Bank of America Profit Up 29 Percent NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp. (BAC.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) , the No. 3 U.S. bank, on Thursday said third-quarter profit rose 29 percent, helped by its purchase of FleetBoston Financial Corp. and growth in deposits and credit card issuance. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company said net income rose to $3.76 billion from $2.92 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 29 percent to $12.6 billion, the bank said, as lending income rose 45 percent to $7.7 billion and fee income rose 10 percent to $4.9 billion. Because of an increase in shares outstanding, per-share profit fell to 91 cents from 96 cents a year earlier. Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates on average had forecast earnings of 91 cents per share. Bank of America issued shares to buy Fleet and recently conducted a 2-for-1 stock split. Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said "business momentum remains strong" as consumer accounts grow and credit card usage grows. He also said the company is "meeting or exceeding" its goals in integrating Fleet. Lewis is trying to extend Bank of America's presence in consumer and investment banking while simultaneously cutting costs. The bank is eliminating 17,000 jobs as it simplifies its operations, and last week announced a cut of 4,500 jobs on top of a previously announced 12,500. Bank of America, meanwhile, is investing about $600 million to beef up its investment bank, where it usually ranks about 10th in overall underwriting. Bank of America shares closed Wednesday at $45.01 on the New York Stock Exchange. Through Wednesday, they have risen 12 percent this year, compared with a 1 percent rise in the Philadelphia KBW Bank Index . CONSUMER BANKING Consumer and small-business banking generated 45 percent of the bank's profit and 56 percent of revenue, earning $1.68 billion on revenue of $7.03 billion. The bank added a net 624,000 savings accounts and 537,000 checking accounts, and has added more than 1.5 million of each this year. It also opened 1.6 million new credit card accounts. Bank of America has $1.09 trillion of assets, $591.3 billion of deposits, $511.6 billion of loans, and 5,800 banking offices and 16,500 automated teller machines.     Continued ... Quelle "Bank of America Profit Up 29 Percent" : reuters.com Main page for "Bank of America Profit Up 29 Percent"