In a crisis, is Goldman Sachs different?

The New York Times points out that trading and hedge fund operations at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) make the firm vulnerable to current market conditions. The newspaper writes that "the firm's exposure to volatile fixed-income markets through its trading desk and hedge funds may well make Goldman the latest symbol of overreaching on Wall Street."

Goldman does have hedge funds like its $9 billion Global Alpha hedge fund that have clearly suffered losses over the last two months. But, shares in the big investment bank are off 15% in the last months, about the same as Lehman (NYSE: LEH) and more than Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).

Goldman has businesses that have a size and scope large enough so that they may help the firm's earnings, at least for now.. In the last quarter, investment banking operation brought in $1.7 billion, according the the GS 10-Q. Interest income was $11.3 billion compared to interest expense of $10.2 billion. The company made $2.3 billion for the period. Goldman also has $8 billion in cash.

Could Goldman be swamped by a credit crisis? Perhaps. Mortgage instrument prices and loans for LBOs and private equity deals could do real damage. But, the firm's business diversity may be great enough so that it can do better than get by.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

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