Hedge fund manager John Paulson continued his prolonged bets on the U.S. banking industry and gold during the first quarter, while taking a large stake in MGM Mirage Inc. (MGM), according to a regulatory filing made Monday.

Paulson, who runs Paulson & Co., didn't sell any of his shares in many of his big banking stocks, including Citigroup Inc. (C), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM). He added to his large stake in Bank of America Corp. (BAC). Paulson is among the top shareholders of both B of A and Citi.

Paulson's funds did sell all 5 million of his Fifth Third Bancorp. (FITB) shares.

His funds also reported a stake of 4.4 million shares of CIT Group Inc. (CIT).

The disclosures were made on Securities and Exchange Commission Form 13-F, reserved for investors reporting their holdings at the end of a particular quarter.

New York-based Paulson kept all 31.5 million shares of the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), and kept his equity stakes in gold companies.

New big positions included 40 million shares of MGM, which might make Paulson MGM's largest shareholder depending on what other investors did during the first quarter.

Paulson also sold its 5 million shares of Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT).

Originally a specialist in merger arbitrage, John Paulson made his name betting against subprime mortgages in 2007. Recently, his firm was identified as the short-seller betting against the mortgage product at the center of the government's charges against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS). Paulson wasn't charged in that case.

In the last two years, Paulson has turned bullish on the U.S. banking system and gold, and has piled into the stocks of banks, as well as companies tied to gold.

Paulson reported 60 positions worth $20.2 billion as of March 31, up from 57 positions worth $19.8 billion on Dec. 31, 2009. A lot of that appreciation can be attributed to the performance of the stock market. The Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index was up nearly 5% during the first quarter. Most of Paulson's hedge funds have performed well.

Many investors that manage more than $100 million are required to file 13-Fs with their stock holdings 45 days after the end of a given quarter, giving the public its freshest possible glimpse into the portfolios of well-known money managers. Most hedge-fund managers and others wait until the last possible moment to make these filings. Because the 45th day after March 31 falls on a Saturday, the deadline for first-quarter holdings is Monday.

- By Joseph Checkler, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2152; joseph.checkler@dowjones.com
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