US banks may be forced to raise an additional $65bn (€42bn) of capital to plug holes in their balance sheets as a result of the fallout from the sub-prime mortgage crisis, with losses in the mortgage sector not expected to peak until 2009, according to analysts.

In a new report yesterday, Goldman Sachs said the potential new round of capital raising would come on top of $120bn US banks have already been forced to raise, largely through the sale of common stock or convertible preferred shares, in the last year.