(Reuters) – Bank of America Corp reported a drop in second-quarter profit on Monday, hit by a slump in investment banking revenue as underwriting activity stood at a fraction of last year’s record levels.
Wall Street investment bankers, who were neck-deep in deals last year, have seen activity slump in the first half of 2022 amid volatility in the capital markets, geopolitical tensions and a risk-off sentiment that has swept across markets globally.
With stock market listings on ice and companies slamming the brakes on dealmaking, Bank of America’s investment banking fees fell 47% to $1.1 billion in the reported quarter.
Profit applicable to common shareholders fell to $5.93 billion, or 73 cents per share, for the quarter ended June 30, from $8.96 billion, or $1.03 per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Manya Saini and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Elizabeth Dilts Marshall in New York; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)