Bank of America earmarks $4B for coronavirus loan defaults

Bank of America profit sank 52 percent in the three months through June, mirroring the performance of its biggest rivals, as the nationwide lender set aside an additional $4 billion to cover growing loan defaults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Net income of $3.5 billion, or 37 cents a share, still topped the 27-cent average estimate from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Both JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup posted double-digit profit declines earlier this week after shoring up reserves.

Bank of America's total revenue of $22.3 billion, also higher than Wall Street expected, benefited from a windfall in the trading business as investors shifted money to safeguard their wealth from the coronavirus-induced downturn.

JPMORGAN TRADING REVENUE SURGES AS CORONAVIRUS UPENDS MARKETS

"In the most tumultuous period since the Great Depression, we delivered for our clients, our employees, our communities and our shareholders," CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
BAC	BANK OF AMERICA CORP.	42.53	-0.10	-0.23%
JPM	JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.	222.99	-2.57	-1.14%
C	CITIGROUP INC.	64.69	+0.51	+0.79%

"Strong capital markets results provided an important counterbalance to the COVID-19-related impacts on our consumer business," he added, "and our industry-leading digital capabilities allowed us to support clients amid difficult working conditions."

The Charlotte, N.C.-based lender has completed 334,000 Paycheck Protection Program loans this year, delivering $25 billion to small business owners under a government stimulus program meant to counter the fallout from lockdowns to curb the pandemic's spread.

Bank of America also processed 1.8 million deferrals on loan payments, the majority of which were still in place as of July 9.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates.