Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which reported its first quarterly loss since going public in 1999, has returned to profit after boosting fees it charges customers for trades, according to Bank of America Corp.

Goldman Sachs will probably report first-quarter earnings of $1.58 a share, Bank of America analyst Guy Moszkowski wrote in a report today after a meeting with Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein and Chief Financial Officer David Viniar. That would beat the $1.12 average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

“Customer-facilitation spreads are the widest Blankfein can recall, as competitors have disappeared or retrenched, and hedge funds de-leveraged,” Moszkowski wrote. “We are encouraged by the improved outlook and continued solid execution.”

Goldman Sachs, which was the largest and most-profitable U.S. securities firm until last year, suffered its first quarterly loss as a public company during the three months that ended in November. The shares, which plunged 61 percent in 2008, have gained 1.9 percent so far this year.

Shares of Goldman Sachs gained 1.8 percent to $86.01 today. They advanced as much as 5.2 percent, the most intraday since Feb. 5.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Nazareth in New York at nazareth@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 19, 2009 16:56 EST