Bank of America's Moynihan Says U.S. Consumers Are Spending More

Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan said U.S. consumers are in "pretty good shape" and spending more with credit cards.

After a lull earlier this year caused by higher tax rates and uncertainty caused by political gridlock, spending is rising, Moynihan said today at an investor conference sponsored by his company in New York.

Moynihan, 54, is working to engineer a sustained rebound in profit at the nation's second-largest bank. He'll have to overcome slack demand from mortgage borrowers, a sluggish national economy and continuing legal claims tied to faulty home loans that have cost the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company about $50 billion.

Bank of America closed at $14.40 yesterday in New York, bringing its gain for this year to 24 percent and trailing the 28 percent advance in the KBW Bank Index of 24 lenders.

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