Bank of America profit falls on higher provisions

[October 14, 2020] (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp reported a 15.8% drop in quarterly profit on Wednesday, hit by higher provisions for credit losses and a slump in performance in three of its four chief segments.

The second largest U.S. bank by assets set aside $1.4 billion as reserves to cover loan losses, compared with nearly $800 million a year earlier, as the COVID-19 pandemic hammers the economy.

Net interest income, a key measure of how much banks can make from their lending activities, fell 17% to $10.1 billion in the third quarter.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender is especially vulnerable to rate movements because of the composition of its balance sheet.

Net income applicable to common shareholders fell to $4.44 billion, or 51 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, from $5.27 billion, or 56 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had expected a profit of 49 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. It was not immediately clear if the estimates were comparable.

Revenue fell 11% to $20.34 billion.

Shares of the bank were down 1.8% in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Imani Moise in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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