History Of Bank of America

The Bank of America Corporation is a worldwide investment bank and financial services holding firm headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with investment banking and auxiliary headquarters in Manhattan. NationsBank and Bank of America merged in 1998 to become the bank. It is the second-largest US bank and global bank by market capitalization after JPMorgan Chase. One of the Big Four US banks is Bank of America.

In competing with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, it handles 10% of American bank deposits. Commercial banking, wealth management, and investment banking are its main services.

The earliest Bank of America branch was formed in 1784 when Massachusetts Bank became the first federally licensed joint-stock owned bank in the US via mergers.

In 1904, Amadeo Pietro Giannini launched the U.S.-based Bank of Italy, which offered Italian immigrants who suffered service discrimination different banking choices.[In 1922, San Francisco-based Giannini bought Banca d'America e d'Italia.

The 1950s saw significant expansion and market dominance due to major federal banking laws.

Charlotte-based NationsBank bought BankAmerica for US$62 billion after the 1998 Russian bond collapse cost it a lot. After the greatest bank purchase ever, Bank of America was created.

Through mergers and acquisitions, it strengthened its commercial banking business by forming Merrill Lynch for wealth management and Bank of America Merrill Lynch for investment banking in 2008 and 2009, respectively, now BofA Securities.

Bank of America and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management have huge market shares. As of 2018, it is the third biggest investment bank in the "Bulge Bracket" worldwide

.It is the second-largest wealth manager in the world after UBS, with US$1.081 trillion in AUM.Bank of America operates commercially in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and over 40 countries, although not all have retail locations.Commercial banking has 46 million consumer and small company ties at 4,600 banking locations and 16,000 ATMs.

The bank's huge market share, business activity, and economic influence have led to mortgage and financial disclosure litigation and investigations since the 2008 financial crisis.

Since the early 20th century, its middle class and banking community services have earned it a large market share. Bank of America is the 13th biggest business in the world with a $313.5 billion market worth as of August 2018.

The sixth biggest American public firm, it sold $102.98 billion in June 2018.Bank of America rated 25th on the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the biggest US firms by revenue.In the 2023 Forbes Global 2000 rankings, Bank of America was No. 6. Euromoney Institutional Investor recognized Bank of America "World's Best Bank" in its 2018 Awards for Excellence.

Los Angeles' Bank of America was formed in 1923. This firm was bought by Bank of Italy of San Francisco in 1928, which became Bank of America two years later.

The eastern section of the Bank of America franchise began in 1784 when Massachusetts Bank was formed, the first federally authorized joint-stock owned bank and just the second bank in the US. In 2004, FleetBoston merged with Bank of America. Charlotte's Commercial National Bank opened in 1874. That bank combined with American Trust Company in 1958 to establish American Commercial Bank.North Carolina National Bank was formed two years later when it combined with Security National Bank of Greensboro. It combined with Atlanta and Norfolk's C&S/Sovran Corporation to establish NationsBank in 1991.

Central to the franchise is 1910, when Commercial National Bank and Continental National Bank of Chicago joined to establish Continental & Commercial National Bank, then Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust.

When Amadeo Pietro Giannini (1870–1949) formed Bank of Italy in San Francisco on October 17, 1904, Bank of America began.Giannini was a minority investor in Bank of America, Los Angeles in 1922. The two banks amalgamated in 1928 and combined with other banks to become the nation's biggest bank.A. P. Giannini founded Bancitaly Corporation in 1918, with Stockholders Auxiliary Corporation as its major owner.This corporation bought New York City and overseas bank stocks.Giannini joined with Orra E. Monnette's Bank of America, Los Angeles, in 1928. On November 3, 1930, Bank of Italy became Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association, the only such bank in the US. As co-chairs, Giannini and Monnette led the corporation.

After California's 1909 branch banking law was passed, Giannini opened the bank's first branch outside San Francisco in San Jose. The bank had 453 California branches and approximately US$1.4 billion in assets by 1929.History Park in San Jose has a reproduction of the 1909 Bank of Italy branch bank, and the 1925 Bank of Italy Building is a downtown icon. Under his holding firm, Transamerica Corporation, Giannini wanted to construct a national bank that expanded into most western states and insurance.

Under the Clayton Antitrust Act, authorities split Transamerica and Bank of America in 1953.The 1956 Bank Holding Company Act banned banks from holding insurance firms. Transamerica continued in insurance when Bank of America split. However, federal banking regulations barred Bank of America's interstate banking activities, forcing its domestic banks outside California into First Interstate Bancorp, which Wells Fargo and Company bought in 1996. Bank of America could only extend its domestic consumer banking beyond California in the 1980s when federal banking laws changed.

Credit cards might now be linked directly to bank accounts using new technology. In 1958, the bank created the BankAmericard, which became Visa in 1977.Interbank was launched in 1966 by regional bankcard organizations to compete with BankAmericard. Interbank became Master Charge in 1966 and Mastercard in 1979.

From February 1970 to September 1971, 66 Bank of America branches in California were bombed or fire-bombed, including 13 arson fires. The February 1970 riot that burned the Isla Vista branch caused "few injuries" and $500,000 in property damage, 80% of which was from it.

After Congress passed the 1956 Bank Holding Company Act.BankAmerica Corporation was founded to own and operate Bank of America and its subsidiaries.

Stephen McLin of Seafirst Corporation in Seattle and its fully owned subsidiary, Seattle-First National Bank, helped Bank of America expand beyond California in 1983.After going bankrupt owing to poor oil loans, Seafirst was at danger of governmental takeover. Until its 1998 merger with NationsBank, Bank America operated its new subsidiary as Seafirst.

Bad loans in the Third World cost BankAmerica a lot in 1986 and 1987. The business sacked CEO Sam Armacost in 1986. BankAmerica shares plummeted after the losses, rendering it susceptible to a hostile takeover. First Interstate Bancorp of Los Angeles, which had arisen from BankAmerica-owned institutions, made such a proposal in the autumn of 1986, but BankAmerica rejected it, largely by selling businesses.Armacost blamed his predecessor, A. W. (Tom) Clausen, who was brought in to replace him.

FinanceAmerica was sold to Chrysler and Charles Schwab and Co. was returned to Mr. Schwab. Bank of America and Italy were sold to Deutsche Bank. BankAmerica's share price fell to $8 after the 1987 stock-market meltdown, but it returned to become one of the top gainers of 1992.

BankIn 1992, America made another significant purchase. The corporation bought Security Pacific Corporation, its California subsidiary Security Pacific National Bank, and other banks in Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington that Security Pacific had purchased in the late 1980s.

This was the biggest bank purchase ever.However, federal authorities compelled the sale of half of Security Pacific's Washington affiliate, the former Rainier Bank, since Seafirst and Security Pacific Washington would have given BankAmerica too much market share in Washington. Washington branches were sold to West One Bancorp (now U.S. Bancorp) and KeyBank.

BankAmerica went into Nevada later that year by buying Valley Bank.BankAmerica bought Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Co. of Chicago in 1994.

The federal government ran Continental for over a decade since no bank could bail it out. Branch banking was severely controlled in Illinois, therefore Bank of America Illinois remained a single-unit bank until the 21st century. BankAmerica relocated its national lending department to Chicago to build a financial base.

These transactions helped BankAmerica Corporation again become the biggest U.S. bank holding company by deposits, but it dropped to second position in 1997 behind North Carolina's fast-growing NationsBank Corporation and third in 1998 behind First Union Corp.

The purchase of Continental Illinois enabled BankAmerica create a leveraged finance origination and distribution business, allowing BancAmerica Securities (formerly BA Securities) to become a full-service franchise in capital markets.

BankAmerica also bought San Francisco-based high-tech investment firm Robertson Stephens for $540 million in 1997.After merging with Robertson Stephens, BancAmerica Securities became "BancAmerica Securities." Stephen Robertson