April 15 (Reuters) – Bank of America (BAC.N)
, opens new tab topped estimates on Tuesday for first-quarter profit as interest income grew and volatile markets helped its stock traders rake in a record haul, lifting its shares 1.6% before markets opened.
As markets whipsawed around U.S. President Donald Trump‘s tariff policies, the second-largest U.S. lender brought in 9% higher trading revenue, mirroring trends seen at rivals.
Sign up here.
“Though we potentially face a changing economy in the future, we believe the disciplined investments we have made for high-quality growth, our diverse set of businesses and the team’s relentless focus on responsible growth will remain a source of strength,” CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement.
Equities trading jumped 17% to a record $2.2 billion, while fixed income, currencies and commodities trading revenue jumped 5% to $3.5 billion, propelling its markets revenue to the highest in more than a decade.
“These results were sustained by an economy growing at a moderate pace and the client concerns over trade policy and recent market turmoil,” Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said on a call with reporters.
“Still, our research team at this point does not believe we will see a recession and our clients continue to show encouraging signs. Employment is obviously healthy and consumers have proven resilient.”
Rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N)
, opens new tab and Goldman Sachs (GS.N)
, opens new tab have also reported stronger performance from their trading businesses.
“Trading results were the star of the show,” said Stephen Biggar, banking analyst at Argus Research.
“Still, a collapse in M&A (mergers and acquisitions) and IPO (initial public offering) deal volume could doom a 2025 recovery if tariff turmoil is not resolved soon.”
The bank recorded investment banking fees of $1.5 billion, down from $1.7 billion over the last quarter and down 3% on a year-on-year basis amid market uncertainty. But Borthwick said the deal pipeline was probably stronger than it was last quarter.
BofA’s earnings were $7.4 billion, or 90 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31. That compares with $6.7 billion, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting a profit of 82 cents per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.
MAINTAINS NII FORECAST
The lender’s net interest income — the difference between what it earns on loans and pays on deposits — grew 3% to $14.4 billion, partially helped by lower deposit costs.
It maintained its earlier NII forecast, saying it would hit $15.5 billion to $15.7 billion by the fourth quarter. Interest-rate cuts last year had helped improve sentiment among borrowers, benefiting banks such as BofA, which had forecast record net interest income in 2025 before Trump unveiled the new tariffs.
Borthwick said the bank expected a full-year NII increase of 6% to 7%.
Bank of America’s stock has fallen 12.4% since broad tariffs were unveiled this month.
Fears sparked by the tariffs have alarmed investment bankers globally, prompting dealmakers who were once bullish on Trump’s policies to adopt a wait-and-watch approach.
In the first three months of 2025, U.S. M&A activity fell 13%, according to data from Dealogic.
Provisions for credit losses were $1.5 billion, higher than $1.3 billion from a year earlier.
BofA eliminated some investment banking roles last month, weeks after it let go of staff in its investment banking and global markets divisions globally as part of an annual performance review process.
The reductions, which included managing directors, directors, and vice presidents, accounted for 1% of the company’s workforce.
Bank of America’s headcount fell to 212,732 as of March 31, compared with 213,193 in the previous quarter.
Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in New York; Editing by Lananh Nguyen, Arun Koyyur and Rod Nickel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Saeed Azhar is a Reuters financial journalist and part of the U.S. banking team, which covers Wall Street’s biggest banks. He focuses on Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, and also writes about regional banks. Before moving to New York in July 2022, he led the finance team in the Middle East from Dubai, and also worked in Singapore, covering Southeast Asia finance.
Niket Nishant reports on breaking news and the quarterly earnings of Wall Street’s largest banks, card companies, financial technology upstarts and asset managers. He also covers the biggest IPOs on U.S. exchanges, and late-stage venture capital funding alongside news and regulatory developments in the cryptocurrency industry. His writing appears on the finance, business, markets and future of money sections of the website. He did his post-graduation from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM) in Bengaluru.
