Bank of America Reports Resilient Consumer Spending and Strong Loan Growth
Bank of America reported resilient consumer spending with a 4% year-over-year increase in August, supported by wage growth between 3% to 4%. Despite higher gasoline costs, credit quality has returned to pre-pandemic levels. The bank also expects high-single-digit commercial loan growth and net interest income (NII) growth of 7%-8%, driven by repricing of loans and deposits. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan highlighted the U.S. economy's resilience, noting strong consumer spending across categories like dining and entertainment. Commercial lending has expanded beyond capital markets into middle-market and small-business sectors. The bank added approximately 160,000 to 170,000 net new checking accounts per quarter over five years. The company is also expanding its AI use cases with around 130–150 currently deployed and plans for about 50 more, projecting $800 million in benefits against $400 million of costs. Moynihan emphasized the bank's focus on profitability, stating it avoids actions that could lead to losses.
Tickers: $BAC
Topics: AI_in_banking consumer_spending loan_growth net_interest_income