Page 181 - Bank Case Studies

However, as BofA sought to be the largest bank in the U.S.

“it faced difficulty in keeping up with North Carolina-based

NationsBank. In 1998, NationsBank bought Bank of America,

but after the merger, the bank kept the B of A name, and

the share-price history above reflects the historical legacy of

NationsBank as the legal entity that survived the merger.

After the merger, the stock took a pause and gave up

ground as investors looked toward the tech industry for

outpaced gains, and the initial bear-market move in 2000
took B of A to its lows.” (13)

However, BofA soon recovered and took full advantage of

the emerging housing boom experiencing a doubling of its

share price between 2001 and 2007, a remarkable

performance given the company’s historic, high dividend

yield.

Yet its greatest trial was to prove to be the financial crisis in

2008 which marked the most critical time for BofA, and its

entire stock history. (13)

Today, BofA is one of the Big Four banks in the U.S. along

with Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, and holds

almost 11% of all bank deposits.

It operates in all 50 states of the United States, and more

than 40 other countries. It has a retail banking footprint that

covers approximately 46 million consumer and small

business relationships at 4,600 banking centers and 15,900

automated teller machines (ATMs), call centers, and online
and mobile banking platforms.