BofA earnings fall 43 per cent

Net income fell to $2.29 billion in the second quarter, or 19 cents a share, from $4.01 billion, or 32 cents, a year earlier, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based firm said on Wednesday in a statement.

Earnings excluding litigation costs were 41 cents a share. The average estimate of 24 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 29 cents.

Mortgage-related legal costs continue to dog Brian T. Moynihan, 54, in his fifth year as chief executive officer. Through the first quarter, the bank had booked more than $55 billion in expenses tied to home loans, foreclosures or bonds backed by mortgages, mostly because of his predecessor’s 2008 purchase of subprime lender Countrywide Financial Corp.