Consumer banking results strong for Bank of America in 2Q

Bank of America’s consumer bankers extended their winning streak for another three months.

Gains in the retail division helped drive overall profit to a record for a fifth consecutive quarter as mortgage activity surged and provisions for bad loans posted a surprise drop from the first quarter. The trading division, where revenue declined 10% in the second quarter, fell victim to the same slump its bigger rival JPMorgan Chase suffered during the period.

“We see solid consumer activity across the board, with spending by Bank of America consumers up 5% this quarter over the second quarter of last year,” Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said Wednesday in a statement.

The biggest U.S. banks are benefiting from a solid job market, relatively strong economic growth and Federal Reserve interest rate increases stretching back to late 2015. Despite profit blowouts in recent quarters, some investors are becoming more cautious on financial stocks amid speculation the Federal Reserve will cut rates this month. That has prompted shares to trail the broader market.

Bank of America’s net interest income — revenue from customers’ loan payments minus what the company pays depositors — rose 3% to $12.2 billion, compared with the $12.3 billion average estimate in a Bloomberg MODL survey. The bank joined rival lenders including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup in reporting sliding net interest margins compared with the previous quarter.

“NII a bit shy of forecast; expect some tempering of forward expectations,” Susan Katzke, a Credit Suisse Group AG bank analyst, said in a note to clients.

Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio said in April that net interest income would likely grow at half the pace of 2018, and JPMorgan and Wells Fargo tamped down expectations for that metric this week.

In Bank of America’s trading division, revenue dropped to $3.27 billion, slightly less than the average estimate of $3.32 billion. Fixed-income revenue fell 8% to $2.13 billion, while equity-trading revenue slid 13% to $1.15 billion. Donofrio said on a call with reporters that the declines weren’t due to bad bets, as the bank had no days of trading losses in the quarter.

Bank of America shares were little changed at $28.93 at 8:26 a.m. in early New York trading.

The lender announced last month it would return as much as $37 billion to shareholders over the next four quarters by raising its dividend by 20% and boosting stock buybacks.

Other key results:

  • The efficiency ratio, a measure of profitability, improved to 57.5% from 58.7% a year earlier. Operating leverage was positive for the 18th consecutive quarter.
  • Debt underwriting fees of $651 million were less than the $786 million expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
  • Net income rose 8% to $7.35 billion as the bank generated a 12% return on equity.

Donofrio emphasized on the call that the firm has been improving its market share in investment banking. The bank has been tapping the brakes on risk, which was spurring frustration among some bankers.

  • The CFO also cautioned that clients probably need more confidence in global growth and an easing of trade tensions before markets activity rebounds.
Bloomberg News
Earnings Consumer banking Net interest margin Brian Moynihan Bank of America
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