Wall Street’s Profit Boost From Asia Derivatives Boom May Stall

Earnings at investment banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. received a boost in the first half as access to China helped increase derivatives sales and trading income from the region. Gains may moderate as the stock rally subsides.

Financial statements and post-earnings commentary from Credit Suisse Group AG, UBS Group AG, Societe Generale SA and Deutsche Bank AG also highlighted derivatives and structured products’ impact with the German bank saying in its 2015 interim report that revenues in equity derivatives in the second quarter were “significantly higher than the prior year quarter driven by strong performance in Asia.”