Non-Investment- Grade / Unrated | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||||
| Less than 1 year | $ | 24,256 | $ | 5,247 | $ | 29,503 | ||
| 1 – 5 years | 16,762 | 5,240 | 22,002 | |||||
| Greater than 5 years | 49,709 | 2,622 | 52,331 | |||||
| Total | 90,727 | 13,109 | 103,836 | |||||
| Netting | (72,077) | (5,925) | (78,002) | |||||
| Net credit exposure | $ | 18,650 | $ | 7,184 | $ | 25,834 | ||
| As of December 2023 | ||||||||
| Less than 1 year | $ | 19,314 | $ | 7,700 | $ | 27,014 | ||
| 1 – 5 years | 19,673 | 6,331 | 26,004 | |||||
| Greater than 5 years | 51,944 | 3,999 | 55,943 | |||||
| Total | 90,931 | 18,030 | 108,961 | |||||
| Netting | (72,412) | (8,019) | (80,431) | |||||
| Net credit exposure | $ | 18,519 | $ | 10,011 | $ | 28,530 |
In the table above:
•Tenor is based on remaining contractual maturity for substantially all OTC derivative assets.
•Netting includes counterparty netting across tenor categories and collateral that we consider when determining credit risk (including collateral that is not eligible for netting under U.S. GAAP). Counterparty netting within the same tenor category is included within such tenor category.
The tables below present the distribution of our net credit exposure from OTC derivatives by tenor and internally determined public rating agency equivalents.
| Investment-Grade | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | AAA | AA | A | BBB | Total | |||||||||
| As of December 2024 | ||||||||||||||
| Less than 1 year | $ | 781 | $ | 5,243 | $ | 11,397 | $ | 6,835 | $ | 24,256 | ||||
| 1 – 5 years | 855 | 4,301 | 6,689 | 4,917 | 16,762 | |||||||||
| Greater than 5 years | 2,431 | 13,970 | 17,824 | 15,484 | 49,709 | |||||||||
| Total | 4,067 | 23,514 | 35,910 | 27,236 | 90,727 | |||||||||
| Netting | (1,753) | (20,812) | (30,083) | (19,429) | (72,077) | |||||||||
| Net credit exposure | $ | 2,314 | $ | 2,702 | $ | 5,827 | $ | 7,807 | $ | 18,650 | ||||
| As of December 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Less than 1 year | $ | 583 | $ | 4,383 | $ | 7,718 | $ | 6,630 | $ | 19,314 | ||||
| 1 – 5 years | 1,226 | 4,850 | 6,755 | 6,842 | 19,673 | |||||||||
| Greater than 5 years | 5,963 | 13,417 | 15,507 | 17,057 | 51,944 | |||||||||
| Total | 7,772 | 22,650 | 29,980 | 30,529 | 90,931 | |||||||||
| Netting | (5,308) | (18,364) | (25,470) | (23,270) | (72,412) | |||||||||
| Net credit exposure | $ | 2,464 | $ | 4,286 | $ | 4,510 | $ | 7,259 | $ | 18,519 | ||||
| Non-Investment-Grade / Unrated | ||||||||||||||
| $ in millions | ≤ BB | Unrated | Total | |||||||||||
| As of December 2024 | ||||||||||||||
| Less than 1 year | $ | 5,020 | $ | 227 | $ | 5,247 | ||||||||
| 1 – 5 years | 5,201 | 39 | 5,240 | |||||||||||
| Greater than 5 years | 2,578 | 44 | 2,622 | |||||||||||
| Total | 12,799 | 310 | 13,109 | |||||||||||
| Netting | (5,888) | (37) | (5,925) | |||||||||||
| Net credit exposure | $ | 6,911 | $ | 273 | $ | 7,184 | ||||||||
| As of December 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Less than 1 year | $ | 7,274 | $ | 426 | $ | 7,700 | ||||||||
| 1 – 5 years | 6,244 | 87 | 6,331 | |||||||||||
| Greater than 5 years | 3,887 | 112 | 3,999 | |||||||||||
| Total | 17,405 | 625 | 18,030 | |||||||||||
| Netting | (7,975) | (44) | (8,019) | |||||||||||
| Net credit exposure | $ | 9,430 | $ | 581 | $ | 10,011 |
Lending Activities. We manage our lending activities using the credit risk process, measures, limits and risk mitigants described above. Other lending positions, including secondary trading positions, are risk-managed as a component of market risk.
The table below presents our loans and lending commitments.
| $ in millions | Loans | Lending Commitments | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||||
| Corporate | $ | 29,972 | $ | 162,529 | $ | 192,501 | ||
| Commercial real estate | 29,789 | 5,016 | 34,805 | |||||
| Residential real estate | 25,969 | 1,848 | 27,817 | |||||
| Securities-based | 16,477 | 1,542 | 18,019 | |||||
| Other collateralized | 75,107 | 33,536 | 108,643 | |||||
| Consumer: | ||||||||
| Installment | 70 | – | 70 | |||||
| Credit cards | 21,403 | 78,099 | 99,502 | |||||
| Other | 2,079 | 872 | 2,951 | |||||
| Total | $ | 200,866 | $ | 283,442 | $ | 484,308 | ||
| Allowance for loan losses | $ | (4,666) | $ | (674) | $ | (5,340) | ||
| As of December 2023 | ||||||||
| Corporate | $ | 35,874 | $ | 144,463 | $ | 180,337 | ||
| Commercial real estate | 26,028 | 3,440 | 29,468 | |||||
| Residential real estate | 25,388 | 1,471 | 26,859 | |||||
| Securities-based | 14,621 | 691 | 15,312 | |||||
| Other collateralized | 62,225 | 23,731 | 85,956 | |||||
| Consumer: | ||||||||
| Installment | 3,298 | 2,250 | 5,548 | |||||
| Credit cards | 19,361 | 70,824 | 90,185 | |||||
| Other | 1,613 | 888 | 2,501 | |||||
| Total | $ | 188,408 | $ | 247,758 | $ | 436,166 | ||
| Allowance for loan losses | $ | (5,050) | $ | (620) | $ | (5,670) |
In the table above, lending commitments excluded $5.69 billion as of December 2024 and $5.81 billion as of December 2023 related to issued letters of credit which are classified as guarantees in our consolidated financial statements. See Note 18 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about guarantees.
See Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements for information about net charge-offs on wholesale and consumer loans, as well as past due and nonaccrual loans accounted for at amortized cost.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 114 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Corporate. Corporate loans and lending commitments include term loans, revolving lines of credit, letter of credit facilities and bridge loans, and are principally used for operating and general corporate purposes, or in connection with acquisitions. Corporate loans are secured (typically by a senior lien on the assets of the borrower) or unsecured, depending on the loan purpose, the risk profile of the borrower and other factors.
The table below presents our credit exposure from corporate loans and lending commitments, and the concentration by industry, region, internally determined public rating agency equivalents and other credit metrics.
| $ in millions | Loans | Lending Commitments | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||
| Corporate | $29,972 | $162,529 | $192,501 | |||
| Industry | ||||||
| Consumer & Retail | 9 | % | 13 | % | 12 | % |
| Diversified Industrials | 16 | % | 20 | % | 20 | % |
| Financial Institutions | 9 | % | 9 | % | 9 | % |
| Funds | 5 | % | 3 | % | 3 | % |
| Healthcare | 9 | % | 11 | % | 11 | % |
| Natural Resources & Utilities | 9 | % | 16 | % | 15 | % |
| Real Estate | 14 | % | 5 | % | 6 | % |
| Technology, Media & Telecommunications | 24 | % | 22 | % | 22 | % |
| Other (including Special Purpose Vehicles) | 5 | % | 1 | % | 2 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 66 | % | 76 | % | 75 | % |
| EMEA | 26 | % | 22 | % | 22 | % |
| Asia | 8 | % | 2 | % | 3 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| AAA | – | 1 | % | 1 | % | |
| AA | 1 | % | 4 | % | 4 | % |
| A | 6 | % | 17 | % | 16 | % |
| BBB | 22 | % | 41 | % | 37 | % |
| BB or lower | 71 | % | 37 | % | 42 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| As of December 2023 | ||||||
| Corporate | $35,874 | $144,463 | $180,337 | |||
| Industry | ||||||
| Consumer & Retail | 11 | % | 13 | % | 12 | % |
| Diversified Industrials | 17 | % | 20 | % | 20 | % |
| Financial Institutions | 8 | % | 9 | % | 9 | % |
| Funds | 4 | % | 3 | % | 3 | % |
| Healthcare | 9 | % | 11 | % | 10 | % |
| Natural Resources & Utilities | 8 | % | 18 | % | 16 | % |
| Real Estate | 13 | % | 5 | % | 7 | % |
| Technology, Media & Telecommunications | 25 | % | 20 | % | 21 | % |
| Other (including Special Purpose Vehicles) | 5 | % | 1 | % | 2 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 63 | % | 77 | % | 74 | % |
| EMEA | 29 | % | 22 | % | 23 | % |
| Asia | 8 | % | 1 | % | 3 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| AAA | – | 1 | % | 1 | % | |
| AA | 1 | % | 5 | % | 4 | % |
| A | 5 | % | 20 | % | 17 | % |
| BBB | 20 | % | 41 | % | 37 | % |
| BB or lower | 74 | % | 33 | % | 41 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
Commercial Real Estate. Commercial real estate includes originated loans and lending commitments that are directly or indirectly secured by hotels, retail stores, multifamily housing complexes and commercial and industrial properties. Commercial real estate also includes loans and lending commitments extended to clients who warehouse assets that are directly or indirectly backed by commercial real estate. In addition, commercial real estate includes loans purchased by us.
The table below presents our credit exposure from commercial real estate loans and lending commitments, and the concentration by region, internally determined public rating agency equivalents and other credit metrics.
| $ in millions | Loans | Lending Commitments | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||
| Commercial Real Estate | $29,789 | $5,016 | $34,805 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 78 | % | 83 | % | 78 | % |
| EMEA | 18 | % | 16 | % | 18 | % |
| Asia | 4 | % | 1 | % | 4 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| Investment-grade | 61 | % | 61 | % | 61 | % |
| Non-investment-grade | 39 | % | 38 | % | 39 | % |
| Unrated | – | 1 | % | – | ||
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| As of December 2023 | ||||||
| Commercial Real Estate | $26,028 | $3,440 | $29,468 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 80 | % | 74 | % | 79 | % |
| EMEA | 17 | % | 25 | % | 18 | % |
| Asia | 3 | % | 1 | % | 3 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| Investment-grade | 47 | % | 46 | % | 47 | % |
| Non-investment-grade | 52 | % | 54 | % | 52 | % |
| Unrated | 1 | % | – | 1 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
In the table above, the concentration of loans and lending commitments by asset class as of December 2024 was 50% for warehouse and other indirect, 11% for multifamily, 7% for industrials, 5% for hospitality, 4% for office, 3% for mixed use and 20% for other asset classes. The concentration of loans and lending commitments by asset class as of December 2023 was 42% for warehouse and other indirect, 13% for multifamily, 12% for industrials, 7% for office, 7% for hospitality, 7% for mixed use and 12% for other asset classes.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 115 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
In addition, we also have credit exposure to commercial real estate loans held for securitization of $568 million as of December 2024 and $119 million as of December 2023. Such loans are included in trading assets in our consolidated balance sheets.
Residential Real Estate. Residential real estate loans and lending commitments are primarily extended to wealth management clients and to clients who warehouse assets that are directly or indirectly secured by residential real estate. In addition, residential real estate includes loans purchased by us.
The table below presents our credit exposure from residential real estate loans and lending commitments, and the concentration by region, internally determined public rating agency equivalents and other credit metrics.
| $ in millions | Loans | Lending Commitments | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||
| Residential Real Estate | $25,969 | $1,848 | $27,817 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 94 | % | 99 | % | 94 | % |
| EMEA | 5 | % | – | 5 | % | |
| Asia | 1 | % | 1 | % | 1 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| Investment-grade | 39 | % | 38 | % | 39 | % |
| Non-investment-grade | 13 | % | 36 | % | 15 | % |
| Other metrics | 48 | % | 24 | % | 46 | % |
| Unrated | – | 2 | % | – | ||
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| As of December 2023 | ||||||
| Residential Real Estate | $25,388 | $1,471 | $26,859 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 95 | % | 93 | % | 95 | % |
| EMEA | 4 | % | 7 | % | 4 | % |
| Asia | 1 | % | – | 1 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| Investment-grade | 42 | % | 56 | % | 43 | % |
| Non-investment-grade | 13 | % | 25 | % | 13 | % |
| Other metrics | 45 | % | 16 | % | 43 | % |
| Unrated | – | 3 | % | 1 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
In the table above:
•Credit exposure included loans and lending commitments of $14.35 billion as of December 2024 and $14.45 billion as of December 2023 which are extended to clients who warehouse assets that are directly or indirectly secured by residential real estate.
•Substantially all residential real estate loans included in the other metrics category consists of loans extended to wealth management clients. As of both December 2024 and December 2023, substantially all of such loans had a loan-to-value ratio of less than 80% and were performing in accordance with the contractual terms. Additionally, as of both December 2024 and December 2023, the vast majority of such loans had a FICO credit score of greater than 740.
In addition, we also have credit exposure to residential real estate loans held for securitization of $10.18 billion as of December 2024 and $7.65 billion as of December 2023. Such loans are included in trading assets in our consolidated balance sheets.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 116 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Securities-Based. Securities-based includes loans and lending commitments that are secured by stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds. These loans and commitments are primarily extended to our wealth management clients and used for purposes other than purchasing, carrying or trading margin stocks. Securities-based loans require borrowers to post additional collateral on a daily basis (daily margin requirement) based on changes in the underlying collateral’s fair value.
The table below presents our credit exposure from securities-based loans and lending commitments, and the concentration by region, internally determined public rating agency equivalents and other credit metrics.
| $ in millions | Loans | Lending Commitments | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||
| Securities-based | $16,477 | $1,542 | $18,019 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 76 | % | 50 | % | 73 | % |
| EMEA | 24 | % | 50 | % | 27 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| Investment-grade | 77 | % | 63 | % | 76 | % |
| Non-investment-grade | 2 | % | – | 2 | % | |
| Other metrics | 21 | % | 37 | % | 22 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| As of December 2023 | ||||||
| Securities-based | $14,621 | $691 | $15,312 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 79 | % | 98 | % | 80 | % |
| EMEA | 20 | % | 2 | % | 19 | % |
| Asia | 1 | % | – | 1 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| Investment-grade | 75 | % | 25 | % | 73 | % |
| Non-investment-grade | 4 | % | 2 | % | 4 | % |
| Other metrics | 21 | % | 73 | % | 23 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
In the table above, the vast majority of securities-based loans included in the other metrics category had a loan-to-value ratio of less than 80% and were performing in accordance with the contractual terms as of both December 2024 and December 2023.
Other Collateralized. Other collateralized includes loans and lending commitments that are backed by specific collateral (other than securities-based loans where there is a daily margin requirement and real estate loans). Such loans and lending commitments are extended to clients who warehouse assets that are directly or indirectly secured by corporate loans, consumer loans and other assets. Other collateralized also includes loans and lending commitments to investment funds (managed by third parties) that are collateralized by capital commitments of the funds’ investors or assets held by the fund, as well as other secured loans and lending commitments extended to our wealth management and corporate clients.
The table below presents our credit exposure from other collateralized loans and lending commitments, and the concentration by region, internally determined public rating agency equivalents and other credit metrics.
| $ in millions | Loans | Lending Commitments | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||
| Other Collateralized | $75,107 | $33,536 | $108,643 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 86 | % | 89 | % | 87 | % |
| EMEA | 12 | % | 10 | % | 12 | % |
| Asia | 2 | % | 1 | % | 1 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| Investment-grade | 85 | % | 83 | % | 84 | % |
| Non-investment-grade | 14 | % | 16 | % | 15 | % |
| Other metrics | 1 | % | – | – | ||
| Unrated | – | 1 | % | 1 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| As of December 2023 | ||||||
| Other Collateralized | $62,225 | $23,731 | $85,956 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 89 | % | 94 | % | 90 | % |
| EMEA | 10 | % | 5 | % | 9 | % |
| Asia | 1 | % | 1 | % | 1 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| Investment-grade | 78 | % | 80 | % | 79 | % |
| Non-investment-grade | 21 | % | 18 | % | 20 | % |
| Unrated | 1 | % | 2 | % | 1 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
In the table above, credit exposure included loans and lending commitments extended to clients who warehouse assets of $31.67 billion as of December 2024 and $21.78 billion as of December 2023.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 117 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Credit Cards and Installment Loans. We provide credit card loans (pursuant to revolving lines of credit) to consumers in the Americas. The credit card lines are cancellable by us and therefore do not result in credit exposure. We also have installment loans to consumers in the Americas but have ceased originating such loans.
The tables below present our credit exposure from credit card funded loans and originated installment loans, and the concentration by the five most concentrated U.S. states.
| $ in millions | Credit Cards | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | |||
| Loans, gross | $21,403 | ||
| California | 17 | % | |
| Texas | 9 | % | |
| Florida | 9 | % | |
| New York | 8 | % | |
| Illinois | 4 | % | |
| Other | 53 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | |
| As of December 2023 | |||
| Loans, gross | $19,361 | ||
| California | 17 | % | |
| Texas | 9 | % | |
| Florida | 8 | % | |
| New York | 8 | % | |
| Illinois | 4 | % | |
| Other | 54 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % |
| $ in millions | Installment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | |||
| Loans, gross | $70 | ||
| New Jersey | 44 | % | |
| Minnesota | 20 | % | |
| California | 4 | % | |
| Texas | 3 | % | |
| New York | 3 | % | |
| Other | 26 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | |
| As of December 2023 | |||
| Loans, gross | $3,298 | ||
| California | 8 | % | |
| Texas | 8 | % | |
| Florida | 7 | % | |
| New York | 5 | % | |
| New Jersey | 5 | % | |
| Other | 67 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % |
In addition, we had credit exposure of $2.25 billion as of December 2023 related to our commitments to extend unsecured installment loans to consumers.
See Note 9 to the consolidated financial statements for further information about the credit quality indicators of credit card and installment loans.
Other. Other includes unsecured loans extended to wealth management clients and unsecured consumer and credit card loans purchased by us.
The table below presents our credit exposure from other loans and lending commitments, and the concentration by region, internally determined public rating agency equivalents and other credit metrics.
| $ in millions | Loans | Lending Commitments | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As of December 2024 | ||||||
| Other | $2,079 | $872 | $2,951 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 96 | % | 99 | % | 97 | % |
| EMEA | 4 | % | 1 | % | 3 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| Investment-grade | 87 | % | 90 | % | 87 | % |
| Non-investment-grade | 8 | % | 10 | % | 9 | % |
| Other metrics | 5 | % | – | 4 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| As of December 2023 | ||||||
| Other | $1,613 | $888 | $2,501 | |||
| Region | ||||||
| Americas | 97 | % | 100 | % | 98 | % |
| EMEA | 3 | % | – | 2 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||||
| Investment-grade | 61 | % | 87 | % | 70 | % |
| Non-investment-grade | 9 | % | 13 | % | 11 | % |
| Other metrics | 30 | % | – | 19 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
In the table above, other metrics primarily includes consumer and credit card loans purchased by us. Our risk assessment process for such loans includes reviewing certain key metrics, such as expected cash flows, delinquency status and other risk factors.
In addition, we also have credit exposure to other loans held for securitization of $1.22 billion as of both December 2024 and December 2023. Such loans are included in trading assets in our consolidated balance sheets.
Credit Hedges. We seek to mitigate the credit risk associated with our lending activities by obtaining credit protection on certain loans and lending commitments through credit default swaps, both single-name and index-based contracts.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 118 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Securities Financing Transactions. We enter into securities financing transactions in order to, among other things, facilitate client activities, invest excess cash, acquire securities to cover short positions and finance certain activities. We bear credit risk related to resale agreements and securities borrowed only to the extent that cash advanced or the value of securities pledged or delivered to the counterparty exceeds the value of the collateral received. We also have credit exposure on repurchase agreements and securities loaned to the extent that the value of securities pledged or delivered to the counterparty for these transactions exceeds the amount of cash or collateral received. Securities collateral for these transactions primarily includes U.S. and non-U.S. government and agency obligations.
The table below presents our credit exposure from securities financing transactions and the concentration by industry, region and internally determined public rating agency equivalents.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| Securities Financing Transactions | $39,299 | $40,201 | ||
| Industry | ||||
| Financial Institutions | 39 | % | 30 | % |
| Funds | 27 | % | 33 | % |
| Municipalities & Nonprofit | 10 | % | 7 | % |
| Sovereign | 24 | % | 29 | % |
| Other (including Special Purpose Vehicles) | – | 1 | % | |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Region | ||||
| Americas | 55 | % | 45 | % |
| EMEA | 31 | % | 38 | % |
| Asia | 14 | % | 17 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||
| AAA | 18 | % | 14 | % |
| AA | 22 | % | 31 | % |
| A | 42 | % | 38 | % |
| BBB | 9 | % | 7 | % |
| BB or lower | 9 | % | 10 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
The table above reflects both netting agreements and collateral that we consider when determining credit risk.
Other Credit Exposures. We are exposed to credit risk from our receivables from brokers, dealers and clearing organizations and customers and counterparties. Receivables from brokers, dealers and clearing organizations primarily consist of initial margin placed with clearing organizations and receivables related to sales of securities which have traded, but not yet settled. These receivables generally have minimal credit risk due to the low probability of clearing organization default and the short-term nature of receivables related to securities settlements. Receivables from customers and counterparties generally consist of collateralized receivables related to customer securities transactions and generally have minimal credit risk due to both the value of the collateral received and the short-term nature of these receivables.
The table below presents our other credit exposures and the concentration by industry, region and internally determined public rating agency equivalents.
| As of December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $ in millions | 2024 | 2023 | ||
| Other Credit Exposures | $48,013 | $50,820 | ||
| Industry | ||||
| Financial Institutions | 77 | % | 80 | % |
| Funds | 13 | % | 13 | % |
| Other (including Special Purpose Vehicles) | 10 | % | 7 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Region | ||||
| Americas | 44 | % | 35 | % |
| EMEA | 41 | % | 54 | % |
| Asia | 15 | % | 11 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
| Credit Quality (Credit Rating Equivalent) | ||||
| AAA | 4 | % | 2 | % |
| AA | 49 | % | 57 | % |
| A | 24 | % | 26 | % |
| BBB | 8 | % | 6 | % |
| BB or lower | 14 | % | 8 | % |
| Unrated | 1 | % | 1 | % |
| Total | 100 | % | 100 | % |
The table above reflects collateral that we consider when determining credit risk.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 119 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Selected Exposures
We have credit and market exposures, as described below, that have had heightened focus given recent events and broad market concerns. Credit exposure represents the potential for loss due to the default or deterioration in credit quality of a counterparty or borrower. Market exposure represents the potential for loss in value of our long and short positions due to changes in market prices.
Country Exposures. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has negatively affected the global economy and increased macroeconomic uncertainty. Our total credit exposure to Ukrainian counterparties or borrowers was not material as of December 2024. Our total market exposure to Ukrainian issuers as of December 2024 was $126 million, primarily to sovereign issuers. Such exposure consisted of $134 million related to debt and $(8) million related to credit derivatives. Our credit exposure to Russian counterparties or borrowers and our market exposure to Russian issuers were not material as of December 2024. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K for further information about our risks related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In addition, economic and/or political uncertainties in Ethiopia, Lebanon and Venezuela have led to concerns about their financial stability. Our credit exposure to counterparties or borrowers and our market exposure to issuers relating to each of these countries was not material as of December 2024.
We have a comprehensive framework to monitor, measure and assess our country exposures and to determine our risk appetite. We determine the country of risk by the location of the counterparty, issuer’s assets, where they generate revenue, the country in which they are headquartered, the jurisdiction where a claim against them could be enforced, and/or the government whose policies affect their ability to repay their obligations. We monitor our credit exposure to a specific country both at the individual counterparty level, as well as at the aggregate country level. See “Stress Tests” for information about stress tests that are designed to estimate the direct and indirect impact of events involving the above countries.
Operational Risk Management
Overview
Operational risk is the risk of an adverse outcome resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, systems or from external events. Our exposure to operational risk arises from routine processing errors, as well as extraordinary incidents, such as major systems failures or legal and regulatory matters, that could occur for us or our third-party vendors.
Potential types of loss events related to internal and external operational risk include:
•Execution, delivery and process management;
•Business disruption and system failures;
•Employment practices and workplace safety;
•Clients, products and business practices;
•Third-party risk, including vendor risk;
•Damage to physical assets;
•Internal fraud; and
•External fraud.
Operational Risk, which is part of our second line of defense and reports to our chief risk officer, has primary responsibility for developing and implementing a formalized framework for assessing, monitoring and managing operational risk to support firmwide oversight and challenge of our global businesses, with the goal of maintaining our exposure to operational risk at levels that are within our risk appetite.
Operational Risk Management Process
Our process for managing operational risk includes the critical components of our risk management framework described in the “Overview and Structure of Risk Management,” including a comprehensive data collection process, as well as firmwide policies and procedures, for operational risk events.
We combine top-down and bottom-up approaches to manage and measure operational risk. From a top-down perspective, our senior management assesses firmwide and business-level operational risk profiles. From a bottom-up perspective, our first and second lines of defense are responsible for risk identification and risk management on a day-to-day basis, including escalating operational risks and risk events to senior management.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 120 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
We seek to maintain a comprehensive control framework designed to provide a well-controlled environment to minimize operational risks. The Firmwide Compliance and Operational Risk Committee is responsible for overseeing compliance and operational risk for our business.
Our operational risk management framework is designed to comply with the operational risk measurement rules under the Capital Framework and has evolved based on the changing needs of our businesses and regulatory guidance.
We have established policies that require all employees and consultants to report and escalate operational risk events. When operational risk events are identified, our policies require that the events be documented and analyzed to determine whether changes are required in our systems and/or processes to further mitigate the risk of future events.
We use operational risk management applications to capture, analyze, aggregate and report operational risk event data and key metrics. One of our key risk identification and control assessment tools is an operational risk and control self-assessment process, which is performed by our managers. This process consists of the identification and rating of operational risks, on a forward-looking basis, and the related controls. The results from this process are analyzed to evaluate operational risk exposures and identify businesses, activities or products with heightened levels of operational risk.
Risk Measurement
We measure our operational risk exposure using both statistical modeling and scenario analyses, which involve qualitative and quantitative assessments of internal and external operational risk event data and internal control factors for each of our businesses. Operational risk measurement also incorporates an assessment of business environment factors, including:
•Evaluations of the complexity of our business activities;
•The degree of automation in our processes;
•New activity information;
•The legal and regulatory environment; and
•Changes in the markets for our products and services, including the diversity and sophistication of our customers and counterparties.
The results from these scenario analyses are used to monitor changes in operational risk and to determine business lines that may have heightened exposure to operational risk. We also perform firmwide stress tests. See “Overview and Structure of Risk Management” for information about firmwide stress tests.
Types of Operational Risks
Increased reliance on technology and third-party relationships has resulted in increased operational risks, such as third-party risk, business resilience risk and cybersecurity risk. See “Cybersecurity Risk Management” for information about our cybersecurity risk management process. We manage third-party and business resilience risks as follows:
Third-Party Risk. Third-party risk, including vendor risk, is the risk of an adverse impact due to reliance on third parties performing services or activities on our behalf. These risks may include legal, regulatory, information security, cybersecurity, reputational, operational or other risks inherent in engaging a third party. We identify, manage and report key third-party risks and conduct due diligence across multiple risk domains, including information security and cybersecurity, resilience and additional supply chain dependencies. We evaluate whether vendors design, implement, and maintain information security controls consistent with our security policies and standards. Vendors that access and process our information on their infrastructure external to our network are required to undergo an initial risk assessment, resulting in the assignment of a vendor inherent risk rating that is determined based on a number of factors, including the type of data stored and processed by a particular vendor. Subsequently, we conduct re-certifications at a depth and frequency that is commensurate with each vendor’s inherent risk rating as a component of our risk-based approach to vendor oversight. Vendors are required to agree to standard contractual provisions before receiving sensitive information from us. These provisions have specific information security control requirements, which apply to vendors that store, access, transmit or otherwise process sensitive information on our behalf. The Third-Party Risk Program monitors, reviews and reassesses third-party risks on an ongoing basis. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K for further information about third-party risk.
Business Resilience Risk. Business resilience risk is the risk of disruption to our critical processes. We monitor threats and assess risks and seek to ensure our state of readiness in the event of a significant operational disruption to the normal operations of our critical functions or their dependencies, such as critical facilities, systems, third parties, data and/or personnel. Our resilience framework defines the fundamental principles for BCP and crisis management to ensure that critical functions can continue to operate in the event of a disruption. We seek to maintain a business continuity program that is comprehensive, consistent on a firmwide basis, and up-to-date, incorporating new information, including resilience capabilities. Our resilience assurance program encompasses testing of response and recovery strategies on a regular basis with the objective of minimizing and preventing significant operational disruptions. See “Business — Business Continuity and Information Security” in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-K for further information about business continuity.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 121 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Cybersecurity Risk Management
Overview
Cybersecurity risk is the risk of compromising the confidentiality, integrity or availability of our data and systems, leading to an adverse impact to us, our reputation, our clients and/or the broader financial system. We seek to minimize the occurrence and impact of unauthorized access, disruption or use of information and/or information systems. We deploy and operate preventive and detective controls and processes to mitigate emerging and evolving information security and cybersecurity threats, including monitoring our network for known vulnerabilities and signs of unauthorized attempts to access our data and systems. There is increased information risk through diversification of our data across external service providers, including use of a variety of cloud-provided or -hosted services and applications. In addition, new AI technologies may increase the frequency and severity of cybersecurity attacks. See “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K for further information about information and cybersecurity risk.
Cybersecurity Risk Management Process
Our cybersecurity risk management processes are integrated into our overall risk management processes described in the “Overview and Structure of Risk Management.” We have established an Information Security and Cybersecurity Program (the Cybersecurity Program), administered by Technology Risk within Engineering, and overseen by our CISO. This program is designed to identify, assess, document and mitigate threats, govern, establish and evaluate compliance with information security mandates, adopt and apply our security control framework, and prevent, detect and respond to security incidents. The Cybersecurity Program is periodically reviewed and modified to respond to changing threats and conditions. A dedicated Operational Risk team, which reports to the chief risk officer, provides oversight and challenge of the Cybersecurity Program, independent of Technology Risk, and assesses the operating effectiveness of the program against industry standard frameworks and Board risk appetite-approved operational risk limits and thresholds.
Our process for managing cybersecurity risk includes the critical components of our risk management framework described in the “Overview and Structure of Risk Management,” as well as the following:
•Training and education, to enable our people to recognize information and cybersecurity threats and respond accordingly;
•Identity and access management, including entitlement management and production access;
•Application and software security, including software change management, open source software, and backup and restoration;
•Infrastructure security, including monitoring our network for known vulnerabilities and signs of unauthorized attempts to access our data and systems;
•Mobile security, including mobile applications;
•Data security, including cryptography and encryption, database security, data erasure and media disposal;
•Cloud computing, including governance and security of cloud applications, and software-as-a-service data onboarding;
•Technology operations, including change management, incident management, capacity and resilience; and
•Third-party risk management, including vendor management and governance, and cybersecurity and business resiliency on vendor assessments.
In conjunction with third-party vendors and consultants, we perform risk assessments to gauge the performance of the Cybersecurity Program, to estimate our risk profile and to assess compliance with relevant regulatory requirements. We perform periodic assessments of control efficacy through our internal risk and control self-assessment process, as well as a variety of external technical assessments, including external penetration tests and “red team” engagements where third parties test our defenses. The results of these risk assessments, together with control performance findings, are used to establish priorities, allocate resources, and identify and improve controls. We use third parties, such as outside forensics firms, to augment our cyber incident response capabilities. We have a vendor management program that documents a risk-based framework for managing third-party vendor relationships. Information security risk management is built into our vendor management process, which covers vendor selection, onboarding, performance monitoring and risk management. See “Third-Party Risk” for further information about vendor risk.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 122 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
During 2024, we did not identify any cybersecurity threats that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. Technology Risk monitors cybersecurity threats and risks from information security and cybersecurity matters on an ongoing basis, and allocates resources and directs operations in a manner designed to mitigate those risks. For example, in response to the proliferation of AI-enabled fraud and ransomware attacks that continue to be reported globally, we have emphasized phishing and cybersecurity training for our employees and allocated additional resources for business continuity. However, despite these efforts, we cannot eliminate all cybersecurity risks or provide assurances that we have not had occurrences of undetected cybersecurity incidents.
Governance
The Board, both directly and through its committees, including its Risk Committee and Technology Risk Subcommittee, oversees our risk management policies and practices, including cybersecurity risks, and information security and cybersecurity matters. Our chief risk officer, chief information officer and chief technology officer, among others, periodically brief the Board on operational and technology risks, including cybersecurity risks, relevant to us. The Board also receives regular briefings from our CISO on a range of cybersecurity-related topics, including the status of our Cybersecurity Program, emerging cybersecurity threats, mitigation strategies and related regulatory engagements. In addition, these are topics on which various directors maintain an ongoing dialogue with our CISO, chief information officer and chief technology officer.
Our CISO is responsible for managing and implementing the Cybersecurity Program and reports directly to our chief information officer. Our CISO oversees our Technology Risk team, which assesses and manages material risks from cybersecurity threats, sets firmwide control requirements, assesses adherence to controls, and oversees incident detection and response.
In addition, we have a series of committees and steering groups that oversee the implementation of our cybersecurity risk management strategy and framework. These committees and steering groups are informed about cybersecurity incidents and risks by designated members of Technology Risk, who periodically report to these committees and steering groups about the Cybersecurity Program, including the efforts of the Technology Risk teams to prevent, detect, mitigate and remediate incidents and threats. These committees and steering groups enable formal escalation and reporting of risks, and our CISO and other members of Technology Risk provide regular briefings to senior management.
The Firmwide Technology Risk Committee is responsible for reviewing matters related to the design, development, deployment and use of technology. This committee oversees cybersecurity matters, as well as technology risk management frameworks and methodologies, and monitors their effectiveness. This committee is co-chaired by our CISO and our chief technology officer, and reports to the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee. To assist the Firmwide Technology Risk Committee in carrying out its mandate, the Firmwide Artificial Intelligence Risk and Controls Committee, which oversees risks associated with the use of AI, reports to the Firmwide Technology Risk Committee. See “Overview and Structure of Risk Management” for further information about this committee.
The Digital Risk Office Steering Group oversees Engineering risk decisions, monitors control performance and reviews approaches to comply with current and emerging regulation applicable to Engineering. This steering group is co-chaired by our CISO, chief technology officer and chief digital risk officer, and reports to the Firmwide Technology Risk Committee.
Our CISO, senior management within Technology Risk and Operational Risk, as well as management personnel overseeing the Cybersecurity Program, all have substantial relevant expertise in the areas of information security and cybersecurity risk management.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K | 123 |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Model Risk Management
Overview
Model risk is the potential for adverse consequences from decisions made based on model outputs that may be incorrect or used inappropriately. We rely on quantitative models across our business activities primarily to value certain financial assets and liabilities, to monitor and manage our risk, and to measure and monitor our regulatory capital.
Model Risk, which is part of our second line of defense, is independent of our model developers, model owners and model users, and reports to our chief risk officer, has primary responsibility for assessing, monitoring and managing our model risk by providing firmwide oversight and challenge across our global businesses.
Our model risk management framework is managed through a governance structure and risk management controls, which encompass standards designed to ensure we maintain a comprehensive model inventory, including risk assessment and classification, sound model development practices, independent review and model-specific usage controls. The Firmwide Model Risk Control Committee oversees our model risk management framework.
Model Review and Validation Process
Model Risk consists of quantitative professionals who perform an independent review, validation and approval of our models. This review includes an analysis of the model documentation, independent testing, an assessment of the appropriateness of the methodology used, and verification of compliance with model development and implementation standards.
We regularly refine and enhance our models to reflect changes in market or economic conditions and our business mix. All models are reviewed on an annual basis, and new models or significant changes to existing models and their assumptions are approved prior to implementation.
The model validation process incorporates a review of models and trade and risk parameters across a broad range of scenarios (including extreme conditions) in order to critically evaluate and verify:
•The model’s conceptual soundness, including the reasonableness of model assumptions, and suitability for intended use;
•The testing strategy utilized by the model developers to ensure that the models function as intended;
•The suitability of the calculation techniques incorporated in the model;
•The model’s accuracy in reflecting the characteristics of the related product and its significant risks;
•The model’s consistency with models for similar products; and
•The model’s sensitivity to input parameters and assumptions.
See “Critical Accounting Policies — Fair Value — Review of Valuation Models,” “Liquidity Risk Management,” “Market Risk Management,” “Credit Risk Management” and “Operational Risk Management” for further information about our use of models within these areas.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 124 | Goldman Sachs 2024 Form 10-K |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Other Risk Management
In addition to the areas of risks discussed above, we also manage other risks, including capital, climate, compliance, conflicts and reputational. These areas of risks are discussed below.
Capital Risk Management
Capital risk is the risk that our capital is insufficient to support our business activities under normal and stressed market conditions or we face capital reductions or RWA increases, including from new or revised rules or changes in interpretations of existing rules, and are therefore unable to meet our internal capital targets or external regulatory capital requirements. Capital adequacy is of critical importance to us. Accordingly, we have in place a comprehensive capital management policy that provides a framework, defines objectives and establishes guidelines to maintain an appropriate level and composition of capital in both business-as-usual and stressed conditions. Our capital management framework is designed to provide us with the information needed to identify and comprehensively manage risk, and develop and apply projected stress scenarios that capture idiosyncratic vulnerabilities with a goal of holding sufficient capital to remain adequately capitalized even after experiencing a severe stress event. See “Capital Management and Regulatory Capital” for further information about our capital management process.
We have established a comprehensive governance structure to manage and oversee our day-to-day capital management activities and to ensure compliance with capital rules and related policies. Our capital management activities are overseen by the Board and its committees. The Board is responsible for approving our annual capital plan and the Risk Committee of the Board approves our capital management policy, which details the risk committees and members of senior management who are responsible for the ongoing monitoring of our capital adequacy and evaluation of current and future regulatory capital requirements, the review of the results of our capital planning and stress tests processes, and the results of our capital models. In addition, our risk committees and senior management are responsible for the review of our contingency capital plan, key capital adequacy metrics, including regulatory capital ratios, and capital plan metrics, such as the payout ratio, as well as monitoring capital targets and potential breaches of capital requirements.
Our process for managing capital risk also includes independent oversight by Risk that assesses our capital management framework, regulatory capital policies and related interpretations and escalates certain interpretations to senior management and/or the appropriate risk committee. This oversight includes, among other things, independent review and challenge of our capital ratio targets, planned capital actions and regulatory capital calculations; analysis of the related documentation; independent testing; and an assessment of the appropriateness of the calculations and their alignment with the relevant regulatory capital rules.
Climate-Related and Environmental Risk Management
We categorize climate-related and environmental risks into physical risk and transition risk. Physical risk is the risk that asset values may decline or operations may be disrupted as a result of changes in the climate, while transition risk is the risk that asset values may decline because of changes in climate policies or changes in the underlying economy due to decarbonization.
Climate-related and environmental risks manifest in different ways across our businesses. We have continued to make significant enhancements to our climate risk management framework, including steps to further integrate climate risk into our broader risk management processes. We have integrated oversight of climate-related risks into our risk management governance structure, from senior management to our Board and its committees, including the Risk and Public Responsibilities committees. The Risk Committee of the Board oversees firmwide financial and nonfinancial risks, which include climate risk, and, as part of its oversight, receives updates on our risk management approach to climate risk, including our approaches towards scenario analysis and integration into existing risk management processes. The Public Responsibilities Committee of the Board assists the Board in its oversight of our firmwide sustainability strategy and sustainability issues affecting us, including with respect to climate change. As part of its oversight, the Public Responsibilities Committee receives periodic updates on our sustainability strategy and disclosures, and also periodically reviews our governance and related policies and processes for climate and other sustainability-related matters. Senior management within Risk, in coordination with senior management in our revenue-producing units, is responsible for the development of the climate-related and environmental risk program. The objective of this program is to integrate climate-related and environmental risks into existing risk disciplines and business considerations, such as the integration of climate risk into our credit evaluation and underwriting processes for select industries.
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THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Management’s Discussion and Analysis
See “Business — Sustainability” in Part I, Item 1 and “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K for information about our sustainability initiatives, including in relation to climate transition.
Compliance Risk Management
Compliance risk is the risk of legal or regulatory sanctions, material financial loss or damage to our reputation arising from our failure to comply with the requirements of applicable laws, rules and regulations, and our internal policies and procedures. Compliance risk is inherent in all activities through which we conduct our businesses. Our Compliance Risk Management Program, administered by Compliance, assesses our compliance, regulatory and reputational risk; monitors for compliance with new or amended laws, rules and regulations; designs and implements controls, policies, procedures and training; conducts independent testing; investigates, surveils and monitors for compliance risks and breaches; and leads our responses to regulatory examinations, audits and inquiries. We monitor and review business practices to assess whether they meet or exceed minimum regulatory and legal standards in all markets and jurisdictions in which we conduct business.
Conflicts Management
Conflicts of interest and our approach to dealing with them are fundamental to our client relationships, our reputation and our long-term success. The term “conflict of interest” does not have a universally accepted meaning, and conflicts can arise in many forms within a business or between businesses. The responsibility for identifying potential conflicts, as well as complying with our policies and procedures, is shared by all of our employees.
We have a multilayered approach to resolving conflicts and addressing reputational risk. Our senior management oversees policies related to conflicts resolution and, in conjunction with Conflicts Resolution, Legal and Compliance, and internal committees, formulates policies, standards and principles, and assists in making judgments regarding the appropriate resolution of particular conflicts. Resolving potential conflicts necessarily depends on the facts and circumstances of a particular situation and the application of experienced and informed judgment.
As a general matter, Conflicts Resolution reviews financing and advisory assignments in Global Banking & Markets and certain of our investing, lending and other activities. In addition, we have various transaction oversight committees that also review new underwritings, loans, investments and structured products. These groups and committees work with internal and external counsel and Compliance to evaluate and address any actual or potential conflicts. The head of Conflicts Resolution reports to our chief legal officer, who reports to our chief executive officer.
We regularly assess our policies and procedures that address conflicts of interest in an effort to conduct our business in accordance with the highest ethical standards and in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.
Reputational Risk Management
Reputational risk is the potential risk that negative publicity regarding our business practices, whether true or not, will cause a decline in our customer base, costly litigation or revenue reductions. Our reputation is critical to effectively serving our clients and fostering and maintaining long-term client relationships, and it is integral to how we are viewed by our key stakeholders.
In evaluating business opportunities, reputational risk is one of the most significant components we consider. We evaluate the ethics, suitability and transparency of transactions undertaken by us. Our employees are responsible for considering the reputational impacts that our business activities may have.
We have implemented a comprehensive program designed to monitor reputational risk. The Firmwide Reputational Risk Committee, which reports into the Firmwide Enterprise Risk Committee, is responsible for assessing reputational risks arising from business opportunities that have been identified as having potential heightened reputational risk. This committee is also responsible for overseeing client-related business standards and addressing client-related reputational risk and considers, among other things, the potential effects any business opportunities, products, transactions, new activities, acquisitions, dispositions or investments could have on our reputation.
For further information about our risk management processes, see “Overview and Structure of Risk Management” and “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this Form 10-K.
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THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES