Bank of America shares fell 4. 7% on Oct. 14, their worst performance in 18 months, after the bank reported third-quarter results that included a $1. 2 billion regulatory settlement charge. The stock briefly dropped almost 9% during the session. The charge reduced reported diluted earnings per share by 17 cents.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network assessed the penalty after finding that Bank of America failed to maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering program, conduct required due diligence and file suspicious-activity reports. Regulators said the bank failed to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions over several years, including activity tied to Chinese money-laundering networks and illicit finance along the southwest border. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency separately imposed a $750 million penalty, which was credited against the FinCEN assessment.
Revenue rose 3% year over year to $30 billion.
The quarter showed a split between stronger interest income and weaker capital-markets activity. Net interest income increased by about $1. 2 billion from a year earlier to $16. 6 billion on a fully taxable-equivalent basis, while investment-banking fees fell nearly 16% and sales and trading revenue declined by more than $2 billion from the previous quarter and nearly 5. 5% from a year earlier. Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said net interest income was expected to grow about 8% in 2026 and at least 8% in 2027, assuming three quarter-point interest-rate increases by June 2027.
Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said the bank had been aware of the compliance problems and had already included remediation resources and costs in its expense base. Bank of America also said it had invested billions of dollars in financial-crime technology and employed thousands of people in that work.
At roughly 1. 76 times tangible book value, the shares were slightly above their five-year average after the recent sell-off. That valuation, the expected growth in net interest income and stable credit measures provide the main facts behind a possible recovery case, while the size of the penalty, the unresolved compliance work and the weaker fee and trading results remain significant obstacles. The reported figures support a cautious assessment rather than a definitive conclusion that the stock is immediately attractive.