[ad_1]
(Reuters) – Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Monday as the second-largest U.S. lender benefited from cost cuts, while higher interest rates and loan growth helped offset weaker bond trading revenue.
A Bank of America Merrill Lynch sign is seen on a building that houses its offices in Singapore May 17, 2012. REUTERS / Tim Chong
In his near-decade, Brian Moynihan has been trying to streamline the lender's operations by digitizing retail operations and getting rid of crisis mortgages, which he inherited from his acquisition of Countrywide Financial.
Two years ago, Moynihan pledged to $ 53 billion by the end of this year and stick to that level until 2020.
Non-interest expense fell 2.4 percent to $ 13.07 billion in the third quarter, in part due to a 2 percent cut in headcount across businesses.
"Responsible growth, backed by a solid U.S. economy and a healthy U.S. consumer, combined to deliver the highest quarterly pre-tax earnings in our company's history," Moynihan said in a statement.
Net income applicable to common shareholders rose 35 percent to $ 6.7 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30.
Excluding items, the bank earned 67 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 62 cents per share, according to I / B / E / S data from Refinitiv.
Loans in its consumer banking business grew 6 percent to $ 285 billion. Total deposits rose about 5 percent to $ 1.35 trillion.
BofA bonded heavily to higher interest rates to maximize profits as it has a large deposit pool and rate-sensitive mortgage securities.
Total interest income – the difference between what is a lender earns on loans and a country on deposits – rose 6.4 percent to $ 11.87 billion.
Shares of the company were up 0.7 pct at $ 28.66 in early trading.
Reporting by Siddharth Caval in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva
Source link
