BofA profit declines

Bank of America Corp, posted a quarterly profit but warned of fresh surge in soured loans to credit card, mortgage and business customers.

Bank of America set aside $13.38 billion for bad loans for a second straight quarter, and net charge-offs totaled $8.7 billion, up 25 per cent from the prior three-month period.

Second-quarter net income fell 25 per cent to $2.42 billion, from $3.22 billion a year earlier.

Results included a $5.3 billion pre-tax gain from the sale of one-third of bank’s stake in China Construction Bank Corp. They also included $713 million of dividend payments tied to a federal bailout of the bank, and a charge to bolster a federal deposit insurance fund.