BoA today reported that net income for the last three months of 2013 at its Global Wealth and Investment Management division rose 35 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2012 to a record $777 million.

Bank of America today reported that net income for the last three months of 2013 at its Global Wealth and Investment Management division rose 35 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2012 to a record $777 million, reflecting strong revenue performance and low credit costs.

Revenue in this division rose by 7 per cent from the year-ago quarter to $4.5 billion, which the firm attributed to higher non-interest income related to long-term assets under management flows and higher market levels.

Meanwhile, the provision for credit losses decreased $86 million from the year-ago quarter to $26 million, due to improvement in the home loans portfolio. Non-interest expense of $3.3 billion increased 2 per cent, driven by higher volume-related expenses, partially offset by lower support and other personnel costs.

The firm said client balances rose 10 per cent from a year ago to $2.37 trillion, due primarily to higher market levels, long-term AuM flows of $47.8 billion and period-end client loan growth of $9.5 billion.

Assets under management increased $123.4 billion, or 18 per cent, from the fourth quarter of 2012 to $821.4 billion. This, the firm said, was driven by market appreciation and long-term AuM flows. It added that GWIM asset management fees of $1.8 billion as a “post-merger record,” equivalent to a year-on-year growth rate of 15 per cent.

At Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, BoA reported record asset management fees of $1.4 billion, full-year revenue of $14.8 billion and client balances of $1.9 trillion.

BoA as a group reported net income of $3.4 billion, or $0.29 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2013, versus $732 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the year-ago period.