New York Stock Exchange brokerage firms reported a loss of almost US$7billion for the third quarter.

NYSE member firms that conduct business with the public (which excludes market makers) reported a third-quarter 2008 after-tax loss of US$6.95 billion on revenues of US$44.13 billion, compared with US$2.49 billion in after-tax losses on revenues of US$78.79 billion in third quarter 2007.

Revenues for these firms are predominantly derived from investment banking, trading, commissions, and interest.

The loss follows a profit of just over US$1 billion for the second quarter. In the year to date, the aggregate loss is US$20.4 billion; compared with a US$3.3 billion profit for the same period in 2007.

The number of profitable firms declined to 117 in the third quarter from 141 in the previous quarter. At the same time, the number of unprofitable firms rose to 78 from 55.

IE