Bank Of America Was Just Kidding About That Third Quarter Profit

Bank of America Corp. reduced third-quarter profit by $400 million because of higher litigation expenses related to probes of the firm’s foreign-exchange business. The lender adjusted results for the three months ended Sept. 30 to a net loss of $232 million, or 4 cents a share, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America said today in a statement...Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. lender, previously said it had $5.6 billion in third-quarter legal expenses, according to an Oct. 15 presentation, with almost 90 percent attributed to the mortgage settlement. The firm had posted a surprise quarterly profit before today’s disclosure. [Bloomberg]