Bank of America's fourth-quarter profit jumped 47 percent from a year ago as the nation's largest consumer bank benefited from higher interest rates and lower expenses. The business had been helped by higher interest rates, as net interest income rose from $5.23 billion to $5.47 billion year over year. Like many consumer banks, BofA struggled to grow profits for the last several years due to record low interest rates. Now that the Federal Reserve has started increasing rates, BofA can charge more for loans. Global markets had net income of $658 million, compared with $171 million in the same period a year earlier.

Source: ABC News January 13, 2017 12:14 UTC