BofA stock heads for worst day since April 2025

BofA, the second-largest U.S. bank, fell as much as 8.7% in Wednesday trading. This puts the stock on track for its steepest one-day decline since April 2025, Yahoo Finance reported. A $1.2 billion fine for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering controls has weighed on both the stock and the bank’s quarterly results.

Wednesday could be BofA stock’s worst day in almost a year and a half. The stock fell almost 9% to $49.26 per share during the session. Although it later pared some of those losses and was down around 5% at the time of this writing. It is off about 7% year to date.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed a $1.2 billion fine on BofA over violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency described the bank’s Bank Secrecy Act violations as “egregious and continued.” The allegations concerned deficiencies in safeguards intended to prevent banking services from being used for illicit transactions. 

BofA CFO Alastair Borthwick said much of the spending needed to address the deficiencies is already reflected in the bank’s operating expenses, Yahoo Finance reported. He said the bank has devoted thousands of employees and substantial investment in technology to resolving the issues. However, Borthwick did not specify when regulators might formally conclude the remediation process.

The day after the fine was announced, BofA released its third-quarter results. Net income came in at $6.93 billion, or $0.91 per share. Excluding the fine, net income would have been $8.1 billion, or $1.08 per share, still below Wall Street analysts’ expectations of $1.10 per share, Yahoo Finance noted.

Nevertheless, Wall Street remains upbeat on the stock, according to MarketWatch data: 21 analysts recommend "buy," while another six have “hold” ratings. There are no “sell” calls.