Losses at Bank of America widened to $5.2 billion in the fourth quarter, as its results were squeezed by the company’s decision to return bailout money owed to the government.

Even as consumer loan troubles again ate away at profits, much of the decline was prompted by its repayment of $45 billion the company received through TARP, or the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Not including the one-time charge, the nation’s biggest bank would have finished the quarter with a loss of just $194 million, far smaller than the $1.8 billion loss it reported during the same period just a year ago.

Since announcing plans to refund taxpayers in December, Wall Street had been girding itself for some ugly numbers from the Charlotte, N.C.-based lender. But the company failed to live up to the lowered expectations. On a per-share basis, the company lost 60 cents, more than the 52 cents per share loss that analysts were forecasting, according to Thomson Reuters.

The latest numbers from Bank of America were also worse when compared to a year ago. The bank lost 48 cents a share in the fourth quarter of 2008.

(Source: CNN Money)