It is now coming up to eight years since Brian Moynihan succeeded Ken Lewis as chairman and chief executive of Bank of America and set about simplifying the company, strengthening its balance sheet and, backed then by a new senior management team, creating a new culture for the bank as it fought back from the global financial crisis.
In the years since, the bank has never quite enjoyed the stature of JPMorgan, which has a bigger balance sheet and earns more money, or the cachet of Citigroup with its international network of consumer banks. The senior management team has ground away at its task, driven by a rather uninspiring two-word catchphrase. Bank of America is in the business of “responsible growth”.
It sounds just a little bit lacklustre.
But during the first nine months of 2017, responsible growth produced improved operating results, higher returns, record market capitalization and lower risk.
Relative to the first nine months of 2016, revenue was up 5%, so well ahead of nominal GDP growth. Profit was up 19%, with net charge-offs down 7% and operating costs also continuing to fall.