CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) — Bank of America Corp. said yesterday it lost $5.2 billion during the final three months of 2009 as consumers struggled to make mortgage and credit card payments and the bank repaid its government bailout money.

Bank of America said its loss, which reflected the payment of preferred dividends, compared with a loss of $2.4 billion a year earlier. The bank, which was one of the hardest hit by the credit crisis and recession, said its results were boosted by strong results from its Merrill Lynch investment banking operations that it acquired a year ago .

The report fell in line with those of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., both of which had billions in losses from bad loans offset by investment banking income. The industry's results are a concern for economists and investors, who question whether the economy can have a sustained strong recovery if consumers are still defaulting on loans.

CEO Brian Moynihan echoed those concerns in a statement, saying, "economic conditions remain fragile and we expect high unemployment levels to continue, creating an ongoing drag on consumer spending and growth".

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America lost 60 cents per share during the fourth quarter, more than the 52 cents analysts were expecting, according to Thomson Reuters.

The bank set aside $10.1 billion to cover soured loans, down nearly 14 percent from the previous quarter.