Goldman Sachs Wednesday reported its fourth-quarter earnings fell 53 percent because of sharp declines in its investment banking businesses.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. earned 2.23 billion dollars after paying preferred dividends in the last three months of 2010, down from 4.79 billion dollars in the same period 0f 2009. On a per- share basis, the earnings came out to 3.79 dollars per share versus 8.20 dollars per share.

The bank paid its employees 15.38 billion dollars in salaries and bonuses for 2010, or 39.3 percent of its annual revenue. The reading was 5 percent lower than 2009.

For the year, the bank's income fell 37 percent to 7.71 billion dollars, while its revenue declined 13 percent to 39.16 billion dollars. Earnings per share fell to 13.18 dollars from 22.13 dollars.