Bank of America profit rises 6.6pc

Bank of America Corp, the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, reported its first
rise in profit in three quarters on Monday, boosted by strong results from bond trading.


Net income attributable to shareholders rose 6.6 per cent to $4.45 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $4.18 billion a year earlier.

Earnings per share rose to 41 cents from 38 cents in the same period of 2015, reports Reuters.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 34 cents per share. It was not immediately clear if the figures were comparable.

Revenue from fixed-income trading jumped 32 per cent, boosted by Brexit-inspired volatility and changing expectations for monetary policy in the United States, Europe and Japan.

Non-interest expenses fell 3.3 per cent to $13.48 billion. BofA, like its peers, has been slashing costs to help make up for weak income from lending after years of low interest rates.

Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said in July the bank would cut annual costs by another $5 billion by 2018, which would take the total to about $53 billion from about $58 billion in 2015.

The three other big U.S. banks that have reported third-quarter results all beat profit and revenue forecasts. However, their earnings also declined - JPMorgan Chase & Co`s by 7.6 per cent, Citigroup Inc`s by 10.5 per cent and Wells Fargo & Co`s by 3.7 per cent.