Bank of America profit slumps 68%

Bank of America Corp.'s first-quarter profit slumped 68% as massive debt-related charges skewed results from the banking giant
The bank has spent much of the last year working to slim down and rid itself of the heavy overhang of the U.S. financial crisis
Now, with many of those efforts in action, investors are increasingly looking for signs of earnings power at the giant U.S. bank
Bank of America reported a profit of $653 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of $2.05 billion
Per-share earnings, which reflect the payment of preferred dividends, fell to 3 cents from 17 cents a year ago
The latest quarter included, among other items, a $4.8 billion pre-tax hit tied to changes in the value of the bank's debt
Total revenue declined 17% to $22.28 billion
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 12 cents a share on $22.51 billion in revenue
The bank's profit was again helped by reduced provisions for loan losses as credit quality continued to improve
Credit-loss provisions totaled $2.42 billion in the first quarter, compared with $3.81 billion a year earlier and $2.93 billion in the fourth quarter.