Consumer loan growth and market volatility drive Bank of America shares higher after 1st-quarter earnings beat estimates

Bank of America was able to count on the continued strength of the consumer to lift its first-quarter earnings results, which beat analyst estimates.

The bank said it benefitted from a combination of strong loan growth, deposit growth, market  volatility , and expense management during the quarter.

"Ongoing organic growth combined with good expense management drove operating leverage for the third consecutive quarter," Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said. The bank's  consumer banking  division saw record deposit balances grow 14% to more than $1 trillion, while average deposits jumped 13% to $2.0 trillion. In its small business banking unit, the bank counted record deposit balances up 21% to $172 billion.

In its global markets division, the bank saw sales and trading revenue fall 7% to $4.7 billion, with a bulk of that being represented by its fixed income, currencies, and commodities business.

Bank of America said it experienced zero days of trading losses in the quarter.

Bank of America's wealth management division also delivered further growth for the company, with assets under management balances up 7% to $1.6 trillion.

That's despite a mid-single digit decline in both the stock and bond market during the first quarter.

Bank of America isn't the only bank delivering better than expected earnings in the first quarter.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Citigroup all saw strong banking and trading activity despite the ongoing uncertainty about rising inflation, higher interest rates, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Shares of Bank of America were up more than 1% in Monday's trading session.