Goldman chief outlines asset reduction

Goldman aims to reduce risk-weighted assets to $700 billion by the end of 2013, with $18 billion of that coming from a decrease in credit risk, and another $11 billion coming from a decline in market risk.

Much of the reduction will come from an expiration of existing trades, like mortgage securitization, derivative portfolios and some investments that will be repaid, Blankfein said at a conference in New York hosted by Bank of America Corp.

For more than a decade, larger size and complexity were viewed entirely as synergistic and virtuous, Blankfein said. For the first time, it's clear that size and complexity come with a higher cost.

Blankfein's disclosure of risk-weighted assets under Basel III rules was the first time Goldman reported those figures.