Bank of America
Encyclopedia
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
banking and financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization
Market capitalization
Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...
. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
. Bank of America serves clients in more than 150 countries and has a relationship with 99% of the U.S. Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies and 83% of the Fortune Global 500
Fortune Global 500
The Fortune Global 500 is a ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by Fortune magazine....
. The company is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
(FDIC) and a component of both the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
.
As of 2010, Bank of America is the 5th largest company in the United States by total revenue, as well as the second largest non-oil company in the U.S. (after Walmart). In 2010, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
listed Bank of America as the 3rd biggest company in the world.
The bank's 2008 acquisition of Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
made Bank of America the world's largest wealth management corporation
Wealth management
Wealth management is an investment advisory discipline that incorporates financial planning, investment portfolio management and a number of aggregated financial services...
and a major player in the investment banking
Investment banking
An investment bank is a financial institution that assists individuals, corporations and governments in raising capital by underwriting and/or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of securities...
market.
The company holds 12.2% of all bank deposits in the United States, as of August 2009, and is one of the Big Four banks in the United States, along with Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
—its main competitors. According to its 2010 Annual Report, Bank of America operates "in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 40 non-U.S. countries". It has a "retail banking footprint" that "covers approximately 80 percent of the U.S. population." it serves "approximately 57 million consumer and small business relationships" at "5,900 banking centers" and "18,000 ATMs".
Bank of Italy
The history of Bank of America dates back to 1904, when Amadeo GianniniAmadeo Giannini
Amadeo Pietro Giannini, also known as Amadeo Peter Giannini or A.P. Giannini , born in San Jose, California, was the American founder of Bank of America.-Biography:...
founded the Bank of Italy
Bank of Italy (USA)
The Bank of Italy was founded in San Francisco, California, USA, in 1904 by Amadeo Giannini. It grew by a branch banking strategy to become the Bank of America, the world's largest commercial bank with 493 branches in California and assets of $5 billion in 1945....
in San Francisco in an effort to cater to immigrants denied service by other banks. Giannini was raised by the Fava/Stanghellini family, as his father was shot while trying to collect on a $10.00 debt. When the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
struck, Giannini was able to scavenge all deposits out of the bank building and away from the fires. Because San Francisco's banks were in smoldering ruins and unable to open their vaults, Giannini was able to use the rescued funds to commence lending within a few days of the disaster. From a makeshift desk consisting of a few planks over two barrels, he lent money to anyone who was willing to rebuild. Later in life, he took great pride in the fact that all of these loans were repaid.
In 1922, Giannini established Bank of America and Italy in Italy by buying Banca dell'Italia Meridionale, the latter established in 1918.
On March 7, 1927, Giannini consolidated his Bank of Italy (101 branches) with the newly formed Liberty Bank of America (175 branches). The result was the Bank of Italy National Trust & Savings Association with capital of $30 Billion, and resources of $115 Billion.
In 1928, A. P. Giannini merged with Bank of America, Los Angeles
Bank of America, Los Angeles
The Bank of America, Los Angeles was established in 1923 by Orra E. Monnette, emerging from a series of mergers between Los Angeles based banks between 1909 and 1923. The formation of BoA L.A...
and consolidated it with his other bank holdings to create what would become the largest banking institution in the country. He renamed the Bank of Italy on November 3, 1930, calling it Bank of America. The resulting company was headed by Giannini with Orra E. Monnette
Orra E. Monnette
Orra Eugene Monnette was an attorney, author and banker. Monnette was also the Founder of the Bank of America, L.A., but his contribution to the organization is often overlooked in its corporate history.-Early Life:...
serving as co-Chair.
Growth in California
Giannini sought to build a national bank, expanding into most of the western states as well as into the insurance industry, under the aegis of his holding company, Transamerica CorporationTransamerica Corporation
Transamerica Corporation is a holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms doing business primarily in the United States. It was acquired by the Dutch financial services conglomerate AEGON in 1999.-History:...
. In 1953, regulators succeeded in forcing the separation of Transamerica Corporation
Transamerica Corporation
Transamerica Corporation is a holding company for various life insurance companies and investment firms doing business primarily in the United States. It was acquired by the Dutch financial services conglomerate AEGON in 1999.-History:...
and Bank of America under the Clayton Antitrust Act
Clayton Antitrust Act
The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 , was enacted in the United States to add further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime by seeking to prevent anticompetitive practices in their incipiency. That regime started with the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the first Federal law outlawing practices...
. The passage of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956
Bank Holding Company Act of 1956
The Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 is a United States Act of Congress that regulates the actions of bank holding companies.The original law , specified that the Federal Reserve Board of Governors must approve the establishment of a bank holding company, and prohibited bank holding companies...
prohibited banks from owning non-banking subsidiaries
Non-bank subsidiary
Non-bank subsidiaries, are firms owned by bank holding companies which offer non-bank products and services, such as insurance and investment advice, and do not offer Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured banking products, such as checking and savings accounts...
such as insurance companies. Bank of America and Transamerica were separated, with the latter company continuing in the insurance business. However, federal banking regulators prohibited Bank of America's interstate banking activity, and Bank of America's domestic banks outside California were forced into a separate company that eventually became First Interstate Bancorp
First Interstate Bancorp
First Interstate Bancorp was a bank holding company based in the United States that was taken over in 1996 by Wells Fargo. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it was the nation's eighth largest banking company....
, later acquired by Wells Fargo and Company in 1996. It was not until the 1980s with a change in federal banking legislation and regulation that Bank of America was again able to expand its domestic consumer banking activity outside California.
New technologies also allowed credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s to be linked directly to individual bank accounts. In 1958, the bank introduced the BankAmericard, which changed its name to Visa
VISA (credit card)
Visa Inc. is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered on 595 Market Street, Financial District in San Francisco, California, United States, although much of the company's staff is based in Foster City, California. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout...
in 1975. A consortium of other California banks introduced Master Charge (now MasterCard
MasterCard
Mastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...
) to compete with BankAmericard.
Expansion outside California
Following the passage of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956Bank Holding Company Act of 1956
The Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 is a United States Act of Congress that regulates the actions of bank holding companies.The original law , specified that the Federal Reserve Board of Governors must approve the establishment of a bank holding company, and prohibited bank holding companies...
, BankAmerica Corporation was established for the purpose of owning and operation of Bank of America and its subsidiaries.
BankAmerica expanded outside California in 1983 with its acquisition of Seafirst Corporation of Seattle, Washington, as well as its wholly owned banking subsidiary, Seattle-First National Bank. Seafirst was at risk of seizure by the federal government after becoming insolvent due to a series of bad loans to the oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
industry. BankAmerica continued to operate its new subsidiary as Seafirst rather than Bank of America until the 1998 merger with NationsBank.
BankAmerica experienced huge losses in 1986 and 1987 by the placement of a series of bad loans in the Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
, particularly in Latin America. The company fired its CEO, Sam Armacost. Though Armacost blamed the problems on his predecessor, A.W. (Tom) Clausen
Alden W. Clausen
Alden Winship "Tom" Clausen is a former President of the World Bank.-Education:He was born in Hamilton, Illinois to a family of Norwegian ancestry and graduated from Carthage College in 1944 with a B.A., again in 1970 with a LL.D.; from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1949 with a LL.B.;...
, Clausen was appointed to replace Armacost. The losses resulted in a huge decline of BankAmerica stock, making it vulnerable to a hostile takeover
Takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...
. First Interstate Bancorp
First Interstate Bancorp
First Interstate Bancorp was a bank holding company based in the United States that was taken over in 1996 by Wells Fargo. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it was the nation's eighth largest banking company....
of Los Angeles (which had originated from banks once owned by BankAmerica), launched such a bid in the fall of 1986, although BankAmerica rebuffed it, mostly by selling operations. It sold its FinanceAmerica subsidiary to Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
and the brokerage firm Charles Schwab and Co. back to Mr. Schwab
Charles R. Schwab
Charles R. "Chuck" Schwab is the founder and chairman of the Charles Schwab Corporation.-Early life:Schwab was born in Sacramento, California. Despite having the same name, he is not related to Charles M. Schwab, the American steel magnate of the first half of the Twentieth Century...
. It also sold Bank of America and Italy to Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
. By the time of the 1987 stock market crash
Black Monday (1987)
In finance, Black Monday refers to Monday October 19, 1987, when stock markets around the world crashed, shedding a huge value in a very short time. The crash began in Hong Kong and spread west to Europe, hitting the United States after other markets had already declined by a significant margin...
, BankAmerica's share price had fallen to $8, but by 1992 it had rebounded mightily to become one of the biggest gainers of that half-decade.
BankAmerica's next big acquisition came in 1992. The company acquired its California rival, Security Pacific Corporation and its subsidiary Security Pacific National Bank
Security Pacific Bank
Security Pacific National Bank was a large US bank headquartered in Los Angeles, California. In 1992 Bank of America acquired SPNB.-History:...
in California and other banks in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and Washington (which Security Pacific had acquired in a series of acquisitions in the late 1980s). This was, at the time, the largest bank acquisition in history. Federal regulators, however, forced the sale of roughly half of Security Pacific's Washington subsidiary, the former Rainier Bank, as the combination of Seafirst and Security Pacific Washington would have given BankAmerica too large a share of the market in that state. The Washington branches were divided and sold off to West One Bancorp (now U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp is a diversified financial services holding company, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States based on $330 billion in assets. U.S. Bank ranks as the sixth largest bank in the U.S. based on...
) and KeyBank. Later that year, BankAmerica expanded into Nevada by acquiring Valley Bank of Nevada.
In 1994, BankAmerica acquired the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Co. of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, which had become federally owned as part of the same oil industry debacle emanating from Oklahoma City's Penn Square Bank, that had brought down numerous financial institutions including Seafirst. At the time, no bank possessed the resources to bail out Continental, so the federal government operated the bank for nearly a decade. Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
at that time regulated branch banking extremely heavily, so Bank of America Illinois was a single-unit bank until the 21st century. BankAmerica moved its national lending department to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in an effort to establish a financial beachhead in the region.
These mergers helped BankAmerica Corporation to once again become the largest U.S. bank holding company in terms of deposits, but the company fell to second place in 1997 behind fast-growing NationsBank Corporation, and to third in 1998 behind North Carolina's First Union Corp.
On the capital markets side, the acquisition of Continental Illinois helped BankAmerica to build a leveraged finance origination and distribution business (Continental Illinois had extensive leveraged lending relationships) which allowed the firm’s existing broker-dealer, BancAmerica Securities (originally named BA Securities), to become a full-service franchise. In addition, in 1997, BankAmerica acquired Robertson Stephens
Robertson Stephens
Robertson Stephens was a San Francisco-based boutique investment bank that focused on primarily on technology companies...
, a San Francisco-based investment bank specializing in high technology for $540 million. Robertson Stephens was integrated into BancAmerica Securities and the combined subsidiary was renamed BancAmerica Robertson Stephens.
Merger of NationsBank and BankAmerica
In 1997, BankAmerica lent D. E. Shaw & Co., a large hedge fundHedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
, $1.4 billion in order to run various businesses for the bank. However, D.E. Shaw suffered significant loss after the 1998 Russia bond default. BankAmerica was acquired by NationsBank
NationsBank
NationsBank was one of the largest banking corporations in the United States, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1998, it acquired BankAmerica to become Bank of America.-Corporate history:...
of Charlotte in October 1998 in what was the largest bank acquisition in history at that time.
While NationsBank was the nominal survivor, the merged bank took the name Bank of America Corporation, with Bank of America NT&SA changing its name to Bank of America, N.A. as the remaining legal bank entity. The combined bank still operates under Federal Charter 13044, which was granted to Giannini's Bank of Italy on March 1, 1927. However, SEC filings before 1998 are listed under NationsBank, not BankAmerica.
Bank of America possessed combined assets of $570 billion, as well as 4,800 branches in 22 states. Despite the mammoth size of the two companies, federal regulators insisted only upon the divestiture of 13 branches in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, in towns that would be left with only a single bank following the combination.(Branch divestitures are only required if the combined company will have a larger than 25% FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
deposit market share
Deposit market share
The deposit market share is a way of measuring the size and performance of a bank in the United States-Definition:In the simplest sense of the phrase, "deposit market share" is defined as the amount on deposit at a particular bank divided by the total amount on deposit at all banks...
in a particular state or 10% deposit market share overall.) In addition, the combined broker-dealer, created from the integration of BancAmerica Robertson Stephens and NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, was renamed Banc of America Securities
Banc of America Securities
Banc of America Securities LLC , based in New York City, was an investment banking subsidiary of Bank of America. The firm competed in both the domestic and international equity and investment banking markets, and pursued a strategy pioneered by Citigroup that combines corporate lending with...
in 1998.
History since 2001
In 2001, Bank of America CEO and chairman Hugh McCollHugh McColl
Hugh L. McColl Jr. is a fourth-generation banker and the former Chairman and CEO of Bank of America. McColl was a driving force behind consolidating a series of progressively larger, mostly Southern banks, thrifts and financial institutions into a super-regional banking force, "the first...
stepped down and named Ken Lewis
Ken Lewis (executive)
Kenneth D. "Ken" Lewis is the former CEO, President, and Chairman of Bank of America, the largest bank in the United States and second largest in the world. On September 30th, 2009 Bank of America confirmed that Ken Lewis would be retiring by the end of the year...
as his successor.
In 2004, Bank of America announced it would purchase Boston-based bank FleetBoston Financial
FleetBoston Financial
FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts–based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were given the Bank of America logo.-History:...
for $47 billion in cash and stock. By merging with Bank of America, all of its banks and branches were given the Bank of America logo. At the time of merger, FleetBoston was the seventh largest bank in United States with $197 billion in assets, over 20 million customers and revenue of $12 billion. Hundreds of FleetBoston workers lost their jobs or were demoted, according to the Boston Globe.
On June 30, 2005, Bank of America announced it would purchase credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
giant MBNA
MBNA
MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006...
for $35 billion in cash and stock. The Federal Reserve Board gave final approval to the merger on December 15, 2005, and the merger closed on January 1, 2006. The acquisition of MBNA provided Bank of America a leading domestic and foreign credit card issuer . The combined Bank of America Card Services organization, including the former MBNA, had more than 40 million U.S. accounts and nearly $140 billion in outstanding balances. Under Bank of America the operation was renamed FIA Card Services
MBNA
MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006...
.
In May 2006, Bank of America and Banco Itaú
Banco Itaú
Itaú Unibanco is a publicly quoted bank with headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil. The bank is the result of the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco, which occurred on November 4, 2008 to form Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A, the largest financial conglomerate in the Southern Hemisphere and is the 10th...
(Investimentos Itaú S.A.) entered into an acquisition agreement through which Itaú agreed to acquire BankBoston's operations in Brazil and was granted an exclusive right to purchase Bank of America's operations in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. A deal was signed in August 2006 under which Itaú agreed to purchase Bank of America's operations in Chile and Uruguay. Prior to the transaction, BankBoston's Brazilian operations included asset management, private banking, a credit card portfolio, and small, middle-market, and large corporate segments. It had 66 branches and 203,000 clients in Brazil. BankBoston in Chile had 44 branches and 58,000 clients and in Uruguay it had 15 branches. In addition, there was a credit card company, OCA, in Uruguay, which had 23 branches. BankBoston N.A. in Uruguay, together with OCA, jointly served 372,000 clients. While the BankBoston name and trademarks were not part of the transaction, as part of the sale agreement, they cannot be used by Bank of America in Brazil, Chile or Uruguay following the transactions. Hence, the BankBoston name has disappeared from Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. The Itaú stock received by Bank of America in the transactions has allowed Bank of America's stake in Itaú to reach 11.51%. Banco de Boston de Brazil had been founded in 1947.
On November 20, 2006, Bank of America announced the purchase of The United States Trust Company for $3.3 billion, from the Charles Schwab Corporation. US Trust had about $100 billion of assets under management
Assets under management
Assets under management is a financial term used denote the market value of funds being managed by a financial instutition on behalf of its clients, investors, depositors, etc. This metric is a sign of size and success against competition...
and over 150 years of experience. The deal closed July 1, 2007.
On September 14, 2007, Bank of America won approval from the Federal Reserve to acquire LaSalle Bank Corporation from Netherlands's ABN AMRO
ABN AMRO
ABN AMRO Bank N.V. is a Dutch state-owned bank with headquarters in Amsterdam. It was re-established, in its current form, in 2009 following the acquisition and break up of ABN AMRO Group by a banking consortium consisting of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Santander and Fortis...
for $21 billion. With this purchase, Bank of America possessed 1.7 trillion in assets. A Dutch court blocked the sale until it was later approved in July. The acquisition was completed on October 1, 2007.
The deal increased Bank of America's presence in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, and Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
by 411 branches, 17,000 commercial bank clients, 1.4 million retail customers, and 1,500 ATMs. Bank of America became the largest bank in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
market with 197 offices and 14% of the deposit share, surpassing JPMorgan Chase.
LaSalle Bank
LaSalle Bank
LaSalle Bank Corporation was the holding company for LaSalle Bank N.A. and LaSalle Bank Midwest N.A. . With $116 billion in assets, it was headquartered at 135 South LaSalle Street in Chicago, Illinois...
and LaSalle Bank Midwest branches adopted the Bank of America name on May 5, 2008.
Ken Lewis resigned as of December 31, 2009, in part due to controversy and legal investigations concerning the purchase of Merrill Lynch, and Brian Moynihan
Brian Moynihan
Brian Thomas Moynihan is an American lawyer, businessman and the President and CEO of Bank of America. He also joined the Board of Directors, following his promotion to President and CEO. He resides with his family outside of Boston, Massachusetts.-Early life:Moynihan was born in Marietta, Ohio...
became President and CEO effective January 1, 2010. After Moynihan assumed control, credit card charge offs and delinquencies declined in January. Bank of America also repaid the $45 billion it had received from the Troubled Assets Relief Program.
Acquisition of Countrywide Financial
On August 23, 2007, the company announced a $2 billion repurchase agreementRepurchase agreement
A repurchase agreement, also known as a repo, RP, or sale and repurchase agreement, is the sale of securities together with an agreement for the seller to buy back the securities at a later date. The repurchase price should be greater than the original sale price, the difference effectively...
for Countrywide Financial
Countrywide Financial
Bank of America Home Loans is the mortgage unit of Bank of America. Bank of America Home Loans is composed of:*Mortgage Banking, which originates purchases, securitizes, and services mortgages. In 2008, Bank of America purchased the failing Countrywide Financial for $4.1 billion...
. This purchase of preferred stock
Preferred stock
Preferred stock, also called preferred shares, preference shares, or simply preferreds, is a special equity security that has properties of both an equity and a debt instrument and is generally considered a hybrid instrument...
was arranged to provide a return on investment
Return on investment
Return on investment is one way of considering profits in relation to capital invested. Return on assets , return on net assets , return on capital and return on invested capital are similar measures with variations on how “investment” is defined.Marketing not only influences net profits but also...
of 7.25% per annum and provided the option to purchase common stock
Common stock
Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. It is called "common" to distinguish it from preferred stock. In the event of bankruptcy, common stock investors receive their funds after preferred stock holders, bondholders, creditors, etc...
at a price of $18 per share.
On January 11, 2008, Bank of America announced they would buy Countrywide Financial for $4.1 billion. In March 2008, it was reported that the FBI was investigating Countrywide for possible fraud relating to home loans and mortgages. This news did not hinder the acquisition, which was completed in July 2008, giving the bank a substantial market share of the mortgage business, and access to Countrywide's resources for servicing mortgages. The acquisition was seen as preventing a potential bankruptcy for Countrywide. Countrywide, however, denied that it was close to bankruptcy. Countrywide provided mortgage servicing for nine million mortgages valued at $1.4 trillion as of December 31, 2007.
This purchase made Bank of America Corporation the leading mortgage originator and servicer in the U.S., controlling 20–25% of the home loan market. The deal was structured to merge Countrywide with the Red Oak Merger Corporation, which Bank of America created as an independent subsidiary. It has been suggested that the deal was structured this way to prevent a potential bankruptcy stemming from large losses in Countrywide hurting the parent organization by keeping Countrywide bankruptcy remote
Bankruptcy remote
Bankruptcy remote is a term that describes the relative position of one company as it relates to bankruptcy vis-a-vis others within a corporate group, whereby the insolvency of the bankruptcy remote entity has as little economic impact as possible on other entities within the group...
. Countrywide Financial has changed its name to Bank of America Home Loans.
Acquisition of Merrill Lynch
On September 14, 2008, Bank of America announced its intentions to purchase Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
in an all-stock deal worth approximately $50 billion. Merrill Lynch was at the time within days of collapse, and the acquisition effectively saved Merrill from bankruptcy. Around the same time Bank of America was reportedly also in talks to purchase Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
, however a lack of government guarantees caused the bank to abandon talks with Lehman. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy the same day Bank of America announced its plans to acquire Merrill Lynch. This acquisition made Bank of America the largest financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
company in the world. Temasek Holdings
Temasek Holdings
Temasek Holdings is an investment company owned by the government of Singapore. With an international staff of 380 people, it manages a portfolio of about S$193 billion at end of March 2011, focused primarily in Asia...
, the largest shareholder of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
, briefly became one of the largest shareholders of Bank of America, with a 3% stake. However, taking a loss Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
estimated at $3 billion, the Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
sovereign wealth fund
Sovereign wealth fund
A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund composed of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, property, precious metals or other financial instruments. Sovereign wealth funds invest globally. Some of them have grabbed attention making bad investments in several Wall Street financial...
sold its whole stake in Bank of America in the first quarter of 2009.
Shareholders of both companies approved the acquisition on December 5, 2008, and the deal closed January 1, 2009. Bank of America had planned to retain various members of Thain's management team after the merger. However, after Thain was removed from his position, most of his allies left. The departure of Nelson Chai
Nelson Chai
Nelson J. Chai is an American investment banker. He formerly served as the chief financial officer of American financial services company Merrill Lynch and briefly as Bank of America's president for the Asia-Pacific region...
, who had been named Asia-Pacific president, left just one of Thain's hires in place: Tom Montag, head of sales and trading.
The Bank, in its January 16, 2009 earnings release, revealed massive losses at Merrill Lynch in the fourth quarter, which necessitated an infusion of money that had previously been negotiated with the government as part of the government-persuaded deal for the Bank to acquire Merrill. Merrill recorded an operating loss of $21.5 billion in the quarter, mainly in its sales and trading operations, led by Tom Montag. The Bank also disclosed it tried to abandon the deal in December after the extent of Merrill's trading losses surfaced, but was compelled to complete the merger by the U.S. government. The Bank's stock price sank to $7.18, its lowest level in 17 years, after announcing earnings and the Merrill mishap. The market capitalization of Bank of America, including Merrill Lynch, was then $45 billion, less than the $50 billion it offered for Merrill just four months earlier, and down $108 billion from the merger announcement.
Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis testified before Congress that he had some misgivings about the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, and that federal officials pressured him to proceed with the deal or face losing his job and endangering the bank's relationship with federal regulators.
Lewis' statement is backed up by internal emails subpoenaed by Republican lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee. In one of the emails, Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker
Jeffrey M. Lacker
Jeffrey M. Lacker is an American economist and president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. He is also a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee for the year of 2009. Formerly, he was senior vice president and the director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of...
threatened that if the acquisition did not go through, and later Bank of America were forced to request federal assistance, the management of Bank of America would be "gone". Other emails, read by Congressman Dennis Kucinich during the course of Lewis' testimony, state that Mr. Lewis had foreseen the outrage from his shareholders that the purchase of Merrill would cause, and asked government regulators to issue a letter stating that the government had ordered him to complete the deal to acquire Merrill. Lewis, for his part, states he didn't recall requesting such a letter.
The acquisition made Bank of America the number one underwriter of global high-yield debt
High-yield debt
In finance, a high-yield bond is a bond that is rated below investment grade...
, the third largest underwriter of global equity and the ninth largest adviser on global mergers and acquisitions. As the credit crisis eased, losses at Merrill Lynch subsided, and the subsidiary generated 3.7 billion of Bank of America's 4.2 billion in profit by the end of quarter one in 2009, and over 25% in quarter 3 2009.
Bonus settlement
On August 3, 2009, Bank of America agreed to pay a $33 million fine, without admission or denial of charges, to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the non-disclosure of an agreement to pay up to $5.8 billion of bonuses at Merrill. The bank approved the bonuses before the merger but did not disclose them to its shareholders when the shareholders were considering approving the Merrill acquisition, in December 2008. The issue was originally investigated by New York State Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo is the 56th and current Governor of New York, having assumed office on January 1, 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 64th New York State Attorney General, and was the 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development...
, who commented after the suit and announced settlement that "the timing of the bonuses, as well as the disclosures relating to them, constituted a 'surprising fit of corporate irresponsibility and "our investigation of these and other matters pursuant to New York's Martin Act
Martin Act
The Martin Act, New York General Business Law article 23-A, sections 352-353,is a 1921 piece of legislation in New York that gives extraordinary powers and discretion to an attorney general fighting financial fraud. People called in for questioning during Martin Act investigations do not have a...
will continue." Congressman Kucinich commented at the same time that "This may not be the last fine that Bank of America pays for how it handled its merger of Merrill Lynch." A federal judge, Jed Rakoff, in an unusual action, refused to approve the settlement on August 5.
A first hearing before the judge on August 10 was at times heated, and he was "sharply critic[al]" of the bonuses. David Rosenfeld represented the SEC, and Lewis J. Liman, son of Arthur L. Liman
Arthur L. Liman
Arthur Lawrence Liman was a partner at the New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and was well known for his public service.-Life and career:...
, represented the bank. The actual amount of bonuses paid was $3.6 billion, of which $850 million was "guaranteed" and the rest was shared amongst 39,000 workers who received average payments of $91,000; 696 people received more than $1 million in bonuses; at least one person received a more than $33 million bonus.
On September 14, the judge rejected the settlement and told the parties to prepare for trial to begin no later than February 1, 2010. The judge focused much of his criticism on the fact that the fine in the case would be paid by the bank's shareholders, who were the ones that were supposed to have been injured by the lack of disclosure. He wrote, "It is quite something else for the very management that is accused of having lied to its shareholders to determine how much of those victims’ money should be used to make the case against the management go away," ... "The proposed settlement," the judge continued, "suggests a rather cynical relationship between the parties: the S.E.C. gets to claim that it is exposing wrongdoing on the part of the Bank of America in a high-profile merger; the bank's management gets to claim that they have been coerced into an onerous settlement by overzealous regulators. And all this is done at the expense, not only of the shareholders, but also of the truth."
While ultimately deferring to the SEC, in February, 2010, Judge Rakoff approved a revised settlement with a $150 million fine "reluctantly", calling the accord "half-baked justice at best" and "inadequate and misguided". Addressing one of the concerns he raised in September, the fine will be "distributed only to Bank of America shareholders harmed by the non-disclosures, or 'legacy shareholders', an improvement on the prior $33 million while still "paltry", according to the judge. Case: SEC v. Bank of America Corp., 09-cv-06829, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...
.
Investigations also were held on this issue in the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, under chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and in its investigative Domestic Policy Subcommittee
United States House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy
The Subcommittee on Domestic Policy is a standing committee within the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Jurisdiction includes domestic policies, including matters relating to energy, labor, education, criminal justice, the economy, as well as the Office of National...
under Kucinich.
Municipal bonds fraud
In 2010, the bank was accused by the U.S. government of defrauding schools, hospitals, and dozens of state and local government organizations via misconduct and illegal activities involving the investment of proceeds from municipal bond sales. As a result, the bank agreed to pay $137.7 million, including $25 million to the Internal Revenue service and $4.5 million to state attorney general, to the affected organizations to settle the allegations.Former bank official Douglas Campbell pleaded guilty to antitrust, conspiracy and wire fraud charges. As of January 2011, other bankers and brokers are under indictment or investigation.
2011 to 2014 downsizing
During 2011, Bank of America began conducting personnel reductions of an estimated 36,000 people, contributing to intended savings of $5 billion per year by 2014.Federal TARP
Bank of America received $20 billion in the federal bailout from the U.S. government through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) on January 16, 2009, along with a guarantee of $118 billion in potential losses at the company. This was in addition to the $25 billion given to them in the Fall of 2008 through TARP. The additional payment was part of a deal with the U.S. government to preserve Bank of America's merger with the troubled investment firm Merrill LynchMerrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
. Since then, members of the U.S. Congress have expressed considerable concern about how this money has been spent, especially since some of the recipients have been accused of misusing the bailout money. Then CEO Ken Lewis
Ken Lewis (executive)
Kenneth D. "Ken" Lewis is the former CEO, President, and Chairman of Bank of America, the largest bank in the United States and second largest in the world. On September 30th, 2009 Bank of America confirmed that Ken Lewis would be retiring by the end of the year...
was quoted as claiming "We are still lending, and we are lending far more because of the TARP program." Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, however, were skeptical and quoted many anecdotes about loan applicants (particularly small business owners) being denied loans and credit card holders facing stiffer terms on the debt in their card accounts.
According to a March 15, 2009, article in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Bank of America received an additional $5.2 billion in government bailout money, channeled through American International Group
American International Group
American International Group, Inc. or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in...
.
As a result of its federal bailout and management problems, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Bank of America was operating under a secret "memorandum of understanding" (MOU) from the U.S. government that requires it to "overhaul its board and address perceived problems with risk and liquidity management". With the federal action, the institution has taken several steps, including arranging for six of its directors to resign and forming a Regulatory Impact Office. Bank of America faces several deadlines in July and August and if not met, could face harsher penalties by federal regulators. Bank of America did not respond to The Wall Street Journal story.
On December 2, 2009, Bank of America announced it would repay the entire $45 billion it received in TARP and exit the program, using $26.2 billion of excess liquidity along with $18.6 billion to be gained in "common equivalent securities" (Tier 1 capital
Tier 1 capital
Tier 1 capital is the core measure of a bank's financial strength from a regulator's point of view. It is composed of core capital, which consists primarily of common stock and disclosed reserves , but may also include non-redeemable non-cumulative preferred stock...
). The bank announced it had completed the repayment on December 9. Bank of America's Ken Lewis
Ken Lewis (executive)
Kenneth D. "Ken" Lewis is the former CEO, President, and Chairman of Bank of America, the largest bank in the United States and second largest in the world. On September 30th, 2009 Bank of America confirmed that Ken Lewis would be retiring by the end of the year...
said during the announcement, "We appreciate the critical role that the U.S. government played last fall in helping to stabilize financial markets, and we are pleased to be able to fully repay the investment, with interest... As America's largest bank, we have a responsibility to make good on the taxpayers' investment, and our record shows that we have been able to fulfill that commitment while continuing to lend."
Lawsuits
Bank of America was sued for $10 billion by American International Group Inc. in August 2011. Another lawsuit filed September 2011 concerns a total of $57.5 billion in mortgage-backed securities Bank of America sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Bank of America divisions
Bank of America generates 90% of its revenues in its domestic market and continues to buy businesses in the U.S. The core of Bank of America's strategy is to be the number one bank in its domestic market. It has achieved this through key acquisitions.Consumer
Global Consumer and Small Business Banking (GC&SBB) is the largest division in the company, and deals primarily with consumer banking and credit card issuance. The acquisition of FleetBoston and MBNA significantly expanded its size and range of services, resulting in about 51% of the company's total revenue in 2005. It competes primarily with the retail bankingRetail banking
Retail banking is banking in which banking institutions execute transactions directly with consumers, rather than corporations or other banks. Services offered include: savings and transactional accounts, mortgages, personal loans, debit cards, credit cards, and so forth.-Types of...
arms of America's three other megabanks: Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
. The GC&SBB organization includes over 6,100 retail branches and over 18,700 ATMs across the United States.
Bank of America is a member of the Global ATM Alliance
Global ATM Alliance
The Global ATM Alliance is a joint venture of several major international banks that allows customers of their banks to use their ATM card or debit card at another bank within the Global ATM Alliance with no International ATM Access fees. However, other fees, such as an international transaction or...
, a joint venture of several major international banks that allows customers of the banks to use their ATM
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
card or check card
Check card
The term check card can refer to:* An identification card issued by a retailer allowing the holder to tender payment by check. Such cards were commonly issued in the United States by supermarkets and other retailers before the widespread use of debit cards....
at another bank within the Global ATM Alliance without access fees when traveling internationally. Other participating banks are Barclays (United Kingdom), BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas S.A. is a global banking group, headquartered in Paris, with its second global headquarters in London. In October 2010 BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over $3.1 trillion. It was formed through the merger...
(France), Ukrsibbank
UkrSibbank
«UkrSibbank» - full name Public joint-stock company “UkrSibbank”. It was registered on June 18, 1990. As of today, JSC «UkrSibbank» is the third largest bank of Ukraine, the second among foreign-owned banks, and acts as a financial supermarket....
(Ukraine), China Construction Bank
China Construction Bank
China Construction Bank is one of the 'big four' banks in the People's Republic of China. To date, it is ranked as the nation's second largest and the second largest bank in the world by market capitalization and 12th largest company in the world. The bank has approximately 13,629 domestic branches...
(China), Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
(Germany), Santander Serfin (Mexico), Scotiabank
Scotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia , commonly known as Scotiabank , is the third largest bank in Canada by deposits and market capitalization. It serves some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world and offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial,...
(Canada) and Westpac
Westpac
Westpac , is a multinational financial services, one of the Australian "big four" banks and the second-largest bank in New Zealand....
(Australia and New Zealand). This feature is restricted to withdrawals using a debit card, though credit card withdrawals are still subject to cash advance fees and foreign currency conversion fees. Additionally, some foreign ATMs use Smart Card
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
technology and may not accept non-Smart Cards.
Bank of America offers banking and brokerage products as a result of the acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Savings programs such as "Add it Up" and "Keep the Change" have been well received and are a reflection of the product development banks have taken during the 2008 recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
.
Bank of America, N.A is a nationally chartered bank, regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Department of the Treasury.
Corporate
Before Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill LynchMerrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
, the Global Corporate and Investment Banking (GCIB) business operated as Banc of America Securities
Banc of America Securities
Banc of America Securities LLC , based in New York City, was an investment banking subsidiary of Bank of America. The firm competed in both the domestic and international equity and investment banking markets, and pursued a strategy pioneered by Citigroup that combines corporate lending with...
LLC. The bank's investment banking activities operate under the Merrill Lynch subsidiary and provided mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
advisory, underwriting
Underwriting
Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products . The name derives from the Lloyd's of London insurance market...
, capital markets, as well as sales & trading in fixed income and equities markets. Its strongest groups include Leveraged Finance
Leverage (finance)
In finance, leverage is a general term for any technique to multiply gains and losses. Common ways to attain leverage are borrowing money, buying fixed assets and using derivatives. Important examples are:* A public corporation may leverage its equity by borrowing money...
, Syndicated Loans, and mortgage-backed securities
Mortgage-backed security
A mortgage-backed security is an asset-backed security that represents a claim on the cash flows from mortgage loans through a process known as securitization.-Securitization:...
. It also has one of the largest research teams on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
. Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the corporate and investment banking division of Bank of America. It provides services in mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt capital markets, lending, trading, risk management, research, and liquidity and payments management...
is headquartered in New York City.
Investment management
Global Wealth and Investment Management manages assets of institutions and individuals. It is among the 10 largest U.S. wealth managers (ranked by private banking assets under management in accounts of $1 million or more as of June 30, 2005). In July 2006, Chairman Ken LewisKen Lewis (executive)
Kenneth D. "Ken" Lewis is the former CEO, President, and Chairman of Bank of America, the largest bank in the United States and second largest in the world. On September 30th, 2009 Bank of America confirmed that Ken Lewis would be retiring by the end of the year...
announced that GWIM's total assets under management exceeded $500 billion. GWIM has five primary lines of business: Premier Banking & Investments (including Bank of America Investment Services, Inc.), The Private Bank, Family Wealth Advisors, and Bank of America Specialist.
Bank of America has recently spent $675 million building its U.S. investment banking business and is looking to become one of the top five investment banks worldwide. "Bank of America already has excellent relationships with the corporate and financial institutions world. Its clients include 98% of the Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and 79% of the Global Fortune 500. These relationships, as well as a balance sheet that most banks would kill for, are the foundations for a lofty ambition."
Bank of America has a new headquarters
Bank of America Tower, New York City
Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park is a skyscraper in the Midtown district of Manhattan in New York City, in the United States. It is located on Sixth Avenue, between 42nd and 43rd Street, opposite Bryant Park....
for its New York City operations. The skyscaper is located on 42nd Street
42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...
and Avenue of the Americas
Sixth Avenue (Manhattan)
Sixth Avenue – officially Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown"...
, at Bryant Park
Bryant Park
Bryant Park is a 9.603 acre privately managed public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan...
, and features state-of-the-art
State of the art
The state of the art is the highest level of development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field, achieved at a particular time. It also refers to the level of development reached at any particular time as a result of the latest methodologies employed.- Origin :The earliest use of the term...
, environmentally friendly technology throughout its 2.1 million square feet (195,096 m²) of office space. The building is the headquarters for the company's investment banking division, and also hosts most of Bank of America's New York-based staff.
International operations
In 2005, Bank of America acquired a 9% stake in China Construction BankChina Construction Bank
China Construction Bank is one of the 'big four' banks in the People's Republic of China. To date, it is ranked as the nation's second largest and the second largest bank in the world by market capitalization and 12th largest company in the world. The bank has approximately 13,629 domestic branches...
, China's second largest bank, for $3 billion. It represented the company's largest foray into China's growing banking sector. Bank of America currently has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
and is looking to greatly expand its Chinese business as a result of this deal. In 2008, Bank of America was awarded Project Finance Deal of the Year at the 2008 ALB Hong Kong Law Awards.
For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, Bank of America reported an 80% increase in net profit.
Bank of America operated under the name BankBoston in many other Latin American countries, including Brazil. In 2006, Bank of America sold BankBoston's operations to Brazilian bank Banco Itaú, in exchange for Itaú shares. The BankBoston name and trademarks were not part of the transaction and, as part of the sale agreement, cannot be used by Bank of America. ( exhausting the BankBoston brand.)
Bank of America's Global Corporate and Investment Banking spans the Globe with divisions in United States, Europe, and Asia. The U.S. headquarters are located in New York, European headquarters are based in London, and Asian headquarters are based in Hong Kong.
Board of directors
- Susan BiesSusan BiesSusan Schmidt Bies was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.-Education and family:Bies was born in Buffalo, New York, and received a B.S. in education from the Buffalo State College in 1967 and an M.A. and a Ph.D. , both in economics, from Northwestern University...
, former Governor of the Federal Reserve Board - William Boardman, former Chairman of Visa International Inc.
- Frank P. Bramble Sr, former Executive Officer, MBNA Corporation
- Virgis W. Colbert, (69), senior advisor, MillerCoorsMillerCoorsMillerCoors is a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing Company, announced on October 9, 2007. The joint venture has the responsibility of selling brands such as Miller Lite, Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Coors, Coors Light, Molson Canadian, and Blue Moon in the United...
Company - Charles K. GiffordCharles K. GiffordCharles K. Gifford is the former Chairman Emeritus of Bank of America, and serves on its Board of Directors. He joined the company as CEO of BankBoston. He is also a corporate director of CBS Corporation.-References:...
, former Chairman, Bank of America Corporation - Charles O. HollidayCharles O. HollidayCharles "Chad" O. Holliday, Jr. is an American busniessman, currently the chairman of Bank of America and former Chairman, former Chief Executive Officer and a former director of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company . He is the Chairman of both the U.S. Council on Competitiveness and the Business...
, Chairman, Bank of America Corporation, former Chairman and CEO of DuPontDuPontE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009... - D. Paul Jones, lawyer and former CEO of Compass BancsharesCompass BancsharesBBVA Compass is a United States financial holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with US$65 billion in assets and primarily located in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. Compass Bancshares is one of the U.S.’s 25 largest banks, and was previously...
, a Birmingham, Alabama bank now part of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya ArgentariaBanco Bilbao Vizcaya ArgentariaBanco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. is a multinational Spanish banking group. It was formed in 1999 from the merger of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya and Argentaria, both of which in turn had previously amalgamated three important banks in Spain, namely Banco de Bilbao, Banco de Vizcaya, Banco Exterior de...
SA - Brian T. MoynihanBrian MoynihanBrian Thomas Moynihan is an American lawyer, businessman and the President and CEO of Bank of America. He also joined the Board of Directors, following his promotion to President and CEO. He resides with his family outside of Boston, Massachusetts.-Early life:Moynihan was born in Marietta, Ohio...
, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America Corporation - Monica C. LozanoMonica C. LozanoMonica Cecilia Lozano is an American newspaper editor, the publisher and Chief Executive Officer of La Opinión and senior vice president of its parent company, Impremedia, LLC. Based in Los Angeles, La Opinión is the largest Spanish publication in the United States. She is a member of President...
, Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of La OpiniónLa OpiniónLa Opinión is a Spanish-language daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, USA and distributed throughout the six counties of Southern California. It is the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States and second-most read newspaper in Los Angeles . It is published by... - Walter E. MasseyWalter E. MasseyWalter Eugene Massey is an educator, physicist, and business executive. He is the current President of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the former Chairman of Bank of America, replacing Ken Lewis on April 29, 2009...
, former Chairman, Bank of America Corporation, President Emeritus, Morehouse CollegeMorehouse CollegeMorehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States.... - Thomas J. May, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, NSTARNSTARNSTAR is a utility company that provides retail electricity and natural gas to 1.4 million customers in eastern and central Massachusetts, including the Boston urban area....
- Donald E. PowellDonald E. PowellDonald E. Powell became the 18th Chairman of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on August 29, 2001, and served through late 2005. He resigned to become Federal Coordinator of Gulf Coast recovery efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.Prior to being named Chairman of the FDIC by...
, former Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. - Charles O. RossottiCharles O. RossottiCharles O. Rossotti is an American businessman, and former Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Rossotti has a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Georgetown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School ....
, (68) senior advisor, The Carlyle GroupCarlyle GroupThe Carlyle Group is an American-based global asset management firm, specializing in private equity, based in Washington, D.C. The Carlyle Group operates in four business areas: corporate private equity, real assets, market strategies and fund-of-funds, through its AlpInvest subsidiary... - Thomas M. Ryan, President and Chief Executive Officer, CVS Caremark Corporation
- Robert W. Scully, former member, Office of the Chairman of Morgan StanleyMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
Major shareholders
| Individual | Shares held |
|---|---|
| Brian T. Moynihan (President and CEO) | 481,806 |
| Thomas K. Montag (President, Global Banking and Markets) | 351,952 |
| Bruce R. Thompson (CFO) Bruce Rutherford Thompson Bruce Rutherford Thompson was a United States federal judge.Born in Reno, Nevada, Thompson received an A.B. from the University of Nevada in 1932 and an LL.B. from Stanford Law School in 1936. He was in private practice in Reno, Nevada from 1936 to 1963, and was then an assistant U.S. Attorney of... |
267,804 |
| Terrence (Terry) P. Laughlin (Legacy Asset Servicing Executive) | 106,309 |
| Robert Scully (Independent Director) | 90,716 |
| Institutions | Shares held | % held |
|---|---|---|
| State Street Corp | 460,496,575 | 4.54 |
| Vanguard Group The Vanguard Group The Vanguard Group is an American investment management company based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, that manages approximately $1.6 trillion in assets. It offers mutual funds and other financial products and services to individual and institutional investors in the United States and abroad. Founder... |
375,365,877 | 3.70 |
| BlackRock Institutional Trust Company,N.A. BlackRock BlackRock, Inc. is an American multinational investment management corporation and the world's largest asset manager. BlackRock is headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States and is the leading provider of investment, advisory, and risk management solutions... |
256,552,573 | 2.53 |
| JP Morgan Chase & Co | 204,909,812 | 2.02 |
| Wellington Management Co Wellington Management Company Wellington Management Company is one of the largest private, independent investment management companies in the world. The firm has client assets under management totalling over US$634 billion, and serves as investment advisor for over 1,900 institutional clients in over 50 countries. Assets are... |
161,691,214 | 1.60 |
| Capital Research Global Investors | 131,327,985 | 1.30 |
| Bank of New York Mellon Corp | 116,396,174 | 1.15 |
| Capital World Investors | 112,200,000 | 1.11 |
| Northern Trust Corp. Northern Trust Northern Trust Corporation is an international financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It provides investment management, asset and fund administration, fiduciary and banking services through a network of 85 offices in 18 U.S. states and 12 international offices in North... |
111,873,089 | 1.10 |
| Franklin Resources Inc. | 111,852,815 | 1.10 |
- Capital Research Global Investors and Capital World Investors are both owned by parent company Capital Group Companies
Data from Yahoo! Finance as of October 4, 2011
Other individuals
Jonathan Finger, whose Houston-based family owns more than 1 million shares of stock and has pressed for boardroom changes.IPIC Group Ltd., a private Delaware-based investment firm, is seeking to become Bank of America's largest institutional shareholder.
Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
, in August 2011, agreed to invest $5 billion for 50,000 preferred shares that will pay a 6 percent annual dividend. The bank has the option to buy back the shares for a 5 percent premium.
Social responsibility
In addition to its new eco-friendly office tower in Manhattan, Bank of America has pledged to spend billions on commercial lending and investment banking for projects that it considers "green". The corporation supplied all of its employees with cash incentives to buy hybrid vehicles, and began providing mortgage loan breaks for customers whose homes qualified as energy efficient. In 2007, Bank of America partnered with Brighter Planet to offer an eco-friendly credit card, and later a debit card, which help build renewable energy projects with each purchase. The corporation recently completed the new 1 Bank of America Center in Uptown CharlotteCharlotte center city
Charlotte center city is the central area of Charlotte, North Carolina. The headquarters for the Fortune 500 companies Bank of America and Duke Energy are located here, as well as the headquarters for East Coast operations for Wells Fargo.Museums, sporting venues, shops, hotels, restaurants, and...
. The tower, and accompanying hotel, will be a LEED-certified
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
building.
Bank of America has also donated money to help health centers in Massachusetts and made donations to help homeless shelters in Miami.
In 2004, the bank pledged $750 billion over a ten-year period for community development lending and investment. The company had delivered more than $230 billion against a ten-year commitment of $350 billion made in 1998 to provide affordable mortgage, build affordable housing, support small business and create jobs in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Parmalat controversy
ParmalatParmalat
Parmalat SpA is a multinational Italian dairy and food corporation. Having become the leading global company in the production of ultra high temperature milk, the company collapsed in 2003 with a €14 billion hole in its accounts in what remains Europe's biggest bankruptcy...
SpA is a multinational Italian dairy and food corporation. Following Parmalat's 2003 bankruptcy
Parmalat Bankruptcy Timeline
- December 2003 :December 19 - Bank of America states Parmalat does not hold nearly $5B in liquid assets for the company as Parmalat reported in September 2003. Bank of America disavows the document released by Parmalat’s Bonlat Financing Corp unit claiming over €4B are being stored by an affiliate...
, the company sued Bank of America for $10 billion, alleging the bank profited from its knowledge of Parmalat's financial difficulties. The parties announced a settlement in July 2009, resulting in Bank of America paying Parmalat $98.5 million in October 2009. In a related case, on April 18, 2011, an Italian court acquitted Bank of America and three other large banks, along with their employees, of charges they assisted Parmalat in concealing its fraud, and of lacking sufficient internal controls to prevent such frauds. Prosecutors did not immediately say whether they would appeal the rulings. In Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, the banks were still charged with covering up the fraud.
Consumer credit controversies
In January 2008, Bank of America began notifying some customers without payment problems that their interest rates were more than doubled, up to 28%. The bank was criticized for raising rates on customers in good standing, and for declining to explain why it had done so. In September 2009, a Bank of America credit card customer, Ann Minch, posted a video on YouTube criticizing the bank for raising her interest rate. After the video went viralViral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
, she was contacted by a Bank of America representative who lowered her rate. The story attracted national attention from television and internet commentators. More recently, the bank has been criticized for allegedly seizing three properties that were not under their ownership, apparently due to incorrect addresses on their legal documents.
WikiLeaks
In October 2009, WikiLeaksWikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
representative Julian Assange
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
reported that his organization possessed a 5 gigabyte hard drive formerly used by a Bank of America executive and that Wikileaks intended to publish its contents.
In November 2010, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
published an interview with Assange in which he stated his intent to publish information which would turn a major U.S. bank "inside out". In response to this announcement, Bank of America stock dropped 3.2%.
In December 2010, Bank of America announced that it would no longer service requests to transfer funds to WikiLeaks, stating that "Bank of America joins in the actions previously announced by MasterCard
MasterCard
Mastercard Incorporated or MasterCard Worldwide is an American multinational financial services corporation with its headquarters in the MasterCard International Global Headquarters, Purchase, Harrison, New York, United States...
, PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
, Visa Europe and others and will not process transactions of any type that we have reason to believe are intended for WikiLeaks… This decision is based upon our reasonable belief that WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments."
In late December it was announced that Bank of America had bought up more than 300 Internet domain names in a would-be attempt to preempt bad publicity that might be forthcoming in the anticipated WikiLeaks release. The domain names were such as BrianMoynihanBlows.com and BrianMoynihanSucks.com as well as similar names for other top executives of the bank. Nick Baumann of Mother Jones
Mother Jones (magazine)
Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
ridiculed this effort, stating: "If I owned stock in Bank of America, this would not give me confidence that the bank is prepared for whatever Julian Assange is planning to throw at it."
Anonymous
On March 14, 2011, one or more members of the decentralized collective AnonymousAnonymous (group)
Anonymous is an international hacking group, spread through the Internet, initiating active civil disobedience, while attempting to maintain anonymity. Originating in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan, the term refers to the concept of many online community users simultaneously existing as an anarchic,...
began releasing emails it said were obtained from Bank of America. According to the group, the emails document "corruption and fraud", and relate to the issue of improper foreclosures. They say that the source is a former employee from Balboa Insurance, a firm which used to be owned by the bank.
Bank of America corporate buildings
- Bank of America TowerBank of America Tower (Phoenix)The Bank of America Tower is a highrise in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The tower is the centerpiece of the Collier Center, a multi-use office and entertainment complex. The tower was completed in 2000 and serves as the state headquarters for Bank of America. It rises 360 feet , topping out at 23...
in Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix, ArizonaPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data... - Bank of America Center in Los Angeles
- 555 California Street, formerly the Bank of America Center and world headquarters, in San Francisco
- Bank of America PlazaBank of America Plaza (Fort Lauderdale)Bank of America Plaza is a , 23-story office building located at Las Olas City Centre in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The structure was finished in early 2003, and contains a parking garage which is located on the second to sixth floors, a small retail mall, and of course a Bank of America,...
in Fort Lauderdale, FloridaFort Lauderdale, FloridaFort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010... - Bank of America TowerBank of America Tower (Jacksonville)The Bank of America Tower is a skyscraper in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is the tallest building in Jacksonville, and the ninth-tallest in the state of Florida...
in Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, FloridaJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968... - Bank of America TowerBank of America Tower (Miami)The Miami Tower is a 47-story, landmark office skyscraper in Miami, Florida, United States. It is located in central Downtown. It is currently the 8th tallest building in Miami and Florida.-History:...
in Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625... - Bank of America CenterBank of America Center (Orlando)The Bank of America Center is a 404 foot skyscraper in Downtown Orlando. The building is one of the tallest in the city and is a unique part of the skyline. Its collection of 10 spires gives it an almost gothic appearance, and its staircase design makes it similar in appearance to another Bank of...
in Orlando, FloridaOrlando, FloridaOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States... - Bank of America TowerBank of America Tower (Saint Petersburg)The Tower at One Progress Plaza is a 28-story skyscraper designed by Jung Brannen Associates located at 200 Central Avenue in downtown Saint Petersburg, Florida. It was completed in 1990, and at , it is the tallest building in the city and the largest tenant occupied commercial office building on...
in St. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St... - Bank of America Plaza in Tampa, FloridaTampa, FloridaTampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
- Bank of America PlazaBank of America Plaza (Atlanta)Bank of America Plaza is a skyscraper located in the SoNo district of Atlanta, Georgia. At the tower is the 53rd-tallest building in the world. When it first opened, it was the 9th tallest building in the world, and 6th tallest building in the United States...
in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
(the tallest U.S. building outside of NYC and Chicago) - Bank of America BuildingLaSalle National Bank BuildingLaSalle National Bank Building is an art deco office building at 135 South LaSalle Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, USA....
, formerly the LaSalle Bank Building in Chicago, Illinois - One City CenterOne City Centerright|thumb|The entrance to One City Center in June 2008One City Center is an office building located in the Financial District in Monument Square, Portland, Maine. It is considered an icon of the Maine financial market. The building serves as the northern New England offices for Bank of America,...
, often called the Bank of America building due to signage rights, in Portland, MainePortland, MainePortland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000... - Bank of America BuildingBank of America Building (Baltimore)The Bank of America Building, located at the corner of East Baltimore and Light Streets in the downtown area of Baltimore, Maryland, at 505 feet was the tallest building in the state when built in 1929...
in Baltimore, Maryland - Bank of America PlazaBank of America Plaza (St. Louis)The Bank of America Plaza is an award-winning skyscraper located in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Formerly Boatmen's Bancshares of St. Louis and First National Bank, the tower is 384 ft tall and has 31 floors. Built in 1982, it comprises , and has a view of the downtown skyline. It is the fourth...
in St Louis, Missouri - Bank of America Tower in Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
- Bank of America Tower in New York City
- Bank of America Corporate CenterBank of America Corporate CenterThe Bank of America Corporate Center is an 871 ft skyscraper in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. When completed in 1992, it became and still is the tallest building in North Carolina as well as the tallest building between Philadelphia and Atlanta, Georgia; it is 60 stories high. It is the...
in Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
(The corporate headquarters) - Bank of America PlazaBank of America Plaza (Charlotte)The Bank of America Plaza is a , 40-story skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the 5th tallest in the city. It contains of rentable area of which of retail space, and the rest office space. The tower also has below-grade parking garage has space for 456 vehicles and leases a nearby...
in Charlotte, North Carolina - Bank of America Building in Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode IslandProvidence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
- Bank of America PlazaBank of America Plaza (Dallas)Bank of America Plaza is a 72-story late-modernist skyscraper located in the Main Street District of downtown Dallas, Texas. Standing at a structural height of , it is the tallest skyscraper in the city of Dallas. It is also the 3rd tallest in Texas and the 22nd tallest in the United States, while...
in Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States... - Bank of America Center in Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
- Bank of America TowerBank of America Building (Midland)The Bank of America Building is a highrise located in downtown Midland, Texas. Built in 1978, at 24-stories and 332 feet , it is the tallest building in the city. The building is located at 303 W. Wall St. and houses various oil & gas companies and Bank of America, Midland. The building is also...
in Midland, TexasMidland, TexasMidland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas... - Bank of America Fifth Avenue PlazaBank of America Fifth Avenue PlazaBank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza is a skyscraper in Seattle, Washington. It was constructed from 1979 to 1981 and has 42 floors. It is the 9th tallest building in Seattle and as designed by 3D/International. The building has been able to retain a minimum of 98% occupancy since it was...
in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country... - Columbia CenterColumbia CenterColumbia Center is the tallest skyscraper in the downtown Seattle skyline, as well as the tallest building in the State of Washington, and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It occupies most of the block bounded by Fourth and Fifth Avenues and Cherry and Columbia Streets...
in Seattle, Washington - Concord Technology Center in Concord, California
- Bank of America TowerBank of America Tower (Hong Kong)The Bank of America Tower is a 38-floor 146 meter skyscraper located in the Admiralty area of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, China.-References:* * ...
in Hong Kong
See also
- Bank of America CanadaBank of America CanadaBank of America Canada , was a wholly owned U.S. bank subsidiary, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was a Schedule II bank under the Canada Bank Act to accept deposits which may be eligible for deposit insurance provided by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.In 2001, Bank of...
- Bank of America (Asia)Bank of America (Asia)China Construction Bank Corporation Limited is a licensed bank incorporated in Hong Kong.-History:...
- BAML Capital Partners
- Calibuso, et al. v. Bank of America Corp., et al.Calibuso, et al. v. Bank of America Corp., et al.On March 30, 2010, three female employees launched a class action gender discrimination lawsuit against Bank of America and Merrill Lynch.-External links:*****...
- List of bank mergers in United States