The global credit crisis took a big bite out of earnings at Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which posted a $2.12 billion quarterly loss as asset values and banking fees plunged.

The results, including a full-year decline in investment-banking volume and a 45% slide in average pay per worker, show how much Goldman's future remains in flux as it tries to find its way as a deleveraged commercial bank.

In September, under pressure in the wake of the collapse of rival Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Goldman transformed itself into a bank-holding company, a move aimed at bringing stability to the stock. While it is still early in the process, Tuesday's results, the first since the transformation, paint a picture of a firm caught between its high-rolling past and an uncertain future.

The quarterly loss, the first since Goldman became a public company in 1999, compares with a year-earlier profit of $3.22 billion, or $7.01 a share. Net revenue for the quarter ended Nov. 28, or revenue minus interest expenses, was negative $1.58 billion, compared with positive $10.74 billion in its year-earlier fourth quarter.

Analysts had expected Goldman to report a loss in the $2 billion range. In 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading, Goldman's shares rose 14%, or $9.54, to $76.