Bank of America Corp expects its fourth-quarter results to be disappointing due to write-downs and lower trading revenue, Chief Executive Ken Lewis said on Wednesday.

The company is likely to be profitable in the quarter but expects to set aside $3.3 billion for losses and write-downs, Lewis said at a conference.

Bank of America shares were down 78 cents, or 1.75 percent, to $43.87 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

While we do not make a practice of forecasting quarterly earnings, I think you certainly can assume results will again be quite disappointing, Lewis said.

He said he personally would have preferred a half-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday because the capital markets are still so fragile. The Fed cut the fed funds rate by a quarter point.

Lewis said in response to analysts' questions that the bank hopes to monetize some of its 9 percent stake in China Construction Bank, starting in 2008, and was talking to the Chinese to see what level they would be comfortable with us holding.

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