Projo Biz Blog

Bank of America Corp. said profit dropped 77 percent as job losses and falling house prices caused more people to miss payments on credit cards and home loans.

First-quarter net income declined to $1.21 billion, or 23 cents a share, from $5.26 billion, or $1.16 a share, a year earlier, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company said this morning.
The average estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 41 cents.

The slide casts doubt on Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis's goal to increase profit by at least 20 percent this year. The bank's consumer unit, which contributed more than 60 percent of operating income in 2007, faces a nationwide jump in unpaid debt and the highest unemployment rate since 2005. Overdue U.S. credit-card bills are the most in more than three years and foreclosures soared 57 percent in March.

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