Bank of America Corp., the biggest US lender, is scheduled to release Q12010 earnings before the opening bell on Friday, April 16, 2010. Analysts, on average, are looking for earnings of $0.08 per share in the first quarter with estimates ranging from a loss of 3 cents to a profit of 15 cents. Revenues for the quarter are estimated to be $27.63 billion. In the Q12009, Bank of America reported net income of $0.44 per share.Bank of America Corporation, a financial holding company, provides a range of banking and nonbanking financial services and products in the United States and internationally.
In the preceding Q42009, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank posted wider loss of $5.2 billion, or 60 cents a share, from a loss of $2.4 billion, or 48 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose to $25.1 billion from $15.7 billion. Breaking out $4 billion of accelerated accretion from redemption of preferred stock issued to the U.S. Treasury and other items, Bank of America lost $194 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $1.8 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts, on average, expected a loss of $0.52 per share on revenue of $26.84 billion.
The latest news concerning Bank of America’s mortgage business says the company is seeking to forgive up to 30% of principal to homeowners who owe over 120% of the value of their home. Investors took the news as a positive sign, because it could help BAC avoid even more foreclosures as wonky ‘homeowners’ have taken to the custom of ‘walking away’ from any mortgages where they don’t stand to gain a decent return.
Meanwhile, investors will be looking to upcoming conference call for further clues on what contribution Merrill Lynch is making.
Last month, Bank of America announced that starting this summer it will eliminate overdraft fees on debit-card transactions by only authorizing transactions if a customer has enough cash in the account to cover the purchase. that could cost the bank tens of millions a year in revenue and put pressure on other banks to do the same. The company executives would detail the revenue hit they expect to take from the new policy when the company reports first-quarter earnings.
Among other developments, the bank plans to seek approval from China to expand its operations in the fast-growing country, to grow profits. The company entered China in 2004 with a branch in Shanghai and has since received approval to handle limited forms of lending and investment banking. Bank of America also holds a minority stake in China Construction Bank Corp., the second-largest bank in China.
In terms of stock performance, Bank of America shares have gained nearly 20 percent since the beginning of the year.
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