Bank of America profit falls but beats estimates

STORY: Shares of Bank of America rose on Monday, after the second-largest U.S. bank reported a smaller-than-expected 13% fall in profit for the first quarter.

The other big U.S. banks all reported first-quarter profit declines last week.

So far this year, investment banking has taken a hit as geopolitical turmoil in Europe has slammed the brakes on last year's breakneck pace of deal-making and a boom in the IPO market.

But strong growth in BofA’s consumer lending business helped cushion the blow.

The bank reported a 9% rise in consumer banking revenue to $8.8 billion in the quarter.

However, total investment banking fees plunged 35%.

But because of the composition of its balance sheet, Bank of America is the most sensitive among the big banks to changes in interest rates and is expected to benefit from the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive plan to raise them.