Goldman Sachs has left open the possibility of another attempt to go public despite shelving plans for this year's offering. Senior executives said the investment bank was 'rethinking the timing, not the underlying decision' to dissolve its 130-year private partnership. Market volatility, widening of credit spreads and falling global equity values were blamed for the decision. Goldman's six-member executive committee axed the plan on Monday after consulting with its 189 partners. A joint statement by co-chairmen Jon Corzine and Henry Paulson said: 'Our executive committee made this difficult decision after giving full consideration to the volatile state of global financial markets and the disproportionately negative impact on the financial services sector. 'When markets and other conditions improve, our executive committee may propose a new plan of incorporations and public offers to the partnership for approval.' When Goldman made the decision to sell a 10 to 15 per cent stake it was valued between US$20 billion and $30 billion. The partners stood to gain an average of $100 million each. But the market plunge, particularly among financial service-sector stocks, would have shaved-back the potential windfall by $40 million. The bank last week reported pretax profits of $754 million in the third quarter, a 19 per cent drop from last year's record $932 million. Revenue slipped to $2.14 billion from $3.23 billion a year ago. The decision has sparked speculation of discontent among some senior staff who had been lured to the bank by promises of rewards following the offering.