Bank of America Beats Second-Quarter Views Amid Investment Banking, Trading Gains

Bank of America's (BAC) second-quarter results beat Wall Street's estimates on Tuesday as increased client activity helped drive sharp gains in investment banking fees and trading revenue. The banking giant's per-share earnings increased to $1.21 for the June quarter from $0.90 a year earlier, surpassing the FactSet-polled consensus of $1.13. Total revenue, comprising net interest and noninterest income, rose 15% year over year to $31.56 billion, ahead of the Street's view for $30.78 billion. "Every business segment reported double digit net income growth and strong returns on equity," Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said in a statement. "It was also an exceptional quarter for our markets-facing businesses, with investment banking fees up 50% year-over-year. Near-term, pipelines remain strong, and commercial borrowing has picked up." Investment banking fees totaled $2.1 billion, reflecting strength across debt underwriting, advisory and equity underwriting. That helped push the global banking segment's revenue up 10% to $6.24 billion. Global markets sales rose 34% to $8.02 billion, buoyed by a 33% jump in sales and trading revenue to $7.1 billion. The bank's equities revenue.