Business

BofA Q1 has bad mtge. hangover

Bank of America’s revenue fell across almost all its businesses in the first quarter, and the bank was hit yet again by mortgage-mess cleanup costs, showing the difficulties Chief Executive Brian Moynihan faces in moving past the housing crisis.

Many of the bank’s revenue generators — including consumer banking, mortgages and debt, currency and commodities trading — turned in weaker performances. All told, adjusted revenue fell 8.4 percent, to $23.85 billion.

Bank of America shares closed down 4.7 percent, at $11.70.

The results suggest that Bank of America’s purchase of Countrywide Financial at the height of the housing crisis is still haunting the bank. They also show that the bank may be recovering from the financial crisis more slowly than Citigroup, the other big bank that required multiple government bailouts.

“There is enormous earnings capability here, and we’re certainly not seeing Bank of America perform to the extent it should be able to,” said Gary Townsend, chief executive of Hill-Townsend Capital, which owns a small position in the bank’s stock.

The bank said on Wednesday it had settled three mortgage-backed securities lawsuits related to its Countrywide unit for $500 million, the latest in a series of mortgage settlements for Bank of America.

Moynihan has said the end of settlements is in sight, and aims to reduce expenses in the division that handles delinquent mortgages by $1 billion per quarter by the end of 2013. He has also pledged to cut $8 billion in expenses companywide annually by mid-2015.