Marred by litigation expense, Bank of America posts 1Q loss

Hit by a heavy litigation expenses during the first quarter, Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) posted a net loss of $276 million, compared to net income of $1.5 billion for the same quarter a year earlier.

The company paid out $6 billion in litigation expenses during the first quarter related to a settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a news release. Bank of America allegedly sold troubled mortgage-backed securities to Fannie and Freddie before the financial crisis.

"The cost of resolving more of our mortgage issues hurt our earnings this quarter,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in the release. “But the earnings power of our business and customer strategy generated solid results, and we continued to return excess capital to our shareholders."

For the three months ended March 31, Bank of America - which operates six branches in Springfield - posted a diluted share loss of 5 cents, compared to earnings of 10 cents for the first-quarter 2013.

Net interest income was down slightly in the latest quarter, to $10.3 billion from $10.9 billion in first-quarter 2013.

As of March 31, Bank of America held assets of $2.1 trillion, deposits of $1.1 trillion and claimed 49 million customers at its 5,100 branches, the release said.

BAC shares were trading at $15.95 as of 10:06 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $11.23 to $18.03.