Daily Gold Market Report

Bank of America’s Earnings Take a Massive Hit:
Profits Plummet by Over Half Amidst Market Turbulence and Hefty Charges

(USAGOLD – 1/18/2024) Gold prices are trading slightly higher after the number of American workers applying for first-time unemployment benefits last week came in well below expectations. Gold is trading at $2012.07, up $5.82. Silver is trading at $22.51, down 4 cents. Bank of America reported a significant drop in its fourth-quarter earnings late last week, with profits falling 56% to $3.14 billion, impacted by one-time charges. The decline was primarily due to a $1.6 billion charge related to the transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate and a $2.1 billion Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. fee following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Revenue decreased by 10% to $21.99 billion, against a forecast of $23.7 billion. Despite a challenging quarter, the bank saw increases in trading revenue and investment banking fees, with trading revenue up 3% to $3.62 billion and investment banking fees rising 8% to $1.18 billion. The bank also released $88 million from its reserves for potential loan losses. The bank giant also shed over 4,000 (2%) employees in turbulent year. However, it faced challenges with an extensive portfolio of low-rate securities and increasing loan charge-offs, though a late-year bond rally helped reduce unrealized losses.