IT looks like being a happy Christmas for Peter Sutherland, a vice-president and partner at blue-blood American investment bankers Goldman Sachs, with speculation that partners will receive end-of-year bonuses worth around $1 million each.
Goldman has had a bumper year with earnings in its fourth quarter to the end of November up 69 per cent to $743 million bringing pre-tax profits for the year to a whopping $2.6 billion.
As one of the kingpins in the market, Goldman has benefited more than most from the boom in bond and stock markets which, in turn, has boosted the lucrative mergers and acquisitions business in which Goldman is a major player. Goldman underwrote a record $7.9 billion worth of stock in the last three months alone, Bloom berg has reported.