BofA Profit Slides on $1.9B in Writedowns

Updated from 9:49 a.m. EDT

Bank of America(BAC Quote) on Monday reported a steep drop in first-quarter profit, fueled by a big writedown and a boost to its provision for credit losses.

The Charlotte-based bank posted a profit of $1.21 billion, or 23 cents a diluted share, vs. $5.26 billion, or $1.16 a diluted share in the year-ago period. Revenue, net of interest expenses, dropped 6% to $17.3 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 41 cents a share on revenue of $16.46 billion.

BofA's disappointing results reflected an ailing U.S. economy that has hit consumers by stemming easy access to credit cards, auto loans and mortgages, as the credit-rich days of the earlier part of the decade are now just a distant memory. A significant portion of BofA's troubles in the first quarter came from its consumer business, while another portion came from its corporate and investment banking arm in which it had to significantly write down the value of securities backed by risky mortgages. ...