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Bank of America Corp hit by weak trading

Last updated: 15:20 14 Apr 2016 BST, First published: 10:20 14 Apr 2016 BST

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BofA said its consumer and commercial banking arms did well

Bank of America Corp (LON:BAC) (NYSE:BAC) unveiled lower than expected first-quarter revenue as economic woe took its toll.

The US banking giant booked revenue of US$19.5bn, shy of analysts' expectations of US$20.1bn and versus US$21.4bn a year ago.

Although the first quarter is traditionally strong for investment banks, Wall Street analysts expected a weaker performance this year due to global headwinds.

Low oil prices, the Chinese economic downturn and a rocky start to the trading year have all weighed on the sector's fortunes.

BofA said its consumer and commercial banking arms did well with earnings of US$4.5bn, up 16% from the same period a year ago.

But total trading revenue dropped 16% to US$3.8bn, albeit better than expectations of US$3.3bn.

Chief executive Brian Moynihan said: "This quarter, we benefited from good consumer and commercial banking activity.

"Despite volatile markets, our global markets business produced solid earnings. As always, we are focused on loan and deposit growth and managing expenses."

The firm reported earnings per share of $0.21, in line with expectations and down from $0.36 a year ago.

BofA's shares fell 7% to US$13.01 in early Wall Street trading.

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