A one-off $600m (€434m) gain from the sale of a private equity portfolio saved Bank of America from a fall in group profits during the second quarter, as the bank put aside $1.8bn to cover potential credit losses.

A 5% increase in investment banking profits to $1.67bn helped the bank grow net income across the group by $286m to $5.76bn compared to the second quarter last year, buoyed by the proceeds from the private equity sale.