Goldman and Citigroup's pandemic-era stock performance couldn't be more different

Goldman Sachs has had a great pandemic. Its shares are now trading at almost six times the level they traded at when the bank went public in 1999.

Why it matters: That's not because the banking industry, in general, has done particularly well. Citigroup shares, decimated by the 2008 financial crisis, are trading 80% below their level at the time of the Goldman IPO.

By the numbers: Goldman stock is up about 67% from its pre-pandemic high in early 2020. Citigroup stock, by contrast, is still about 13% below its pre-pandemic peak.

• The relative performance of the two banks echoes what happened in the financial crisis when Goldman made billions from the "big short" while Citi's balance sheet was wiped out by subprime exposure.