europe is taking off.., page-7

Not over yet. Bank of America ($5.28B writedown + $3.3B in future provisions) and Wachovia ($1.7B writedown) both just reported disastrous results.

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Bank of America Profit Shrinks in Fourth Quarter on Credit Losses, Weak Investment Banking


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Bank of America Corp. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter earnings fell 95 percent, hurt by mounting credit losses and weak investment banking results.
Net income at the Charlotte-based bank dropped to $268 million, or 5 cents per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31 from $5.26 billion, or $1.16 per share, a year ago.
The bank's revenue fell 32 percent to $12.67 billion from $18.49 billion last year.

The quarter included results from LaSalle Bank, which Bank of America purchased on Oct. 1.

Analysts expected earnings of 18 cents per share on revenue of $13.24 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial. The earnings estimates typically exclude one-time items.

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Wachovia said its fourth-quarter earnings tumbled to $51 million, or 3 cents per share, from $2.3 billion, or $1.20 per share, during the same period the previous year.

Excluding merger-related expenses, Wachovia earned $160 million, or 8 cents per share, during the fourth quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, forecast earnings of 33 cents per share for the quarter.

Wachovia, the nation's fourth-largest bank, took a $1.7 billion write-down during the quarter due to weakening credit markets.


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Results at Bank of America reflected $5.44 billion of trading losses, compared with profits of $460 million a year earlier. This reflected a $5.28 billion write-down related to collateralized debt obligations, which the bank said reduced trading profit by $4.5 billion and other income by about $750 million.

Bank of America said it also set aside $3.31 billion for possible future credit losses.