Goldman's Bankers Outdo Bond Traders for First Time Since 2000

(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s investment bankers hold bragging rights over their bond-trading brethren for the first time since 2000.

Revenue from advising on mergers and underwriting stocks and bonds jumped 18 percent last year to surpass the total generated by fixed-income, currencies and commodities traders. The difference was even more pronounced in the fourth quarter, where investment banking -- run by John Waldron, Gregg Lemkau and Marc Nachmann -- more than doubled the $1 billion brought in by bond traders.

The slump in debt trading has generated tough questions about strategy for Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein, who rose up through that operation to run the firm. But gains in investment banking -- what many see as the business that built the firm -- have softened the blow.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dakin Campbell in New York at dcampbell27@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Steve Dickson

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