LONDON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans to cut ten percent of its total staff, or almost 3,300 jobs, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday.

Goldman Sachs has suffered less than most of its peers from the global financial crisis and remains the leading adviser to mergers and initial public offerings worldwide.

But its transition from an investment bank to a traditional bank holding company means the Federal Reserve will use its new regulatory authority to limit the bank's risk taking and encourage longer-maturity funding. Analysts expect the New York-based bank to shrink businesses in prime brokerage and securitisation.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

In June, Goldman laid off hundreds of support staff and junior bankers due to slowing markets following a round of cuts in leveraged lending and mortgage securities jobs in April.

The company had 32,569 employees worldwide at the end of August. Compensation and benefits accounted for 57 percent of its total operating expenses in the three months to August, down from 67 percent in the second quarter and 73 percent a year ago.

Goldman's move comes as Wall Street firms saw the worst September in the capital markets in decades including the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the bailout of AIG, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America Corp and the takeover of Wachovia by Citi.