Bank of America Corporation

What does Bank of America own?
Bank of America operates four primary business segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth and Investment Management (including Merrill Lynch and Bank of America Private Bank), Global Banking, and Global Markets. The company's brand portfolio includes Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America Private Bank, U.S. Trust, the Erica AI assistant, and the BofA Rewards loyalty program. The company serves nearly 70 million clients through approximately 3,500 retail financial centers and digital platforms.

Is Bank of America publicly traded?
Yes, Bank of America is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BAC. As of February 24, 2026, there were 7,176,682,170 shares of common stock outstanding. The company has been publicly traded since the 1998 merger that created the modern Bank of America, with predecessor companies having public trading histories dating back to the early 20th century.

Who founded Bank of America?
The modern Bank of America was formed through the 1998 merger of NationsBank and BankAmerica. BankAmerica was originally founded by A.P. Giannini in 1904 as the Bank of Italy in San Francisco, serving Italian-American immigrants. NationsBank was founded in 1891 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The combined company adopted the Bank of America name due to its stronger brand recognition and national presence.

Where is Bank of America headquartered?
Bank of America is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. The company has operated from Charlotte since the 1998 merger and maintains major offices and operations in New York, London, Hong Kong, and other financial centers worldwide. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories, and more than 35 countries.

How many brands does Bank of America own?
Bank of America operates primarily under the Bank of America master brand with specialized sub-brands. The main brands include Bank of America (consumer and commercial banking), Merrill Lynch (wealth management and investment advisory), Bank of America Private Bank (premium services for high-net-worth clients), U.S. Trust (trust and estate services), Erica (AI-powered virtual assistant), and BofA Rewards (customer loyalty program launched in May 2026).

Who owns Bank of America?
Bank of America is publicly owned with no controlling shareholder. Institutional investors collectively hold the majority of outstanding shares, with major holders including Berkshire Hathaway, Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Global Advisors. No individual, family, or private equity firm holds a controlling interest. The company had a market capitalization of approximately $352 billion as of June 30, 2025.

What is Bank of America's revenue?
Bank of America reported revenue of $113.1 billion for fiscal year 2025, up 7% year over year, and net income of $30.5 billion, up 13% year over year. Diluted earnings per share were $3.81, up 19% from FY2024. For Q1 2026, revenue was $30.3 billion (up 7% year over year) with net income of $8.6 billion and EPS of $1.11 (up 25% year over year). Net interest income was $60.1 billion for FY2025 and $15.7 billion for Q1 2026.

What is the Erica AI assistant at Bank of America?
Erica is Bank of America's AI-powered virtual financial assistant integrated into the company's mobile banking app. It helps customers with account management, spending insights, bill payments, and financial guidance. The digital banking platform has approximately 60 million verified digital users, with 80% of consumer households digitally active as of mid-2026. In Q1 2026, 71% of consumer sales were digitally enabled, and the platform processed 4.3 billion digital logins.

Bank of America traces its origins to multiple banking institutions. The modern company was formed in 1998 when NationsBank acquired BankAmerica for $62 billion, creating the first coast-to-coast banking franchise in the United States. The combined company adopted the Bank of America name due to its strong brand recognition and national presence.

BankAmerica's roots date to 1904, when A.P. Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco to serve Italian-American immigrants who were denied service by other banks. The bank grew rapidly and became known for innovative consumer banking products, pioneering branch banking and home mortgage lending for the middle class. The institution was renamed Bank of America in 1930.

NationsBank was founded in 1891 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and grew through strategic acquisitions throughout the Southeastern United States. Under CEO Hugh McColl, NationsBank expanded aggressively in the 1980s and 1990s, acquiring numerous regional banks and becoming one of the largest banking institutions in the country before the BankAmerica merger.

Throughout the 2000s, Bank of America expanded through strategic acquisitions. In 2004, the company acquired FleetBoston Financial for $47 billion, significantly expanding its presence in the Northeast. In 2006, Bank of America acquired MBNA for $35 billion, adding credit card expertise and substantial card portfolios to its consumer banking operations.

The most significant acquisition came in 2008 when Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch for approximately $50 billion during the height of the financial crisis. This transformative deal added leading wealth management and investment banking capabilities to the company. The acquisition brought significant integration challenges and losses related to the financial crisis, but ultimately positioned Bank of America as a major player in wealth management and investment banking.

Under CEO Brian Moynihan, who took leadership in 2010, Bank of America has focused on digital transformation, operational efficiency, and sustainable finance. The company launched the Erica AI assistant, strengthened its capital position to meet post-crisis regulatory requirements, and invested heavily in technology infrastructure. At the end of 2007, the company had approximately 210,000 employees. Two acquisitions in 2008 brought approximately 76,000 additional employees. As of 2025, the company employs more than 213,000 people, meaning that 20 years later and as a much larger company, it has roughly the same number of employees, reflecting significant productivity gains.

In May 2026, Bank of America launched BofA Rewards, a revamped loyalty program replacing the previous Preferred Rewards program. By Q2 2026, approximately 13.3 million clients were enrolled in BofA Rewards, with approximately 2 million new enrollments in the second quarter alone.

Bank of America has established one of the most comprehensive sustainability programs among major U.S. banks, with commitments spanning climate action, sustainable finance, and operational environmental responsibility.

Net zero commitment: The company has set a voluntary goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its financing activities, operations, and supply chain before 2050. Interim 2030 targets have been established to monitor near-term progress. The company developed an internal Transition Plan in 2024 to support this goal.

Operational sustainability: Bank of America achieved carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2019, a year ahead of schedule, and has maintained it through 2025. The company procures 100% renewable electricity for its operations and uses 33% sustainable aviation fuel for corporate travel. Since 2010, the company has reduced energy use by 45% and reduced location-based GHG emissions by 62%. The 2030 target is to reduce gross GHG emissions by 75% from the 2010 baseline and reduce energy use by 55%.

Sustainable finance: In April 2021, Bank of America announced a 10-year goal to mobilize and deploy $1.5 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030, with $1 trillion dedicated to the environmental transition. In the first four years since announcing this goal, the company has mobilized and deployed more than $741 billion in sustainable finance, of which approximately $404 billion aligns to the environmental transition. Since 2007, the company has invested more than $200 billion in financing low-carbon and sustainable business activities through its Environmental Business Initiative.

Supply chain engagement: The company requests climate disclosures from suppliers and has set a goal for 70% of global suppliers by spend to set GHG emissions reduction or renewable energy targets by 2030. As of 2024, suppliers representing 76% of global spend have met this goal, exceeding the target.

Reporting and disclosure: Bank of America publishes an annual Sustainability Report, an IFRS S2 (ISSB) disclosure, and a CDP Corporate Questionnaire. The company has reported climate-related impacts for more than two decades and participates in the California Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act. The company's sustainability reports are available at about.bankofamerica.com.

Social responsibility: The company maintains community development initiatives, affordable housing programs, small business lending, and workforce development programs. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households and has been the #1 small business lender for 19 consecutive quarters.

Bank of America has received consistent recognition from independent organizations:

• Fortune World's Most Admired Companies: Multiple years of recognition in the banking category for corporate reputation and leadership quality
• Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI): Named to the DJSI North America index for multiple consecutive years, assessed by S&P Global for ESG performance
• CDP Climate Disclosure: Submits annual CDP Corporate Questionnaire with detailed climate change disclosure and performance data
• Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index: Perfect scores for LGBTQ+ workplace equality and inclusion policies for over a decade
• Ethisphere World's Most Ethical Companies: Multiple years of recognition for corporate ethics and compliance programs
• FDIC #1 Small Business Lender: Ranked as the top small business lender in the United States for 19 consecutive quarters as of Q2 2026

Bank of America operates under intense regulatory scrutiny as a systemically important financial institution and has faced several significant controversies and enforcement actions:

FDIC deposit insurance lawsuit (April 2025): A federal judge ordered Bank of America to pay $540.3 million in a long-running FDIC lawsuit accusing the bank of underpaying deposit insurance contributions. The case covered assessments from Q2 2013 through the end of 2014, plus interest. The FDIC had originally sued for $1.12 billion in 2017, alleging the bank failed to honor a 2011 rule on reporting risk exposure to counterparties. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan rejected Bank of America's claims that the FDIC rule was arbitrary.

Jeffrey Epstein settlement (2026): In April 2026, a U.S. judge granted preliminary approval to Bank of America's $72.5 million settlement with women who accused the bank of facilitating sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein. The lawsuit, filed in October 2025, alleged the bank ignored suspicious financial transactions related to Epstein despite having the ability to detect them. The settlement covers at least 60 women victimized by Epstein between 2008 and 2019. Bank of America denied the claims but stated the settlement "allows us to put this matter behind us." Similar settlements were reached by JPMorgan Chase ($290 million) and Deutsche Bank ($75 million).

OCC consent order and AML deficiencies (2024 to 2026): In December 2024, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a consent order related to deficiencies in Bank of America's anti-money laundering (AML) program. As of August 2026, the bank disclosed in its quarterly SEC filing that it is "continuing to discuss a resolution" with the OCC, indicating potential fines. The bank has invested significantly in compliance programs and monitoring systems to address the deficiencies.

India SEBI insider trading allegations (January 2026): India's markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), accused Bank of America's Indian securities unit of violating insider trading rules and breaking internal "Chinese walls" in a March 2024 share sale involving Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management. Bank of America filed an application with SEBI to settle the charges without admitting guilt.

Financial crisis legacy: Bank of America faced significant scrutiny related to mortgage lending practices and foreclosure procedures following the 2008 financial crisis, resulting in settlement costs exceeding $50 billion with federal and state authorities. The Merrill Lynch acquisition also brought losses and integration challenges. The company has addressed these legacy issues through improved risk management and compliance programs.