Bank of America the third largest US banking company, today posted a 17 per cent rise in quarterly profits as low interest rates cut the bank's own borrowing costs and helped mortgage loan growth.
US interest rates remain low, helping demand for loans like mortgages and reducing the rates at which banks themselves borrow in order to fund new loans.
Steady deposit growth has also given banks another cheap way to fund new loans, even as Wall Street-type businesses have continued to languish.
Bank of America's revenues rose 2 per cent from a year earlier in the first quarter, to $8.69 billion.
Net interest income, or earnings from lending, rose 11 per cent, to $5.25 billion, as low rates and higher deposit levels offset reduced commercial loan levels.
The slow US economy continues to hurt loan quality, the bank said. Bad debts totaled $840 million, or 1.04 per cent of loans and leases, in the first quarter, up from $772 million, or 0.81 per cent of loans and leases, a year earlier.