Investing.com - Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), the second largest U.S. bank, reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings and revenue ahead of Wednesday’s opening bell.
Bank of America said it earned $0.27 cents per share in the three months ending March 31, below forecasts for earnings per share of $0.29 cents.
Net income totaled $3.4 billion for the first quarter of 2015, compared to a loss of $276 million in the year-ago period, amid indications the bank has started to recover from its large legal losses of prior years.
The bank’s first quarter revenue totaled $21.4 billion, missing estimates for revenue of $21.6 billion.
The provision for credit losses declined $244 million from the first quarter of 2014 to $765 million. In the first quarter of 2015, the reserve release was $429 million, compared to a reserve release of $379 million in the first quarter of 2014.
"Continuing the trend from last quarter, we saw core loan and deposit growth, higher mortgage originations, and increased wealth management client balances," said Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan.
"We see continued encouraging signs in customer and client activity, with consumer spending increasing and utilization of credit by our commercial customers rising. This should bode well for the near-term economic outlook," he added.
Following the release of the report, shares in BAC shed 0.13% in pre-market trade to trade at $15.80 from Tuesday's closing price of 15.82.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was upbeat. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 0.25%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 0.25%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.2%.