NEW YORK: Bank of America Corp is putting more money and balance sheet resources behind its trading business, according to chief executive officer (CEO) Brian Moynihan.
“You are seeing much more stability” in sales and trading, with back-to-back quarters of more than US$1bil in profit, Moynihan said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
That division, led by Jim DeMare, used to have more volatile earnings and posted one of its best second quarters on record, Moynihan added.
“We will keep giving them more risk-weighted assets, balance sheet, capital and investments in technology because that is a very expensive business to run on a day-to-day basis,” Moynihan acknowledged in the interview.
The company notched its best second quarter ever for stock trading.
Investment banking also beat analysts’ estimates, with fees up 28% from a year earlier on the back of a rebound in dealmaking and more debt and equity underwriting.
Moynihan is one of the longest-serving heads of a large US bank and has signalled his interest in staying on for years to come.
He was promoted to CEO in 2010 in the wake of the global financial crisis and steered the lender through the pandemic and last year’s turmoil in the banking industry.
Shares of the American bank climbed to a two-year high on Tuesday on the back of that performance.
It brought this year’s gain to 31%, after the bank reported trading and investment banking results that topped analysts’ estimates.
It also gave a forecast for fourth quarter net interest income, its biggest source of revenue, that exceeded expectations. — Bloomberg
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