The market's response to Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC) first-quarter results was decidedly bearish -- and understandably so. Net interest income was down, while charge-offs on soured loans were up. The numbers confirmed investors' worst fears. Although they've bounced back a bit in the meantime, from peak to trough, BofA shares fell more than 10% from their early April high.

Before jumping on the bearish bandwagon, however, you might want to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. This recent setback is actually a buying opportunity.

Don't misunderstand. Bank of America's certainly got plenty to figure out here. Charge-offs nearly doubled year over year, from $807 million in Q1 2023 to $1.5 billion this time around. Net interest income slipped by 3% to $14 billion as well, with its costs to compensate depositors edging up a bit more than the interest rates it's charging its borrowers did. Its own portfolio of "held-to-maturity" bonds lost $109 billion worth of market value (nearly 20% of the portfolio's previously reported value) thanks to rising interest rates. These are all clear problems.

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Source Fool.com