Bank of America Corporation
Banking and financial servicesFounded 1904- Updated June 2026
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Last reviewed: June 2026
CorpDigest
Bank of America Corporation
Company History
Founded 1904 in Charlotte, North Carolina
Last reviewed: 2026-06-03 · By Swet Parvadiya
Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1904 in San Francisco by Amadeo Pietro Giannini as the Bank of Italy. The company now operates in banking and financial services from its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is led by CEO Brian Moynihan. Revenue model: Bank of America earns net interest income from deposits and loans, fees from cards and payments, wealth-management fees, trading revenue, and investment-banking fees. Bank of America Corporation reported $105.9B in revenue for fiscal year 2024 with net income of approximately $27.1B. Total assets stand at approximately $3.3 trillion. Market capitalization stands at approximately $350B. The company employs approximately 213,000 people globally and serves 68 million consumer and small business clients through approximately 4,000 financial centers. Competitive position: Bank of America's advantage is its large deposit base, Merrill wealth platform, corporate banking relationships, payments reach, and digital banking scale. Strategic direction: The bank is prioritizing responsible growth, digital engagement, wealth management, commercial banking, expense discipline, and strong capital ratios.
Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco in 1904 to provide deposits, small loans, installment credit, and mortgage access to customers ignored by established institutions. His response after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake became part of the company's operating mythology because he resumed lending while many banks were disabled or cautious. He championed branch banking, which allowed the institution to gather deposits and serve customers across communities rather than relying on a single downtown office. By 1930, the Bank of Italy had become Bank of America, reflecting an ambition far beyond its original ethnic-community identity. Giannini's lasting influence is the idea that mass-market banking can be both socially expansive and commercially powerful. Bank of America's modern cross-sell model still rests on his core insight: ordinary customers become extraordinary assets when a bank earns their trust early.
Giannini's decision to resume lending from a plank-and-barrel desk while other banks remained closed after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake established the bank's identity as a populist institution willing to serve when others would not.
The merger with BankAmerica gave NationsBank the Bank of America name and West Coast presence, creating the first true coast-to-coast U.S. Banking franchise and setting the stage for the next decade of acquisitions.
Acquiring both Countrywide and Merrill Lynch during the financial crisis was the most consequential 12-month period in the bank's modern history. Countrywide became a cautionary tale; Merrill became the strategic foundation for fee-based diversification.
Brian Moynihan's appointment as CEO in 2010 marked the pivot from acquisition-driven growth to responsible growth, expense discipline, and relationship deepening that defines the current operating model.
The Department of Justice settlement covering mortgage-related fraud claims from Countrywide and Merrill Lynch was the largest civil settlement with a single entity in U.S. History at the time, closing the most damaging chapter of crisis-era liability.
Strengthen mortgage business
Expand investment banking and wealth management
Expand Midwest presence
Expand credit card operations
Expand regional banking presence
Create a coast-to-coast U.S. Banking franchise under the Bank of America name