The company had $1.27 in earnings per share (EPS) on $7.27 billion in revenues. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.79 per share. Net income was down, ending the quarter at $765 million equal to $1.27 per share, compared to over $2.17 billion equal to $4.38 per share, after the company agreed to settle a probe by USA authorities into the handling by the bank of securities that were mortgage-back, lowered earnings by more than $1.54 billion.

Goldman shares fell $1.93, or 1.2 percent, to $154.71, amid a broad market decline.

"We are pleased that our diversified business mix allowed us to deliver solid results in a year characterised by uneven global economic activity", he said. "Our strong global client franchise leaves us well positioned to generate superior returns over the long term".

Goldman set aside $12.68 billion for 2015 for banker salaries and bonuses, effectively unchanged from a year ago. Steven Chubak, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc., had estimated the ratio would be 37.7 percent.

Investment banking revenue - which includes income from which deals and underwriting of bond and share offerings - rose 7.4 percent to $1.55 billion.

For the entire year of 2015, the merger advisory fees increased by 40% to just over $3.47 billion, which were the highest at the firm since 2007.

Trading revenue fell 9% to $2.88 billion from $3.15 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. The firm said 2015 was the second-best year in the history of its investment bank with annual revenue of $7.03 billion.

For the full year, the bank brought in $7.1 billion from bond trading, excluding accounting adjustments, the lowest since the financial crisis.

Blankfein's statement echoed what he had said in October when the bank saw its third quarter revenues fall to $6.86bn from $8.39bn a year ago. Morgan Stanley said in December it was taking a US$150 million severance charge as it pared its fixed- income trading business. The cuts affected 1 200 employees, a person briefed on the matter said. Shares slipped about 1% in premarket trading amid a broader selloff in stocks.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc's profit slumped for the third straight quarter as a US$5bil (RM22bil) settlement of crisis-era legal claims hit earnings in a tumultuous final three months of the year.

"Goldman Sachs Reports 65% Drop in Q4 Profit" is categorized as "business". This was down from $2032 million, or $4.38 per share, in last year's fourth quarter.