BoA Beats Street Expectations

Despite taking numerous hits related to real estate lending, Bank of America beat Wall Street earnings estimates for the second quarter. The Charlotte, N.C.-based BoA earned $3.41 billion ($0.72 per share), down 44% from the level recorded a year earlier. The company recorded $3.62 billion of net chargeoffs and added $2.21 billion to its allowance for loan losses, saying most of the additional credit costs are "directly tied to housing," including home equity, residential mortgage, and homebuilder loans. Reporting Countrywide Financial Corp. results separately, Bank of America said the recently acquired company had a $2.33 billion net loss in the second quarter, including $4 billion in credit-related losses. The company can be found on the Web at http://www.bankofamerica.com.