Bank of America registers solid Global Markets income in Q1 2021
Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) today reported its financial performance metrics for the first quarter of 2021, with Global Markets delivering particularly strong results.
The Global Markets segment recorded net income of $2.1 billion, up $349 million from a year earlier. The result was also well ahead of that reported for the final quarter of 2020. Excluding net DVA, net income for the first quarter of 2021 increased 39% to $2.1 billion.
Global Markets revenue for the first three months of 2020 amounted to $6.2 billion, an increase of 19% from the year-ago period. The rise was driven by increases in sales and trading and equity underwriting fees.
FICC revenue of $3.3 billion increased 22%, reflecting a strong performance in credit, mortgage, and municipal products and gains in commodities (partially offset by related losses in another segment) from market volatility driven by a weather-related event, partially offset by reduced activity in other macro products.
Equities revenue increased 10% to $1.8 billion, driven by a strong trading performance in cash.
Across all segments, net income amounted to $8.1 billion, or $0.86 per diluted share. Revenue, net of interest expense, increased 0.2% to $22.8 billion.
Provision for credit losses decreased $6.6 billion to a benefit of $1.9 billion, reflecting a reserve release of $2.7 billion amid an improved macroeconomic outlook and balance declines.
Deposits rose $366 billion, or 25%, to $1.8 trillion.
Bank of America returned $5 billion of capital to shareholders through common dividends and share repurchases. Book value per common share rose 4% to $29.07, whereas tangible book value per common share rose 6% to $20.90.