Bank of America became the first US financial institution to report a year-on-year rise in its investment banking profits for the second quarter after slashing costs in the division, which has shed thousands of staff since the onset of the credit crunch last year.
Investment banking profits in the second quarter increased 3% compared to the same period last year at $1.75bn (â¬1.1bn) as Bank of America cut expenses in the business by 18%.
