Bank of America's profits surge on lower provisions for bad loans BANK of America's fourth-quarter profit jumped from a year earlier, as the loans on the bank's balance sheet continued to improve. The second-largest US bank earned $US3.44 billion in the October to December period, up from $US732 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the bank earned 29 cents, beating the 26 cents expected by financial analysts. Fourth-quarter revenue rose to $US22.32 billion from $US19.6 billion, exceeding analysts' forecasts of $US21.2 billion. The bank's profits got a big boost because Bank of America was able to significantly reduce the amount of money it holds on its balance sheet to protect itself from bad loans. The bank's provision for credit losses fell to $US336 million from $US2.2 billion in the same period a year earlier. Even BofA's mortgage division, which took huge losses after the housing bubble popped, improved. The number of mortgages that were delinquent 60 days or more fell 58 per cent from a year ago. The previous year's result was weighed down by charges tied to a $US11.6 billion settlement with Fannie Mae. "We enter this year with one of the strongest balance sheets in our company's history," Bank of America chief financial officer Bruce Thompson said in a prepared statement. Like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, Bank of America saw a slowing in its mortgage origination business last year. Mortgage-originations fell by 46 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year ago. Over the summer, mortgage rates started to rise, which stopped consumers from refinancing their home loans. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said last week that the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage had an interest rate of 4.51 per cent, compared to 3.35 per cent in May of 2013. Most of Bank of America's businesses saw profits improve or remain flat during the quarter. Its consumer and business banking division, by far BoA's biggest business, earned $US1.97 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $US1.45 billion in 2012. Since the financial crisis, Bank of America has been slimming itself down, cutting businesses and reducing headcount. The number of bank employees fell to 242,100 in the fourth quarter, from 267,200 employees in the same period a year ago. However, like many of its peers, Bank of America still is not completely out of the woods on litigation related to the housing bust. It spent $US2.3 billion on litigation in the fourth quarter, up from $US916 million in the year-ago quarter. Bank of America rose 60 cents, or 3.6 per cent, to $US17.37 in early trading Wednesday. The stock is up roughly 11 per cent so far this year.