Goldman Ups Top End of Legal-Loss Estimate

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised the top end of the range for possible legal losses to about $5.9 billion, the bank said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

In May, the Wall Street bank estimated $3.8 billion in legal losses above what it had already set aside.

Goldman said on Monday that it was in talks with U.S. regulators to resolve claims tied to the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities prior to the financial crisis. (http://bit.ly/1DmJ9ON0

The bank said "potential resolution of this matter ... may result in significant penalties and other costs."

Goldman reported its smallest quarterly profit in nearly four years in July as it set aside more than $1.45 billion to cover potential mortgage settlements.

(Reporting by Anil D'Silva in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian)