⁍ Bank of America Corp executives on Wednesday joined the chorus of U.S. bank officials predicting an economic recovery.

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⁍ The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender set aside lower provisions for potential loan losses.

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⁍ Net interest income at the bank, a key measure of how much it can make from lending, sank 17%.

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– Bank of America’s third-quarter profit fell 15.8% as lower interest rates took a toll on the bank’s revenue. The bank, the second largest in the US by assets, said Wednesday that net income applicable to common shareholders fell to $4.44 billion, or 51 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, reports Reuters. Analysts had expected 49 cents per share. Net income applicable to common shareholders fell 15.8% to $4.44 billion, or 51 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, but beat estimates of 49 cents. Bank of America’s adjusted sales and trading revenue rose 4% to $3.3 billion. “Unfortunately loan demand is what it is and the combination of pay-downs of credit facilities (good thing), mortgage prepays, open capital markets, and overall cautious market conditions led to a 5% decline in loans and rates are really pressuring revenues (down 7%) and that’s a bigger part of the BofA story,” says Evercore ISI analyst Glenn Schorr. Shares of the bank were down nearly 3% in early trading. Bank of America executives on Wednesday joined the chorus of US bank officials predicting an economic recovery would improve business in the quarters ahead, after lower interest rates fueled a miss on third-quarter revenue. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender set aside lower provisions for potential loan losses, mirroring other Main Street peers such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup that also lowered reserves. “Our decision to add less to our credit reserves this quarter than in the two previous quarters was largely based on an improving economy relative to 90 days ago,” says Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio.