Bank of America Corp. has managed to begin the year on a very positive note, posting earnings of a whopping $3.2 Billion for the January-March period, a profit brought on mainly by the investment and trading desks, a large chuck of which the country's biggest bank had acquired when it purchased Merrill Lynch.

On Friday, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank shared that it managed to earn $3.2 Billion, or 28 cents per share, during the first quarter of the year.

On an average, analysts had predicted earnings of some 18 cents per share.

Although the earnings were down as compared to the same period for the past year, they were definitely an improvement keeping in mind the BofA had been in the negative territory during the latter half of 2009.

Strong results of the bank are another sign of the fact that the country's major banks have now started to do well after suffering because of the recession and its effects for very long, and these have come on the heels of the positive earnings posted by rival JPMorgan Chase & Co.

"With each day that passes, the 2010 story appears to be one of continuing credit recovery, and our results reflect a gradually improving economy", BofA Chief Executive Brian T. Moynihan said.