Bank of America Downgraded by Fox-Pitt Kelton

Bank of America (BAC) shares were downgraded this morning by Foxx-Pitt Kelton from Outpeform to In Line after the bank reported earnings last week.
The firm believes major banks will struggle throughout 2009 and profits will be unlikely when excluding one-time gains. Citigroup (C) announced earnings last week that showed the bank had turned a profit in the quarter, but after one-time gains from the brokerage unit partnership with Morgan Stanley (MS) were removed, the bank actually had a loss in the quarter.

Furthermore, Foxx-Pitt does not believe Bank of America will be in the financial position to repay its $45 billion loan from the US Treasury by the end of the year as CEO Ken Lewis had hoped.