As lawmakers sent a massive financial reform bill to President Barack Obama's desk for signature, Bank of America's top financial officer Charles Noski said the impact would be felt across the firm.
"In the third quarter, legislation will also hurt our value," he told investors on a quarterly earnings conference call.
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Noski said the rules, which have still to be fleshed out by regulators, could wipe 10 billion dollars off the intangible value of the firm, a so-called goodwill impairment, and would hit profits in its bank-card business.
"We expect goodwill impairment of seven to 10 billion dollars in the third quarter," he said.
Goodwill represents the company's off-book, intangible assets, like relations with customers and reputation.
But Bank of America also faces concrete costs.
Legislation passed by Congress on Thursday would reduce banks' ability to charge traders for swiping bank cards -- so called interchange fees.
"Interchange fees could fall as much as 1.8 billion dollars to 2.3 billion per year, starting in the third quarter of 2011," he said.
Bank of America, like other Wall Street firms, is scrambling for ways to offset the costs of reform, leaving many consumers to fear they will bear the cost of the overhaul.
"We are looking for ways to mitigate that potential drop in revenue," said Noski.
