CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bank of America Corp. on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $5.2 billion, or 60 cents a share, as the bank spent $45 billion to exit the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program.
The third loss of the last five quarters at Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank by deposits, was larger than analysts had expected. The average estimate of 20 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was a 52-cent-per-share loss.
Beyond Cash Donations: How New Forms of Giving Are Transforming Not-for-Profit Accounting
Evolving Funding Landscape for Not-for-Profits Not-for-profit organizations are being asked to do more with less,…
Learn More
The bank said fourth-quarter revenue excluding interest expense rose 59 percent to $25.4 billion, partly because of its January 2009 purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co.
“Economic conditions remain fragile and we expect high unemployment levels to continue, creating an ongoing drag on consumer spending and growth,” Brian T. Moynihan, the bank’s new CEO, said in a statement. “We are encouraged by signs the economy is improving, as we have seen in the stabilization of our credit costs, particularly in the consumer business.”
Bank of America set aside $10.1 billion to cover loan defaults, down from the average $12.8 billion it had put aside in the previous three quarters, Bloomberg News said.
The bank said it wrote off $8.4 billion in loans as uncollectible during the fourth quarter, down from $9.6 billion in the third quarter. Nonperforming assets rose to $35.7 billion.
For the full year, Bank of America said it lost $2.2 billion, or 29 cents a share fully diluted, down from a profit of $4 billion, or 54 cents, the prior year.
Additional information is available at bankofamerica.com.
