The US bank has presented its quarterly figures.
(Photo: AP)
new York Bank of America benefited from the US Federal Reserve’s rate hikes in the first quarter. Net income attributable to shareholders rose by a billion to $7.66 billion from January to March year-on-year, the second largest US bank announced on Tuesday. That equates to earnings per share of 94 cents, while analysts had expected only 82 cents.
“The rising earnings reflect a strong improvement in net interest income coupled with one of our best trading quarters,” said Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick. Net interest income rose 25 percent to $14.4 billion in the first quarter.
Total returns of $26.3 billion beat analysts’ expectations of $25.13 billion. The money house set aside $931 million for impending loan defaults.
At competitor Goldman Sachs, however, profits fell in the first quarter due to weak business in investment banking. In the period from January to March, it fell to $3.09 billion from $3.83 billion a year ago, the bank also announced on Tuesday.
“The events of the first quarter felt like another real-life stress test, demonstrating the resilience of Goldman Sachs and the country’s big financial institutions,” said David Solomon, head of America’s leading investment bank, in the quarterly report. Earnings per share were $8.79, slightly more than the $8.10 analysts had estimated but well below the $10.76 per share a year earlier.
According to the data analysis company Dealogic, the business with advice on IPOs reached a ten-year low in the first quarter. This caused Goldman’s investment banking revenues to plummet by 26 percent to $1.58 billion. The bank’s net income fell in the first quarter by five percent to $12.22 billion (previous year: $12.93 billion) and was also below analyst estimates of $12.79 billion.
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