The increase was mainly due to lower expenses, which offset the $314m drop in revenue, down to $8.6bn.
According to BofA Merrill Lynch, revenue dropped as a result of lower net interest income, caused by the low rate environment and by lower transactional activity.
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Assets under management (AUM) sunk $45bn (-2.5%) in the second quarter to $1.72trn, back to June 2011 levels.
The drop follows the news that Merrill Lynch’s unit wealth operations outside the US have been put up for sale.
In June 2012, Julius Baer confirmed it had entered discussions with BofA to purchase the US bank’s international unit.
The unit has about $90bn AUM and serves clients across Europe, Asia and South America.
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By GlobalDataPeople familiar with the matter suggested the sale could fetch Merrill Lynch more than $3bn.
Source: Private Banker International
