Bank of America tops estimates on Wall Street trading and banking

April 16, 2021: -On Thursday, Bank of America reported that the profit that topped Wall Street estimates on booming investment banking and trading results and the release of loan-loss reserves as lesser consumers were expected to default on debts.

The bank posted a first-quarter profit of $8.1 billion, or 86 cents a share, which exceeds the 66 cents a share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. The company introduced $22.9 billion in revenue. Bank of America announced a $25 billion stock repurchase program separately; it gained 1.2% in early trading.

“While low-interest rates still challenge revenue, credit costs leveled up, and we believe that progress in the health crisis and the economy point to an accelerating recovery,” CEO Brian Moynihan said.

Bank of America saw a significant benefit from the improving U.S. economic outlook in the previous months; It released $2.7 billion in reserves for loan losses in the quarter. Instead, government stimulus programs appear to have prevented most of the feared losses, and banks have begun to release more of their reserves this quarter.

Like JPMorgan and Goldman, the bank also experienced a boost from its trading operations. Fixed-income trading revenue jumped 22% to $3.3 billion, exceeding analysts’ estimate by roughly $660 million. Equities revenue increased 10% to $1.8 billion, about $170 million more than expected.

The firm’s Wall Street bankers were busy as well; the firm posted a 62% rise in investment banking fees to $2.2 billion, nearly $400 million more than the analysts had expected, by a 218% increase in equity underwriting fees to $900 million.

On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo posted results that exceeded analysts’ expectations on reserve releases, while Goldman Sachs beat estimates on solid advisory and trading results. Shares of Bank of America have climbed 32% this year, exceeding the 26% gain of the KBW Bank Index.