Goldman's hard-to-value assets decrease

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recorded $78.1 billion in hard-to-value assets in the fiscal second quarter, which ended May 31, marking a 19% decrease from $96.39 billion at the close of the first quarter, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The hard-to-value assets at the New York-based investment bank amounted to 7% of its total assets, compared with 13% of total assets at the end of its first quarter. Goldman is now responsible for $67.3 billion in Level 3 assets, or 6% of total assets at fair value. That compares with $82.3 billion, or 11% of total assets at fair value, at the end of February, according to the filing. Level 3 assets are those whose fair value cannot be determined by using observable measures. For the quarter, Goldman had trading losses on 20 days, up from 17 in the first quarter. Last month, Goldman reported second-quarter net income of $2.1 billion, or $4.58 a share, down from $2.33 billion, or $4.93 a share in the year-ago period. Despite the decline, it still managed to beat Wall Street estimates thanks to a strong performance in its asset management business (InvestmentNews, June 17) .