In another important earnings announcement for the US banking sector, Bank of America has reported earnings that beat the consensus estimate but revenue fell short of expectations.

Bank of America posted third quarter net earnings of $340m, which came out to practically flat (0 cents) on a per-share basis, down from 56 cents per share a year earlier but better than the seven cents per share loss expected by the market. On the other hand, revenue fell short at $20.66bn compared to $28.7bn last year and $21.86bn expected by analysts.

The US bank revealed that it agreed to pay $2.4bn to settle claims that it hid information from shareholders. Part of that money had already been set aside but the bank did take $1.6bn in litigation charges and other extraordinary items that reduced earnings by 28 cents per share.

"Our strategy is taking hold even as we work through a challenging economy and continue to clean up legacy issues," Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said in a statement.

Bank of America also disclosed that its Basel II capital ratio rose to 8.97% from 7.95% at the end of the second quarter.


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