Bank Of America Reports Weaker Profits In Q4 Amid Lower Interest Rates

Consumer banking company Bank of America said Wednesday that it earned a profit of $6.99 billion, or 74 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2019. This marked a 4% drop from the same time last year, when the bank made $7.29 billion, or 70 cents per share.

“Our results continue to reflect the strength of the U.S. consumer in the biggest economy in the world,” CEO Brian Moynihan said in a call with analysts. The earnings per share beat analysts' expectations, as they believed that Bank of America would earn 68 cents per share in the fourth quarter.

Bank of America bought back around 900 million shares between 2018 and 2019.

Lower interest rates, which are influenced by the Federal Reserve, have hurt Bank of America’s profit margins as a consumer bank. President Trump has frequently pressured Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to keep interest rates low.

Trump has even demanded that the Federal Reserve sets interest rates below zero in order to boost the economy but the central bank is strongly opposed to such a move.

Low interest rates are seen as good for borrowers, as it means that consumers can pay less on their loans. At the same time, low rates are bad for banks and lenders who make money on loans or credit cards.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. have seen strong fourth-quarter earnings but were also negatively impacted by lower interest rates.