Goldman: The Only Two Times We've Seen A Market Like This Was The Cuban Missile Crisis And The 1987 Crash

When it comes to the market's February freakout, when the Feb 5 volatility explosion resulted in a brief correction for the S&P, we now know that it could not have come at a better time (or faster) for US banks - not only the money centers, but pure-play trading desks like Goldman benefited from a substantial burst in equity-trading revenue.

As Goldman explained this morning, this was due to "higher results in both derivatives and cash products" as well as higher "commissions and fees reflecting higher market volumes, and net revenues in securities services were higher, reflecting higher average customer balances."