NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs Group said this morning its first-quarter earnings almost doubled to $3.3 billion as its trading business again surpassed the rest of the financial industry. It was good news for the bank as it faces a government civil fraud charge.

Goldman Sachs earned $5.59 a share on revenue of $12.78 billion as bond, commodities and currency trading buoyed its profits for yet another quarter. That was well above expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

In the fourth quarter, Goldman Sachs earned a record $4.79 billion.

Goldman Sachs also reported sharply higher fees from underwriting stock and debt offerings.

Even as it reported another strong quarter, the bank is facing a major challenge after being charged Friday in a civil fraud lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange and Commission. The SEC alleges Goldman Sachs and one of its vice presidents misled investors who bought complex financial products that were expected to fail.

The company said it set aside $5.5 billion in the first three months of the year to pay employee salaries and bonuses, up 17 percent from last year. However, Goldman Sachs said the percentage of revenue set aside for compensation in the quarter fell from 50 percent to 43 percent year-over-year.