Bank of America Q4 profits fall on one-time charges

Investment bank and financial services firm Bank of America posted a decline in fourth-quarter profits on Friday as a result of being hit with some sizeable one-time charges.

Earnings per share came in at $0.70 for the quarter, ahead of the $0.68 expected on the Street, while net income dropped by more than half over the year to $3.1bn.

Bank of America said its earnings were impacted by a pre-tax charge of $1.6bn during the quarter, stemming from its transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate and a special $2.1bn fee charged by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp tied to the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

"We reported solid fourth quarter and full-year results as all our businesses achieved strong organic growth, with record client activity and digital engagement," said chief executive Brian Moynihan. "Our expense discipline allowed us to continue investing in growth initiatives. Strong capital and liquidity levels position us well to continue to deliver responsible growth in 2024."

Bank of America, which also posted a $1.1bn provision for credit losses, added that revenue from consumer banking dipped 4% to $10.3bn, while sales and trading revenue was up 3% to $3.6bn.

As of 1320 GMT, Bank of America shares were down 2.17% in pre-market trading at $32.43 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com