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| Goldman Sachs |
During a conference call with analysts, Viniar said that in 2009 and 2010, Goldman benefited from "unsustainably high bid/offer spreads."
He said during that period there was "so little capital in the market to service our clients," adding that "we were there when others were not."
Earlier Tuesday within its first-quarter earnings report, Goldman said net revenues from FICC, long one of its most profitable businesses and its biggest contributor to overall revenues, fell 28%, to $4.3 billion.
Overall, Goldman posted lower earnings that easily beat analysts' expectations despite a $1.64 billion preferred dividend that weighed on its bottom line.
Commenting on compensation, Viniar said one factor in Goldman's slightly higher pay accrual was "we have more people in more places that are not necessarily generating as much revenue."
Compensation as a percentage of net revenue at Goldman Sachs rose slightly from a year ago to 44% from 43%. The firm allocated $5.2 billion for compensation in the first quarter, down 5% from the $5.5 billion it reported a year earlier.
Shares of Goldman Sachs recently traded down 0.4% at $153.20 and are down 6.2% over the past 52 weeks.
