Bank of America profit drops on weak trading unit
NEW YORK - Bank of America's first-quarter profit fell more than 18 percent from a year earlier, hurt by weak performance in its global trading unit.
The bank reported a profit after payment of dividends to preferred shareholders of $2.22 billion in the quarter ending in March, or 21 cents per share. That's compared to a profit of $2.72 billion, or 25 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The results met the expectations of Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.
BofA's revenue in the quarter was $19.51 billion, down 6.6 percent from $20.91 billion the year before.
Shares of Bank of America Corp. (BAC), based in Charlotte, North Carolina, rose less than 1 percent before the stock market opened Thursday.