Goldman Sachs, known for avoiding many of the blowups that have battered its Wall Street rivals, now is likely to report a net loss of as much as $2bn (€1.6bn) for its quarter ended November 28, according to industry insiders.

The loss, equal to about $5 a share, would be more than five times as steep as the current analyst consensus for the Wall Street firm, as it faces writedowns on everything from private equity to commercial real estate.