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Bond trading revenue plunged 21 percent to $1.5
billion.
BofA, like much of Wall Street, was hit by a sharp spike in
market volatility in December that discouraged many investors
from taking positions.
JPMorgan Chase & Co reported a decline of 14 percent in
quarterly bond trading revenue on Wednesday.
Total revenue fell 13 percent to $18.73 billion, excluding
accounting adjustments.
BofA's shares were down nearly 3 percent in premarket trading on
Thursday.
Net income attributable to common shareholders fell to $2.74
billion, or 25 cents per share, in the fourth quarter from $3.18
billion, or 29 cents per share, a year earlier.
The bank had adjusted earnings of 32 cents per share, according
to calculations by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
On that basis, analysts on average had estimated earnings of 31
cents per share.
Overall fixed-income trading has been on a decline since 2009,
largely due to new rules that discourage banks from taking
unnecessary risks. Several big banks have scaled back their
trading operations or quit the business.
BofA has been hit by high legal costs since the financial
crisis, which have been undermining the cost-cutting initiatives
introduced by Chief Executive Brian Moynihan.
"In 2014, we continued to invest in our businesses while
reducing expenses and resolving our most significant litigation
matters," Moynihan said in a statement.
BofA's legal expenses fell to $393 million, suggesting the worst
may be behind the bank in terms of legal costs to resolve
regulatory probes linked to home loans, mortgage bonds and other
issues in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
The bank's legal costs totaled $2.3 billion a year earlier and
$5.6 billion in the third quarter. BofA has agreed to pay at
least $70 billion in fines and settlements since 2010.
The bank agreed to pay a record $16.65 billion in August to
resolve U.S. Department of Justice charges that it and companies
it bought misled investors into buying troubled mortgage-backed
securities.
(Editing by Kirti Pandey)
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