Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Notch Record Quarter, Fueled by Market Volatility
What’s the equivalent of a locker-room champagne shower for traders?
David Solomon, chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs speaks on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
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What’s the equivalent of a locker-room champagne shower for traders? Across the five biggest US banks, trading revenue hit a new record in the first six months of 2025. Uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s tariffs drove a surge of activity across equity, currency and bond markets, leading the desks to smash second-quarter revenue expectations.
The banks are also taking new steps to stave off their growing fintech rivals. JPMorgan said it will start charging for some of the data that Venmo, Robinhood, Coinbase and others have come to rely on; PNC said it may follow suit. And everyone is grappling with the growth of stablecoins: Two days after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned banks against issuing their own versions of the tokenized deposits, Citigroup said it was considering just that. — Janet Paskin