Bank of America Merrill Lynch has followed its Wall Street rivals in enjoying a strong quarter in fixed-income trading that propelled profits at its global markets unit up faster than any other division at the bank.

The bank, in an October 17 earnings statement covering the three months to September 30, said that a stronger performance across credit products and continued strength in rates and client financing helped to boost fixed-income, currencies and commodities revenues up 39% from a year earlier to $2.8 billion - its best performance since the first quarter of 2014, according to analysis of the bank's past results.