Columbia Management, whose long-term asset management business is about to leave the Bank of America fold and become part of Ameriprise, earned $21 million in the final quarter of 2009, compared with a loss of $67 million in the year-ago period.

For the whole of 2009, Columbia narrowed its net loss to $7 million from $469 million in 2008 due to "a $917 million reduction in support provided to certain cash funds, partially offset by the impact of lower valuations in the equity markets, as well as net outflows in the cash complex."

Last September, Bank of America unveiled a deal to sell Columbia's long-term asset management business to Ameriprise for $1 billion. The deal is set to close this spring.

In November of last year, Bank of America officials said they decided to retain Columbia's cash business and rebrand the money fund lineup.  

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