Bank of America reported a $70 million third-quarter loss Wednesday following a $5.3 billion charge to settle mortgage securities litigation.
The loss compared with earnings of $1.5 billion last year. The bank also had a loss in the first quarter of 2014 due to hefty legal costs stemming from the financial crisis.
Despite the loss, BofA, the second-largest US bank by assets after JPMorgan Chase, notched earnings gains in four of five operating divisions.
Consumer and business banking profits rose on higher credit card issuance, larger deposits and a lower provision in case of credit losses.
Profits in global markets came in at $769 million compared with a loss of $875 million last year. BofA cited increased trading activity due to greater volatility in the foreign exchange market.
Profits in global banking and global wealth also rose compared with the year-ago period.
Consumer real estate was the  lone division with weaker performance -- a loss of $5.2 billion -- due to the mortgage-securities settlement.
"We saw solid customer and client activity and improved profitability in most of our businesses relative to the year-ago quarter," said BofA chief executive Brian Moynihan.
BofA's results translated into a loss of one cent per share compared with analyst forecasts for a loss of nine cents per share.
Revenues dipped to $21.43 billion from $21.74 billion a year ago and slightly above the $21.36 billion projected by analysts.
BofA shares advanced 0.9 percent to $16.66 in pre-market trade.