Bank of America Q3 profit up sharply BANK of America Corp says its third-quarter profit surged as it saw increases from investments and interest charged on loans. The second-largest US bank reported on Wednesday that it earned $US2.5 billion ($A2.63 billion) in the July-September period, up from $US340 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings were 20 US cents, beating the 19 US cents expected by financial analysts. Bank of America has been slimming down and cutting jobs since chief executive Brian Moynihan took over in early 2010. The strategy is meant to make the bank easier to manage and to reduce riskier businesses. Third-quarter revenue slipped to $US22.2 billion from $US22.5 billion, coming in close to the analysts' forecast of $US22 billion.