If Citigroup (NYSE:C) shares can move 5% on a $5 billion Q1 loss, how bad can Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) shares be hit if Monday’s earnings report is bad or fair? What if the earnings call goes well, imagine the one day gain? Financials are putting up horrible numbers, yet their stocks are holding up and moving into positive gains, what gives?

Let’s review what the Street is expecting for Monday’s earnings call via Forbes.com:

EXPECTATIONS: Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast profit of 41 cents per share for the first quarter, compared with earnings $1.16 per share for the same period last year.

ANALYST TAKE: Lehman Brothers analyst Jason Goldberg wrote in a client note it will be tough for Bank of America to meet expectations for the quarter. The bank’s books are vulnerable to $18 billion in leveraged loans, $15.7 billion in commercial mortgage-backed securities, and $8.2 billion in subprime collateralized-debt obligations.

These are all investments that have been hammered by the liquidity crisis plaguing financial markets.

Goldberg also expects Bank of America to uncover more bad loans in its credit card and home-equity lending divisions, leading to further credit deterioration on the company’s balance sheet.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Bank of America Corp.’s $4 billion deal to buy Countrywide Financial Corp. is not expected to close until the third quarter.

After Bank of America reported profit for the fourth quarter, Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said he expects economic growth in the first half of this year to be “anemic at best.”

The 52-week range for BofA is between $52 and $33, in the last 6 months the stock has been up and down thanks to a volatile market:

The Masters believe the stock will hold up on Monday’s call and let’s not forget about BofA’s dividend of just less than 7%. Going into the call we are going to wait for the Market’s reaction before issuing a Buy, it’s just too risky. However, the recent reports by Financials putting out crap numbers gives us faith that the worse may be over for BAC.

Bank of America still wears the crown as the second-largest U.S. bank and the largest U.S. credit card issuer, something to keep in mind should you make a position in the coming weeks.

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