Bank of America Posts 4th-Quarter Loss of $1.2 Billion

[ProSense]

Source: New York Times

Underscoring the still-lingering effects of the mortgage mess, Bank of America reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.2 billion, or 16 cents a share, as write-downs and charges tied to the weak housing market and soured home loans offset stronger results in the company’s core banking business.

For the full year, Bank of America lost $2.23 billion, or 37 cents a share.

The earnings report was complicated by a series of one-time gains and losses, most notably a $4.1 billion charge for mortgage repurchase claims, including the impact of an agreement late last month with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage giants, to buy back troubled loans. In addition, Bank of America took a noncash charge of $2 billion to reflect a write-down of goodwill on its acquisition of Countrywide, the subprime mortgage giant, in 2008.

Excluding the goodwill charge, Bank of America earned $756 million, or 4 cents a share in the fourth quarter, on revenue of $22.6 billion. The consensus among Wall Street analysts called for a profit of 14 cents.



Read more: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/bank-of-america-posts-4th-quarter-loss-of-1-2-billion/