"We've had better capital markets activity, you can see that just in the deal flow," BofA's Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said at a financial conference on Wednesday.
Citigroup (C.N) Jane Fraser told investors on Tuesday she expects investment banking fees to rise by a low-teens percentage in the first quarter versus the fourth quarter of 2023.
And JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) CFO Jeremy Barnum had earlier signalled fees would climb by a percentage in the low-to-mid teens this quarter versus a year earlier.
The BofA markets division is expected to have a robust performance fuelled by equities trading in the first quarter, Borthwick said. That will translate to flat revenue growth compared with a strong quarter a year earlier.
The S&P 500 index (.SPX) has gained 6.9% so far this quarter, led by technology stocks such as Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) .
Citigroup expects its markets revenue to drop by 8% to 12% in the first quarter compared with a strong comparable quarter in 2023, while JPMorgan expects trading revenue to decline by 5% to 10% in the quarter compared to a strong quarter in the previous year.
Bank of America's net interest income (NII) -- the difference between what lenders earn on loans and pay on deposits -- is expected to hit the upper range of the $13.9 billion to $14 billion forecast in the first quarter.
The lender's NII decreased 5% to $13.9 billion in the fourth quarter as it paid more for customer deposits.
