Bank of America joined Wall Street rivals in capitalising on market volatility while also benefiting from an increase in lending.
“Despite the market turmoil, we had zero days of trading losses,” chief executive officer Brian Moynihan said on a conference call with analysts.Net interest income rose 13 per cent to $US11.6 billion. The company’s loan balances rose to $US993.1 billion at the end of the first quarter, up 10 per cent from a year earlier and more than analysts’ estimates of $US986.4 billion.
The increase in net interest income was “supported by strong loan and deposit growth”, chief financial officer Alastair Borthwick said in the statement. “Going forward, and with the forward curve expectation of rising interest rates, we anticipate realising more of the benefit of our deposit franchise.”
Wall Street’s dealmaking boom came to an abrupt halt amid gyrating markets and rampant inflation, cutting into fee revenue at banks. Debt-underwriting revenue fell 16 per cent to $US831 million, while equity underwriting slumped 75 per cent to $US225 million.