Net income at Bank of America’s wealth management division almost doubled in the first three months of 2009 to $510 million, up from $242 million in the same quarter a year before as earnings were boosted by the bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch, a move completed at the start of January.

BoA said total revenues at the global wealth management unit rose to $4.361 billion in the first quarter of this year, up from $1.942 billion in the same period of 2008. Assets under management increased to $697 billion from $607 billion.

At the bank’s US Trust, Bank of America's Private Wealth Management operation, net income dropped by 28 per cent to $95 million on the back of weaker revenues and rising credit costs. Net revenues fell by 4 per cent to $692 million, the bank said in a statement.

The net loss in Columbia Management narrowed to $50 million from $82 million in the same period of 2008 due primarily to the $103 million reduction in support provided to certain cash funds, partially offset by the impact of declining equity markets on investment and brokerage fees.

Global Wealth Advisors, which includes the wealth management organisation of Merrill Lynch, had a net income of $565 million, compared with $176 million a year earlier driven by the positive impact on earnings from the acquisition. Net revenue increased to $3.3 billion compared with $983 million as asset management fees and brokerage income rose due to the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, partially offset by the effect of lower equity markets and spread compression

Amongst the rest of its wealth operations, classified as “all other”, net income was £2.971 billion, up from a loss in the first quarter of 2008 of $236 million. Fair value adjustments related to certain Merrill Lynch structured notes, increased gains on sales of debt securities and higher equity investment income related to the gain on the sale of CCB shares drove the increase, Bank of America said.

For the bank as a whole, across all divisions, BoA had net income of $4.2 billion in the first quarter of 2009, up from $1.2 billion in 2008. The year-ago results do not reflect the impact of the Merrill Lynch purchase.