Bank of America vs McDonald's: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Bank of America and McDonald's side by side

1. 1904Bank of America

   Bank of Italy Founded

   A.P. Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco to expand access to banking for immigrants, wage earners, and small merchants.

2. 1906Bank of America

   San Francisco Earthquake Response

   After the 1906 earthquake, Giannini resumed lending while much of San Francisco's banking system was disrupted. The response turned emergency access to credit into lasting customer trust and became a defining story in the bank's retail identity.

3. 1930Bank of America

   Bank of Italy Renamed Bank of America

   The Bank of Italy changed its name to Bank of America on November 1, 1930. The rebrand reflected a wider consumer and business ambition beyond the original immigrant-community label.

4. 1940McDonald's

   First McDonald's Opens in San Bernardino

   Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald's restaurant on May 15, 1940 in San Bernardino, California. The original drive-in gave the brothers a live operating laboratory before they stripped the model down to a faster, lower-cost menu.

5. 1948McDonald's

   Speedee Service System Introduced

   The brothers simplified operations in 1948 around 15-cent hamburgers, shakes, and fries.

6. 1955McDonald's

   Ray Kroc Opens Des Plaines Restaurant

   Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois on April 15, 1955 after becoming the brothers' franchise agent. That restaurant became the base for converting a California operating idea into a national franchise system.

7. 1958Bank of America

   BankAmericard Introduced

   Bank of America introduced BankAmericard in 1958, a revolving-credit card that later became part of the Visa system. The product tied the bank to modern consumer credit, merchant acceptance, and payment-network economics.

8. 1961McDonald's

   Hamburger University Opens

   Hamburger University opened in the basement of an Elk Grove Village, Illinois restaurant in 1961. The training program mattered because it formalized the standards and operating routines that franchisees needed to deliver a consistent experience.

9. 1961McDonald's

   Kroc Buys the Brothers' Company

   McDonald's says it acquired the rights to the brothers' company in 1961 for $2.7 million. The deal gave Kroc control of the name and system, setting up the real estate-backed franchise model that later defined parent-company economics.

10. 1968McDonald's

    Big Mac Added to National Menu

    The Big Mac, developed by owner-operator Jim Delligatti of Pittsburgh, was added to the national menu in 1968. It became a durable core product and a recognizable signal of the company's ability to turn franchisee ideas into systemwide menu platforms.

11. 1975McDonald's

    Egg McMuffin Builds Breakfast

    The Egg McMuffin, created by owner-operator Herb Peterson of Santa Barbara, California, was added to the national menu in 1975. It helped turn breakfast into a major daypart rather than leaving the restaurants dependent on lunch and dinner traffic.

12. 1998Bank of America

    NationsBank and BankAmerica Merge

    The 1998 merger of Charlotte-based NationsBank and San Francisco's BankAmerica created the first coast-to-coast U.S. bank under the Bank of America name. It also shifted the modern company's headquarters center to Charlotte.

13. 2003McDonald's

    I'm Lovin' It Campaign Launches

    McDonald's launched its global "I'm lovin' it" marketing campaign in 2003, its first worldwide brand campaign.

14. 2006Bank of America

    MBNA Merger Completed

    The MBNA merger expanded the card business to more than 40M active accounts and nearly $140B in managed balances, according to the company's January 2006 release. That size made cards a more important part of consumer banking revenue and risk.

15. 2008Bank of America

    Countrywide Acquisition Approved

    The Federal Reserve approved Bank of America's acquisition of Countrywide in June 2008. The deal added mortgage scale but later became a costly warning about buying distressed loan portfolios during a housing crisis.

16. 2008Bank of America

    Merrill Lynch Acquisition Approved

    The Federal Reserve approved the acquisition of Merrill Lynch in November 2008. Although the integration was controversial, Merrill became central to the company's wealth-management and investment-banking fee base.

17. 2014Bank of America

    Mortgage Settlements With the Justice Department and FHFA

    Bank of America agreed in August 2014 to a $16.65B settlement with the Justice Department over mortgage claims tied to Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, following a March 2014 FHFA agreement with an aggregate payment of about $9.33B.

18. 2017McDonald's

    Global McDelivery Day with UberEATS

    McDonald's marked Global McDelivery Day in 2017 to support the broader launch of McDelivery with UberEATS. Delivery expanded restaurant reach beyond the counter and drive-thru, while also adding packaging, marketplace-fee, and kitchen-throughput challenges.

19. 2018Bank of America

    Erica Launched

    Bank of America launched Erica in 2018 as an AI-enabled virtual assistant inside digital banking. The launch mattered because customer service, insights, and routine account tasks were moving from branches and call centers into mobile channels.

20. 2019McDonald's

    Dynamic Yield Acquisition

    McDonald's agreed to acquire Dynamic Yield in 2019 to personalize drive-thru menu boards, kiosks, and app experiences using signals such as time of day, weather, restaurant traffic, and trending items.

21. 2023Bank of America

    CFPB and OCC Orders on Fees, Rewards and Accounts

    In July 2023 the CFPB ordered Bank of America to pay more than $100M to customers for repeat non-sufficient-funds fees, withheld credit card rewards and unauthorized accounts, plus $90M in CFPB penalties, and the OCC added a $60M penalty.

22. 2024McDonald's

    Quarter Pounder E. Coli Outbreak

    U.S. Public health agencies linked a 2024 E. Coli outbreak to slivered onions served on McDonald's Quarter Pounders in affected states.

23. 2025Bank of America

    $113.1B FY2025 Revenue

    The company reported $113.1B in total revenue net of interest expense and $30.5B in net income for FY2025. The result showed the combined scale of deposits, wealth management, cards, payments, global banking, and markets.

24. 2025Bank of America

    Co-Presidents Named

    On September 12, 2025 Bank of America named Dean Athanasia and Jim DeMare Co-Presidents and gave Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick the added title of executive vice president.

25. 2025McDonald's

    $26.9B FY2025 Revenue

    McDonald's reported $26.885 billion in FY2025 revenue and $8.563 billion in net income.

Acquisitions

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