 "Bank of America")
Bank of America Corp. says its fourth-quarter profit fell nearly 18 per cent to USD 5.47 billion from USD 6.99 billion a year earlier.
The bank, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, said Tuesday that it had earnings of 59 cents per share, down from 74 cents a year ago.
The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 56 cents per share.
The nation's second-largest bank posted revenue net of interest expense of USD 20.1 billion, which missed Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected USD 20.4 billion.
Bank of America shares have increased nearly 9 per cent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has stayed nearly flat. The stock has decreased nearly 5 per cent in the last 12 months.
