CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hurt by the deepening credit crisis, Bank of America Corp. said today its fourth-quarter earnings fell 95%, and Wachovia Corp. reported its earnings tumbled 98%.

Net income at Bank of America, the nation’s largest consumer bank, dropped to $268 million, or 5 cents a share, in the three months ended December 31 from $5.26 billion, or $1.16 a share, a year ago.

The bank’s revenue fell 31% to $12.67 billion from $18.49 billion last year.

The quarter included results from LaSalle Bank, which Bank of America purchased on October 1.

Analysts expected earnings of 18 cents a share on revenue of $13.24 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial. The earnings estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Bank of America shares fell $1.57 to $34.40 in premarket trading.

Crosstown rival Wachovia said its fourth-quarter profit fell to $51 million, or 3 cents a share, from $2.3 billion, or $1.20 a share, during the same period a year earlier.

Excluding merger-related expenses, Wachovia earned $160 million, or 8 cents a share, during the fourth quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, forecast earnings of 33 cents a share for the quarter.

Wachovia, the nation’s fourth-largest bank, took a $1.7 billion write-down during the quarter due to weakening credit markets. Banks have been forced to reduce the value of bonds and debt backed by mortgages and other consumer loans that have increasingly defaulted in recent months.

Because of rising delinquencies and defaults, Wachovia also set aside $1.5 billion to cover losses.

Wachovia shares dropped 85 cents to $29.95 in premarket trading.

The news was the latest in a series of earnings declines among the largest American banks as the nation’s housing crisis and a slowing economy have forced many consumers to fall behind on their bills.

Last week, New York’s Citigroup Inc., the no. 1 American bank by assets, reported a nearly $10 billion loss, and JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third-largest American bank, saw its profit fall 34% to $2.97 billion, or 86 cents a share. San Francisco’s Wells Fargo & Co., the nation’s fifth largest bank, reported that net income dropped 38% to $2.18 billion, or 64 cents a share.

Bank of America’s results included $5.44 billion of trading losses, compared with profits of $460 million a year earlier. This reflected a $5.28 billion write-down related to collateralized debt obligations, which the bank said reduced trading profit by $4.5 billion and other income by about $750 million.

CDOs are complex investments that combine slices of different kind of risk and are often backed in part by subprime mortgages — loans given to customers with poor credit history — as well as other loans. In November, Bank of America executives estimated pretax CDO write-downs of at least $3 billion.

During the quarter, the company’s provision for credit losses doubled to $3.31 billion from $1.57 billion a year ago. In the bank’s consumer unit, which includes the nation’s biggest credit card business and retail branch network, revenue rose 7%, while earnings dropped 28% due to higher credit costs.

“We certainly are not pleased with our performance,” Chief Executive Ken Lewis said in a statement. “We are cautiously optimistic about 2008, though we believe economic growth will be anemic at best in the first half.”

For the full year, Bank of America reported earnings of $14.98 billion, or $3.30 a share, compared with $21.13 billion, or $4.59 cents a share, in 2006. Wachovia earned $6.31 billion, or $3.31 a share, a 19% decline from the $7.79 billion, or $4.72 a share, earned during 2006.