Bank of America’s second quarter profits were sawed in half and the consumer banking giant set aside billions of dollars to cover potentially bad loans caused by the pandemic. Those provisions come on top of the tens of billions they set aside in the first quarter when the pandemic first began to bloom. Because it is so consumer-focused, BofA is feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic more acutely than other major banks. BofA put aside US$4 billion for credit losses, still less than most competitors. “While net charge-offs remained relatively low by historical standards, we added another US$4 billion to credit reserves to reflect the current economic outlook,” said Bank of America Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio in prepared statement.-AP

Source: The Standard July 16, 2020 12:45 UTC