Bank of America's first-quarter profit and revenue rose, but shares tumbled Wednesday as the banking giant continues to struggle in a lacklustre economic environment with low interest rates.

Although the bank was able to cut $1bn in expenses, loan growth showed signs of sluggishness. The bank saw lower net interest income, or the money it makes off loans, as borrowers took less money from the bank than they did a year earlier. The net interest margin - a measure of the bank's lending profitability - fell to 2.43% from 2.51% in the year-earlier period.