Bank of America Earnings Slip
January 15 2020 - 7:35AM
Dow Jones News
By Ben Eisen
Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday that fourth-quarter profit
fell 4%.
The second-largest U.S. bank by assets said it earned $6.99
billion in the fourth quarter, down from $7.28 billion a year
earlier. Per-share earnings were 74 cents, more than the 68 cents
predicted by analysts polled by FactSet.
The bank had revenue of $22.35 billion, down from $22.68
billion. Analysts had expected $22.22 billion.
Bank of America's shares rose 43% in 2019, topping the broader
S&P 500, as investors bet on a continued economic expansion
that is boosting big consumer banks. Shares have risen slightly to
start 2020.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based lender particularly benefited from the
short-lived rise in interest rates, when the Federal Reserve raised
rates nine times between late 2015 and late 2018. That was because
the bank was able to charge borrowers more interest without having
to significantly increase payouts to depositors.
But now the Fed has reversed course and cut rates three times in
recent months, forcing the bank to adjust its businesses. Bank of
America paid 0.58% on U.S. interest-bearing deposits in the fourth
quarter, down from 0.63% a year earlier.
Net interest income fell 2.9% from the year ago period.
Noninterest income, which is less dependent on rates, rose 0.4%
Write to Ben Eisen at ben.eisen@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 15, 2020 07:20 ET (12:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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