Plaintiffs' lawyers are targeting various companies in connection with a California law that ensures customers can air grievances publicly without the threat of retribution. BofA and U.S. Bank say the suits against them are meritless.

Financial institutions, led by the biggest U.S. banks and regional lenders, have dominated high-grade issuance, making up over 60% of the $149 billion that has priced so far this month.

Personal spending chugged along in the fourth quarter, thanks to the resilient job market. But loan charge-offs rose, and higher interest rates suppressed loan demand, executives say.

In 2023, the four giant banks raked in $253 billion in NII , about $80 billion higher than 2021's total. Now, most banks see rate cuts coming, all while they have to pay more on deposits or risk losing customer savings to higher-yielding options. 

The decline in profit came mainly from a $2.1 billion FDIC assessment and a $1.6 billion charge tied to the shift away from LIBOR.

After being undercapitalized for decades, some minority-led banks finally got large capital infusions in the wake of George Floyd's murder. But higher interest rates have made it harder for them to gather the deposits they need to boost lending substantially.

The megabank will report a hit to its earnings this Friday from what one analyst called an "accounting nuisance." The charge, which BofA will make up over time, is due to the bank's use of a Bloomberg-developed interest rate index that gained little traction.