The company is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a component of both the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones (Scroll down for Bank Of America Locations)

The company holds 12.2% of all U.S. deposits, as of August 2009, and is one of the Big Four Banks of the United States, along with Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo — its main competitors

Quick Stats

Type – Public(NYSE: BAC,TYO: 8648)
Founded – Bank of Italy (1904),NationsBank (1874)
Headquarters – Charlotte, NC, USA
Area served Worldwide
IndustryFinancial services, Investment services
Products – Finance and insurance, Consumer Banking,Corporate Banking,Investment Banking,Investment Management,Global Wealth Management,Private Equity,Mortgage,Credit Cards
Revenue – $ 113.10 billion – 2008
Net income – $ 4.00 billion – 2008
Total assets – $ 2.25 trillion – 2009
Total equity – $ 177.052 billion – 2008
Employees – 282,408 – June 2009
Website – BankOfAmerica.com

Brief History About Bank Of America – Who Started Bank Of America

Bank of America’s history dates to 1904, when Amadeo Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco, for the purpose of catering to immigrants other banks would not serve. In 1922, Giannini established Bank of America and Italy in Italy by buying Banca dell’Italia Meridionale, itself only established in 1918

In 1928, A. P. Giannini merged with Bank of America Los Angeles and consolidated it with his other bank holdings to create what would become the largest banking institution in the country. He renamed his Bank of Italy November 3, 1930, calling it Bank of America. The merger was completed in early 1929 and took the name Bank of America. The combined company was headed by Giannini with Monnette serving as co-Chair.

In 1997, BankAmerica was acquired by NationsBank later that year in October, the biggest acquisition in histor which was structured as a merger.

Since 2001, Bank of America has purchased

#1. Boston-based bank Fleet Financial for $47 billion in cash and stock
#2. CBostonredit card giant MBNA for $35 billion in cash and stock in 2005 servicing 40 million U.S. accounts and nearly $140 billion in outstanding balances
#3. The United States Trust Company for $3.3 billion, from the Charles Schwab Corporation. US Trust had about $100 billion of assets under management and over 150 years of experience. This purchase made it the USA’s leading mortgage originator and servicer, controlling between 20 to 25 percent of the home loan market.
#4. Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. on Septembe 15,2008, in an all-stock deal worth approximately $50 billion, about 86% of the Bank of America stock price at close. This acquisition made Bank of America the largest financial services company in the world.

Temasek Holdings, the largest shareholder of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., briefly became one of the largest shareholders of Bank of America, with a 3% stake.

BoA During Financial Crisis

The Bank, in its January 16, 2009 earnings release, revealed massive losses at Merrill Lynch in the fourth quarter, which necessitated an emergency government bailout of the Bank to keep it solvent. Merrill recorded an operating loss of $21.5 billion in the quarter, mainly in its sales and trading operations, led by Tom Montag.

The Bank also disclosed it tried to abandon the deal in December after the extent of Merrill’s trading losses surfaced, but was compelled to complete the merger by the U.S. government. The Bank’s stock price sank to $7.18, its lowest level in 17 years, after announcing earnings and the Merrill mishap.

The market capitalization of Bank of America, including Merrill Lynch, was then $45 billion, less than the $50 billion it offered for Merrill just four months earlier, and down $108 billion from the merger announcement.

The acquisition made Bank of America the number one underwriter of global high-yield debt, the third largest underwriter of global equity and the ninth largest adviser on global mergers and acquisitions. As the credit crisis eased, losses at Merrill Lynch subsided, and the subsidiary generated 3.7 billion of Bank of America’s 4.2 billion in profit by the end of Q1 2009, and over 25 percent in the Q3 2009.

Bailout – Who Owns Bank Of America

Bank of America received US $20 billion in the federal bailout from the US government through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) on 16 January 2009 and also got guarantee of US $118 billion in potential losses at the company. This was in addition to the $25 billion given to them in the Fall of 2008 through TARP.

On December 2, 2009, Bank of America announced it would repay the entire US $45 billion they received in TARP and exit the program, using $26.2 billion of excess liquidity along with $18.6 billion to be gained in “common equivalent securities”. The bank announced it had completed the repayment on December 9.

Divisions

Consumer
Global Consumer and Small Business Banking (GC&SBB) is the largest division in the company, and deals primarily with consumer banking and credit card issuance. It competes directly with the retail banking divisions of Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. The GC&SBB organization includes over 6,100 retail branches and over 18,700 ATMs across the United States.

Corporate
Investment Management
Global Wealth and Investment Management manages assets of institutions and individuals. It is among the 10 largest U.S. wealth managers (ranked by private banking assets under management in accounts of $1 million or more as of June 30, 2005). In July 2006, Chairman Ken Lewis announced that GWIM’s total assets under management exceeded $500 billion. GWIM has five primary lines of business: Premier Banking & Investments (including Bank of America Investment Services, Inc.), The Private Bank, Family Wealth Advisors, Columbia Management Group, and Bank of America Specialist.

Intenational
In 2005, Bank of America acquired a 9% stake in China Construction Bank, China’s second largest bank, for $3 billion. It represented the company’s largest foray into China’s growing banking sector. Bank of America currently has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou and is looking to greatly expand its Chinese business.

In 2008 Bank of America was awarded Deal of the Year – Project Finance Deal of the Year at the 2008 ALB Hong Kong Law Awards. Currently, Bank of America maintains branches in Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, New Delhi, and Bangalore. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, Bank of America reported an 80% increase in net profit.

Bank of America’s Global Corporate and Investment Banking spans the Globe with divisions in United States, Europe, and Asia. The U.S. headquarters are located in New York, European headquarters are based in London, and Asia’s headquarters are split between Singapore & Hong Kong.

Who Owns Bank Of America – Major Shareholders

2 Types of Shareholders:

Individuals
Kenneth D Lewis holds 2,372,260 shares
John A Thain holds 679,946 shares
Bruce L Hammonds holds 504,429 shares
Keith T Banks holds 336,371 shares
Charles K Gifford holds 334,176 shares

Institutions
Barclays Global Investors holds 192,077,414 shares 3.83%
State Street Corp holds 187,394,299 shares 3.73%
FMR holds 152,596,052 shares 3.04%
Vanguard Group holds 142,204,635 shares 2.83%
Capital World Investors holds 114,829,550 shares 2.29%
Wellington Management Comp holds 102,053,133 shares 2.03%
AXA holds 89,824,923 shares 1.79%
Bank of New York Mellon Corp holds 65,284,687 shares 1.30%
Morgan Stanley holds 58,081,288 shares 1.16%
JP Morgan Chase & Co holds 54,816,605 shares 1.09%

Bank Of America Locations

* Bank of America Center in Boise, ID
* Bank of America Tower in Phoenix, AZ
* Bank of America Center in Los Angeles, CA
* 555 California Street, formerly the Bank of America Center, in San Francisco, CA
* Bank of America Tower in Jacksonville, FL
* Bank of America Tower in Miami, FL
* Bank of America Building in Orlando, FL
* Bank of America Tower in St. Petersburg, FL
* Bank of America Tower in Tampa, FL
* Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta, GA (the tallest U.S. building outside of NYC and Chicago)
* Bank of America Building, formerly the LaSalle Bank Building in Chicago, IL
* Bank of America Building in Baltimore, MD
* Bank of America Plaza in St Louis, MO
* Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, NC (The corporate headquarters)
* Bank of America Plaza in Charlotte, NC
* One Bank of America Center in Charlotte, NC
* Bank of America Tower in Albuquerque, NM
* Bank of America Tower in New York City, NY
* Bank of America Building in Providence, RI
* Bank of America Plaza in Dallas, TX
* Bank of America Center in Houston, TX
* Bank of America Building in Bellevue, WA
* Bank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza in Seattle, WA
* Columbia Center in Seattle, WA
* One City Center, often called the Bank of America building due to signage rights, in Portland, ME
* 200 Front Street West, often called the Bank of America tower in Toronto, ON
* Bank of America Tower in Hong Kong
* BA-Lepanto Building, Makati City,Philippines. Now called as the Lepanto building