While Bank of America Corp.'s quarterly mortgage fundings continued to improve, earnings edged down.

The banking behemoth's third quarter mortgage originations of $27.5 billion were $6.4 billion better than the prior quarter, according to its supplemental information report released Wednesday. Volume was also above the $16.9 billion reported a year ago.

The mortgage unit "benefited from an improved interest rate environment in the quarter along with a reduced cost structure for originating and servicing first mortgages and home equity loans," BoA said in its earnings announcement.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based lender's reported $288.5 billion mortgage servicing portfolio grew $8 billion from the previous three-month period.

BoA's net income, however, edged down about 4% quarter-to-quarter to $4.1 billion, the report said.