Bank of America (BAC) said Thursday that it had net income of $2 billion, or $0.15 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2011 vs. a net loss of $1.2 billion, or $0.16 per share in the same year-ago period, meeting analysts' expectations. Revenue, net of interest expense, grew 11% to $25.1 billion on a fully taxable-equivalent basis.
As of Dec. 30, BofA employed 17,308 financial advisors, an increase of 214 from the previous quarter and 1,697 over the previous year. Much of the growth came from the hiring of Merrill Edge advisors, who serve client households with $250,000 or less in investable assets.
"We enter 2012 stronger and more efficient after two years of simplifying and streamlining our company," said CEO Officer Brian Moynihan in a press release. "We built our capital ratios to record levels during 2011 on the strength of our core businesses and by shedding those that are not core to serving customers and clients. I am proud of our team and their ability to serve our customers well while transforming the company."
In terms of net new assets, the global wealth operations of BofA had inflows of $5.49 billion in the fourth quarter vs. inflows of $1.92 billion in the third quarter and outflows of $2.4 billion in the year-ago period, which included flows associated with the sale of Columbia Management (on May 1, 2010).
For the full year, net new assets totaled $15.68 billion vs. outflows of $27.63 billion in 2010. Average sales (or fees and commissions) per advisor were $873,000 in 2011, up from $850,000 in 2010, excluding Merrill Edge advisors. For the quarter, however, average production per rep totaled $819,000–a drop from $854,000 in the previous quarter and $913,000 a year earlier.
More Segment Results
