Bank of America profit falls 77 percent in first quarter

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp, the second-largest U.S. bank, on Monday said first-quarter profit fell 77 percent, hurt by trading losses and a $3.3 billion increase in reserves for credit problems.

Net income for the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company fell to $1.21 billion, or 23 cents per share, from $5.26 billion, or $1.16, a year earlier. Net revenue dropped 6 percent to $17 billion, the bank said.

Analysts on average expected a profit of 45 cents per share on revenue of $16.33 billion, according to Reuters Estimates. Results included $170 million of merger and restructuring charges and a $776 million gain from credit card network Visa Inc's (V.N: Quote, Profile, Research) initial public offering last month.

Bank of America shares were off 36 cents to $38.20 in pre-market electronic trading.

"These results clearly did not meet our expectations," Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said in a statement. "The weakness in the economy and prolonged disruptions in the capital markets took their toll."

Results included $1.31 billion of trading losses. This reflected write-downs of $1.47 billion related to collateralized debt obligations and $439 million for loans to fund leveraged buyouts. Trading losses declined from $5.15 billion from the fourth quarter.

Bank of America also said it set aside $6.01 billion for credit losses, quintuple the year-earlier level, hurt by credit costs in home equity, small business and homebuilder portfolios.

The bank's Tier-1 capital ratio, a measure of its ability to cover losses, rose to 7.51 percent from the fourth quarter's 6.87 percent, following a sale of $12.9 billion of preferred stock.

Through Friday, Bank of America shares had fallen 7 percent this year compared with an 8 percent drop in the Philadelphia KBW Bank Index .BKX.

OTHER BANKS

Bank of America joined Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Wachovia Corp (WB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and other banks in reporting losses related to leveraged loans, mortgages, consumer credit or a combination.

The bank, however, generates more of its business in the United States, exposing it more to weak economic conditions at home. Lewis said he expects U.S. gross domestic product growth to be "minimal at best" this quarter, with a slight pickup in the second half of 2008.

Profit in consumer and small business banking fell 59 percent to $1.09 billion. The corporate and investment bank saw profit fall 92 percent to $115 million.

In wealth and investment management, profit fell 54 percent to $228 million, hurt by a $220 million loss to prop up some money funds in its Columbia Management unit.

Results were the second to reflect Bank of America's $21 billion purchase of ABN AMRO Holding NV's (AAH.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) LaSalle Bank on October 1.

Bank of America ended the quarter with 6,148 U.S. branches, nearly twice as many as any other bank, and $1.74 trillion of assets.