Goldman clients see tax reform as 'good thing'

Tax reform and regulatory costs were two topics Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) executives addressed during the company’s third-quarter earnings conference. The bank said that it is engaging with clients when it comes to potential tax reforms, many of whom seem to think overhauling tax policy will be a “good thing.” For reference, in the latest quarter, Goldman’s tax rate was 28.5%, up from 27% in the prior quarter.

The company was also asked if it will see any benefits from reduced regulatory costs, to which it responded that these costs are built in to the way they do business 18 months into the future. Executives added that they don’t specifically break out regulatory costs.

Goldman Sachs released its third quarter results Tuesday morning. The company posted a net income of $5.02 per share, beating analysts’ expectations of $4.17 per share and up slightly from the year-ago period. Meanwhile revenue came in at $8.33 billion, topping the consensus analyst expectation for $7.54 billion.

Investment and Lending was the bank’s best performing sector, with revenue of $1.9 billion, its highest quarterly performance in over three years.