Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which is fifth-largest U.S. bank by assets, decreased the amount of Italian sovereign bonds it holds by 92% in the second quarter of 2012, after increasing its holdings in the first quarter. The company’s exposure to Italian sovereign debt instruments declined to $191 million as of the end of June from $2.51 billion as of the end of March, the bank announced today in its regulatory filing. Goldman Sachs also engaged in credit-derivative positions on Italy’s sovereign bonds in the second quarter, increasing its overall exposure to Italian government and non-government securities to negative $977 million from positive $2.4 billion in March.
