Bank of America posts heavy losses

Saturday, 22 January 2011 00:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

NEW YORK (AFP) - Bank of America, the biggest US bank, reported Friday a net loss of $1.2 billion for the fourth quarter, citing falling revenue and a hefty write down on its home-loan business.

The loss was the second consecutive quarterly setback for the government-rescued bank, after a $7.3 billion loss in the third quarter.

For full-year 2010, Bank of America reported a net loss of $2.2 billion. The bank wrote off $12.4 billion in charges.

That amounted to a loss of 37 cents per share, compared to a loss of 29 cents per share in 2009.

In 2009 the bank had profit of $6.3 billion but for shareholders it was a loss of $2.2 billion following payments to the US Treasury stemming from bailout aid.

Excluding the fourth-quarter $2.0 billion charge, Bank of America said it would have earned a profit of $756 million in the October-December period, and earnings per share of four cents.

That was well below the average analyst estimate of 14 cents per share, but was a marked improvement on the loss of 60 cents per share the year earlier.

Fourth-quarter revenue fell 11 percent to $22.67 billion.

“Last year was a necessary repair and rebuilding year,” Brian Moynihan, the bank’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.

“Our results reflect the progress we are making at putting legacy -- primarily mortgage-related -- issues behind us.” The bank, the biggest US bank by assets, said during the past year it recorded $2.6 billion in litigation expenses.

Bank of America was among the hardest hit banks during the financial crisis that flared following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.

It received 45 billion dollars in bailout funds from the federal government, and repaid the money in December 2009.