Bank of America (BAC) has reported fourth-quarter financial results that fell short of expectations on Wall Street.
The second biggest lender in the U.S. reported a Q4 profit of $2.84 billion U.S., or $0.35 U.S. per share, which was below analyst forecasts of $4.38 billion U.S., or $0.53 U.S. a share.
Bank of America’s earnings were down 59% from $0.85 U.S. a share in the year earlier period.
Revenue at the bank in Q4 totaled $21.96 billion U.S., below forecasts that called for $23.7 billion U.S. Net interest income was $13.95 billion U.S. in Q4, meeting estimates.
Bank of America’s revenue was down 10% in Q4 from $24.53 billion U.S. a year ago.
The bank’s management team blamed the poor results on regulatory charges it has been forced to pay since last summer, including a $250 million fine related to junk fees.
Bank of America was supposed to be a beneficiary of higher interest rates, but that hasn’t worked out as the lender took on low-yielding, long-dated securities during the Covid-19 pandemic and they lost value as interest rates rose over the past 18 months.
The stock of Bank of America has declined 4% in the last 12 months and currently trades at $33.15 U.S. per share.
