WASHINGTON — The finance chief of Goldman Sachs said today the firm made mistakes in the lead-up to the financial crisis and was burned by losses on high-risk loans and mortgages.

David Viniar, CFO of the Wall Street giant, addressed the firm's derivatives trading in testimony to a special panel investigating the financial crisis.

"We made our fair share of mistakes," he told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, a bipartisan panel that is investigation the origins of the financial meltdown. "We lost a considerable amount of money."

Goldman Sachs profited from its bets against the housing market before the crisis. Its derivatives dealings have brought it harsh scrutiny. The firm continued to reap huge profits after accepting federal bailout money and other government subsidies.

A previously disclosed 2007 e-mail has Viniar indicating that the firm made more than $50 million in one day on bets that the housing market would founder.