Difficult market conditions in the fourth quarter delivered a harsh blow to fixed income, currencies and commodities revenues at Goldman Sachs, which today posted the worst year-on-year percentage fall in FICC of the Wall Street earnings season so far.

Fourth-quarter FICC revenues dived around 30% year-on-year on an underlying basis to around $1.2 billion - the lowest level since the bank first published a standalone figure for the unit at the end of 2011. The percentage fall excludes debt valuation adjustments as well as a $211 million gain made from the sale of its European insurance business in late 2013.