Bank of America Corp reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss of $5.2 billion, hurt by still-high loan losses and its repayment of U.S. government bailout aid.

The nation's largest bank said the loss was equal to 60 cents per share, and compared with a year-earlier loss of $2.4 billion, or 48 cents a share. Analysts' average forecast was a loss of 52 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue jumped 59 percent to $25.4 billion, primarily due to the addition of Merrill Lynch & Co.

For the full year 2009, the bank posted net income of $6.3 billion, compared with $4 billion in 2008 during the height of the financial crisis.

In early December, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America repaid $45 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, leading a wave of bailout repayments by the country's biggest banks.

Bank of America said the repayment resulted in a $4 billion one-time charge in the fourth quarter.

The bank said its credit problems continue but are beginning to stabilize. Its fourth-quarter provision for credit losses was $10.1 billion, down 14 percent from the third quarter.

Nonperforming assets -- or the full range of delinquent and defaulted loans -- totaled $35.7 billion at the end of the fourth quarter, up 5.6 percent from the end of the third quarter.

Bank of America shares fell 2 percent in premarket trading, to $16.00

(Reporting by Joe Rauch; editing by John Wallace)

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