Despite exceeding expectations in its first-quarter profits, Bank of America has announced its intention to eliminate up to 4,000 jobs by the end of June.

BofA's workforce exceeded 217,000 at the end of the first quarter, with the bank having increased hiring during the pandemic era. However, the announced job cuts account for 2% of the overall workforce, as the bank's headcount grew by 4% until the end of March, as per a report by Financial Times. 

BofA has disclosed that it has cut over 1,000 positions during the first two weeks of April, and is expected to cut another 3,000 jobs by the end of the quarter. The bank has decided not to hire replacements for departing staff, as most of the job cuts are attributed to this factor.

According to Brian Moynihan, the CEO, during the bank's earnings call, the job cuts were not indicative of an impending business slowdown. Instead, they were a response to a deceleration in the job market.

Moynihan explained that BofA had significantly increased its workforce due to heightened competition for skilled professionals in Wall Street and other sectors. However, attrition rates have declined considerably in recent months, leading to a review of the bank's headcount.

 “The forecast is for a recession in the second half of the year, but we don’t see consumer activity slowing to a pace that indicates that. Everything points to a mild recession, but we will see what happens,” Moynihan told analysts on the earnings call. 

BofA's announcement coincided with the release of its earnings report, which indicated a 15% increase in profits in the first quarter compared to the previous year, amounting to $8.2bn or 94 cents per share. This growth in earnings surprised analysts who had anticipated a decline due to the consequences of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse.

The robust performance of BofA and other major banks highlights how post-2008 financial crisis reforms have bolstered the resilience of the biggest US financial institutions.

BofA, like its competitors, profited from the increase in interest rates and a surge in trading due to the recent turbulence in financial markets. While revenue from debt and commodities trading escalated by 27% in the quarter, a 20% reduction in its equity market trading revenue was caused by a slump in the stock market.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March raised concerns about the stability of regional banks, prompting many depositors to shift their funds to bigger lenders. BofA reported that its deposits, which had decreased in the first two months of the year, increased during the period when SVB failed.

In contrast to JPMorgan, which added $37bn in new deposits during the first quarter, BofA experienced a slight decline of 1% in its deposits, which amounted to $1.9tn.

In the quarter, BofA witnessed a 7% increase in its outstanding loans, while profits from lending rose by 25%. Additionally, the bank's revenue from processing transactions increased by 47%, and it reported that its credit and debit card customers spent 6% more than they did in the same quarter the previous year.

Despite a 20% drop in fees in its investment banking business due to continued weakness in deal activity, BofA managed to offset it with stronger profits from lending.

Despite the positive financial results, BofA's actions suggest that it is bracing for potential economic challenges. In addition to the layoffs, the bank allocated $934mn towards potential credit losses in the quarter, a significant increase from the less than $50mn set aside in the previous year. The bank also increased its cash reserves and reduced the size of its investment portfolio due to the impact of rising interest rates.

Analysts and investors have raised concerns in the past few months about whether BofA made a mistake by investing a significant portion of its extra funds in bonds in 2020 and 2021, given that interest rates were historically low during that time.

In the quarter, the bank's unrealized losses in its bond portfolio decreased slightly to $103 billion, but still remained higher than its competitors. Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick indicated that some of the changes in cash management were linked to greater oversight of banks' bond investments in light of SVB's collapse.

Borthwick stated that cash is easier to comprehend and provides greater flexibility during a period of market instability. On Tuesday, BofA shares climbed by 0.6% in New York.