NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) – U.S. banking giants boosted their profits in the fourth quarter, buoyed by ?increasing demand from borrowers that signals the economy is holding up, boding well for lenders’ future earnings.

Bank of America’s (BAC.N), opens new tab average loans grew 8% from a year earlier, and its net interest income, the difference ?between what it earns from loans and pays in deposits, surged to a record $15.9 billion, the bank reported on Wednesday.