Bank of America Sees Resilient Economy, Targets Growth in Wealth, AI and Global Markets

Key Points

• Bank of America sees continued economic resilience in the U.S., citing near-7% nominal GDP growth, sustained discretionary spending, elevated deposits and supportive small-business hiring and optimism.
• The bank is targeting growth in international banking and wealth management, including a $4 billion international revenue increase and expanding consumer investment assets from roughly $600 billion toward $1 trillion.
• Bank of America is investing in markets, investment banking, technology and AI; internal AI tools serve about 200,000 employees, while coding productivity has improved by approximately 15% to 20%.

Jim DeMare, co-president of Bank of America NYSE: BAC, said the bank continues to see signs of resilience in the U.S. economy, while identifying relationship expansion, international operations, wealth management and technology as major growth priorities.

Speaking at a conference in London, DeMare said Bank of America’s broad client base provides the company with substantial visibility into consumer, business and payment activity. The bank serves 46,000 banking clients, has 4.2 million consumer investment customers and processes about $500 trillion in payments annually, he said.

Consumer and Small-Business Activity Remains Resilient

DeMare said the bank has not observed a deterioration in the U.S. economic backdrop. While growth may not be at its highest point of the past year, he described conditions as showing “continued strength.”

He cited U.S. nominal GDP growth approaching 7%, as well as Bank of America data indicating that economic expansion has become more broadly distributed across income groups. The lowest wage tercile is now experiencing wage growth above that of the two higher terciles on a three-month rolling-average basis, he said. Discretionary spending has also continued to grow across wage groups, while deposit balances remain elevated relative to historical levels.

Small-business conditions also remain supportive, according to DeMare. He said small businesses are the largest employer in the U.S. and that Bank of America serves approximately 3.4 million of the country’s roughly 3.9 million small businesses. Hiring intentions and business optimism are both near recent highs, he said.

Outside the U.S., where the bank’s information is more concentrated among corporate and commercial customers, DeMare said growth varies by region. He also pointed to shifting global supply chains as a source of demand for payments, banking and money-movement services.

Focus on Long-Term Markets and Investment Banking Growth

Addressing the near-term market environment, DeMare said comparisons with the second quarter of 2026 should account for what he described as an “exceptional” period for markets activity. He cautioned that quarterly results can vary significantly across firms because of differences in product mix, geographic exposure and participation in businesses such as equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities, mortgages and municipal products.

Rather than focusing exclusively on quarterly fluctuations, DeMare said the bank evaluates its markets and investment-banking businesses over longer periods. He said the markets business grew more than 10% annually after he assumed leadership of it in 2020, reflecting an effort to gain market share regardless of market conditions.

Bank of America remains constructive on the activity outlook for markets and investment banking, he said. The company has continued to invest in investment banking and has hired approximately 34 to 35 managing directors so far this year, including hires in industry groups, international roles, mergers and acquisitions, and technology banking.

International and Wealth Opportunities

DeMare reiterated targets outlined at the company’s investor day for its international business, including a $4 billion increase in revenue, about $2 billion in pretax income and an approximately 18% return on allocated capital.

He said opportunities include increasing the bank’s share of wallet with existing institutional clients, connecting corporate and investment-banking clients with markets capabilities, and serving international subsidiaries of U.S. commercial-banking customers. The bank also aims to support international clients expanding operations in the U.S. as supply chains evolve.

In wealth management, DeMare said Bank of America sees growth opportunities across its consumer investment business, Merrill financial-advisor network, employee banking and workplace-benefits offerings. The consumer investment business has about $600 billion in assets and a target of reaching $1 trillion, he said.

The company expects to hire more financial advisors this year than last year, with assets associated with those hires nearly double anticipated levels, DeMare said. Bank of America also has about 2,500 advisor trainees annually, and he said roughly 25% of new business comes from trainees.

Technology, AI and Capital Deployment

DeMare said technology investment is guided by the need to improve customer service, maintain competitiveness and operate within a cost-conscious framework. Operational resilience and cybersecurity are “non-negotiables,” he said, while the bank has also invested in data, process mapping and common technology platforms that can be customized for individual businesses.

On artificial intelligence, DeMare said the bank has made internal tools available to about 200,000 employees. He said AI can improve productivity and reduce internal help-desk demand through self-service functions. The bank is also reviewing third-party AI capabilities and more customized internal applications.

Among the most measurable benefits, DeMare said Bank of America has seen productivity improvements for its 19,000 to 20,000 coders in a range of roughly 15% to 20%. He added that the bank has incorporated Erica-style self-service capabilities into CashPro, its commercial and corporate treasury platform.

On capital allocation, DeMare said maintaining financial strength, balance-sheet capacity, liquidity and capital remains the bank’s first priority. The company then weighs investments needed to support customers and grow the business against dividends and share repurchases, with an objective of pursuing investments that are accretive to its return targets of 16% to 18%.

About Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)

Bank of America Corporation NYSE: BAC is a diversified financial services company serving individual consumers, businesses, institutional investors and governments. Its operations include consumer banking, credit and debit cards, mortgages, small-business banking, commercial banking, investment banking, securities trading and investment management.

The company provides consumer and wealth-management services through Bank of America and Merrill, including deposit accounts, lending, brokerage, retirement planning, financial advice and private banking.

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