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# Bank Of America's $1.2 Billion Penalty Charge Cuts Third-Quarter Profit To $6.9 Billion From $8.3 Billion
- URL: https://www.bullished.co/bank-of-americas-1-2-billion-penalty-charge-cuts-third-quarter-profit-to-6-9-billion-from-0c1cc779/
- Published: 2026-10-14T11:05:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-14T11:05:58.000Z
- Description: Adjusted earnings were $1.08 per share without the charge, as revenue rose 3% and average loans rose 6%.
- Author: Matteo Parrino
- Tags: Earnings, BAC, Industry: Financials

Bank of America's third-quarter profit fell to [$6.9 billion, or $0.91 per share](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000070858/000007085826000481/bac09302026ex991.htm?ref=bullished.co), from $8.3 billion, or $1.04, a year earlier, after a $1.2 billion regulatory settlement charge, the company said in an 8-K filed Wednesday. Revenue and lending still grew.

## What the results show

The charge was worth $0.17 per share. Excluding it, adjusted net income was $8.1 billion, or $1.08 per share. Those are adjusted figures, not standard accounting measures, and the company presented them next to reported results.

Revenue rose 3% to $30.0 billion. Net interest income, the gap between what the bank earns on loans and pays on deposits, rose 8% to $16.4 billion, driven mainly by higher loan and deposit balances, according to the [earnings release](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000070858/000007085826000481/bac09302026ex991.htm?ref=bullished.co).

Average loans and leases rose 6% to $1.23 trillion, with growth in every business segment. Investment banking fees fell 11% to $1.8 billion, and sales and trading revenue fell 5% to $5.1 billion.

Noninterest expense was $19.7 billion. Excluding the charge, it was $18.5 billion.

## Where the charge comes from

The company accrued civil money penalties from consent orders that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Financial Crime Enforcement Network announced on October 13\. The orders cover certain aspects of the bank's Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money-laundering and economic sanctions compliance programs.

The penalty is not tax-deductible. The effective tax rate was about 23%, against about 20% without the charge.

The bank's common equity tier 1 capital ratio, a measure of its core capital cushion, was 10.9% on the standardized basis, down from 11.2% at the end of the second quarter. The company called that well above the regulatory minimum. It returned $8.3 billion to shareholders, $2.2 billion through dividends and $6.0 billion through buybacks.

## What management said

Chair and CEO Brian Moynihan said commercial lending grew in every client segment even as investment banking and trading revenue fell. Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said asset quality kept improving and capital and liquidity stayed strong.

Moynihan and Borthwick discuss the results on an investor call at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

Return on average common equity was 9.4% as reported and 11.1% adjusted, against 11.4% a year earlier.

### Sources

- [8-K Filing — BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ (BAC)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000070858/000007085826000481/bac-20261014.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Exhibit bac09302026ex991.htm — BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ 8-K exhibit](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000070858/000007085826000481/bac09302026ex991.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Exhibit bac09302026ex992.htm — BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ 8-K exhibit](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000070858/000007085826000481/bac09302026ex992.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Exhibit bac-09302026ex993.htm — BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ 8-K exhibit](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000070858/000007085826000481/bac-09302026ex993.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Bank of America Q3 Preview: Stock Down in 2026, Could 5th Straight Double Beat Change Momentum?](https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/previews/26/10/62333902/bank-of-america-q3-preview-stock-down-in-2026-could-5th-straight-double-beat-change-momentum?ref=bullished.co) — benzinga.com