Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) posted earnings of $653 million during the first quarter, a 681 percent decrease from profits of roughly $2 billion in the same quarter of 2011.
The holding company for seven Bank of America branches in Springfield reported earnings per diluted share of 3 cents, down 14 cents from first-quarter 2011, according to a news release.
Revenue was $22.5 billion during the latest quarter, compared to $27.1 billion in the first quarter last year. The release noted negative valuation adjustments related to the company credit spreads of $4.8 billion.
"While the improvement in our credit spreads results in a negative adjustment to earnings this quarter, it should not overshadow the positive momentum that we are seeing in our businesses," Bank of America Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson said in the release. "The narrowing of our credit spreads reflects the significant progress we’ve made to strengthen the balance sheet.
“During the quarter, we increased our Tier 1 common equity ratio by 92 basis points from the prior quarter, improved our liquidity to record levels and continued to reduce risk-weighted assets."
Other first-quarter financial notes:
- The company's provision for credit losses decreased 36.6 percent to $2.4 billion, compared to $3.8 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
- While noninterest income decreased 22.2 percent to $11.4 billion, noninterest expense also decreased - by 5.6 percent to $19.1 billion.
- The company had 5,651 branches as of March 31, compared to 5,805 at the end of first-quarter 2011.
As of March 31, the Bank of America's assets were $2.2 trillion, its total loans and leases were $902 billion and its total deposits were $1 trillion, according to the release.
As of 9:29 a.m., the company's shares were trading at $8.05, compared to its 52-week range of $4.92 to $12.68.[[In-content Ad]]
