Bank of America earnings fall despite lower expenses

Bank of America on Thursday reported a dip in quarterly profits following losses in its real estate and trading divisions despite lower expenses.
BofA's earnings for the fourth quarter came in at $3.1 billion, down 11.3 percent from the year-ago level.
In its real estate division, the big US bank reported a loss of $397 million, lower than the $1.0 billion loss a year ago. The bank cited a smaller servicing portfolio, offsetting lower litigation costs in this segment.
The bank's global markets division lost $72 million in the quarter, bigger than the $47 million loss a year ago.
The results were marred by a drop in revenues in bond, currency and commodity trading to $1.5 billion from $1.9 billion a year ago.
On the positive side, BofA reported a 17.9 percent drop in non-interest expense to $14.2 billion due to lower litigation costs and reduced personnel spending.
BofA reported 2014 profits of $4.8 billion, down 57.7 percent from 2013, due in large part to large litigation costs.
"In 2014, we continued to invest in our businesses while reducing expenses and resolving our most signification litigation matters," said chief executive Brian Moynihan.
"There's more work and tremendous opportunity ahead as we improve on the platform we've built to serve our customers and clients, and we enter 2015 in good shape to manage both the opportunities and the challenges the markets and economy will offer."
BofA's fourth-quarter earnings translated into 25 cents per share, below the 32 cents projected by Wall Street analysts.
In pre-market trade, BofA shares fell 1.8 percent to $15.75.