Bank of America revenue tops expectations as lender benefits from higher interest rates

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Bank Of America CEO Brian Moynihan is interviewed by Jack Otter during “Barron’s Roundtable” at Fox Business Network Studios on January 09, 2020 in New York City.
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Bank of America is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings before the opening bell Monday.Here’s what Wall Street expects:

Earnings: 75 cents a share, according to Refinitiv.Revenue: $22.67 billion, 5% higher than a year earlier.Net Interest Income: $12.37 billion, according to StreetAccountTrading Revenue: Fixed Income $2.33 billion, Equities $1.73 billionInvesting Banking: $1.24 billion

Bank of America is supposed to be one of the big beneficiaries of rising interest rates — but will that be enough to offset declines in investment banking?

That’s the question after JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup all disclosed sharp drops in second-quarter advisory revenues.

Bank of America, led by CEO Brian Moynihan since 2010, had enjoyed tailwinds as rising interest rates and a rebound in loan growth boost income. But bank stocks got hammered this year amid concerns that high inflation will spark a recession, which would lead to higher loan defaults.

Furthermore, broad declines across financial assets have begun to show up in bank results in the quarter, with Wells Fargo saying that “market conditions” forced it to post a $576 million impairment on equity holdings.

JPMorgan said last week it had a $257 million writedown on bridge loans for leveraged buyout clients. For its part, Bank of America CFO Alastair Borthwick said last month that the bank will likely post a $150 million writedown on its buyout loans.

Bank of America shares have fallen 28% this year through Friday, worse than the 16% decline of the KBW Bank Index.

Last week, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo posted second-quarter profit declines as the banks set aside more funds for expected loan losses, while Morgan Stanley disappointed after a bigger-than-expected slowdown in investment banking. Citigroup was the sole firm to top expectations for revenue as it benefited from rising rates and strong trading results.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

Led by CEO Brian Moynihan since 2010, the bank is enjoying tailwinds from rising interest rates, but profits were hit by $425 million in regulatory expenses.