Bank of America Corporation, a bank and financial holding company, provides a range of banking, investing, asset management, financial and risk management, and nonbanking financial services and products to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. As of December 31, 2011, the company operated in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and approximately 40 countries. The company serves approximately 57 million consumer and small business relationships with 5,700 banking centers, 17,750 ATMs, nationwide call centers, and online and mobile banking platforms. The company offers support to approximately 4 million small business owners. Segments The company operates in six segments: Deposits; Card Services; Consumer Real Estate Services (CRES); Global Commercial Banking; Global Banking & Markets (GBAM); and Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM). Deposits The Deposits segment includes consumer deposits activities, which consist of a range of products provided to consumers and small businesses. Its deposit products include traditional savings accounts, money market savings accounts, CDs and IRAs, noninterest- and interest-bearing checking accounts, as well as investment accounts and products. Card Services The Card Services segment issuers of credit and debit cards in the U.S. to consumers and small businesses providing an offering of lending products, including co-branded and affinity products. CRES The CRES segment provides a line of consumer real estate products and services to customers nationwide. Its products include fixed- and adjustable-rate first-lien mortgage loans for home purchase and refinancing needs, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans. Its first mortgage products are either sold into the secondary mortgage market to investors, while retaining mortgage servicing rights. Global Commercial Banking The Global Commercial Banking segment provides a range of lending-related products and services, integrated working capital management and treasury solutions to clients through its network of offices and client relationship teams along with various product partners. Its clients include business banking and middle-market companies, commercial real estate firms, and governments. Its capital management and treasury solutions include treasury management, foreign exchange, and short-term investing options. GBAM The GBAM segment provides advisory services, financing, securities clearing, settlement, and custody services globally to institutional investor clients in support of their investing and trading activities. GBAM also works with commercial and corporate clients to provide debt and equity underwriting and distribution capabilities, merger-related and other advisory services, and risk management products using interest rate, equity, credit, currency and commodity derivatives, foreign exchange, fixed-income, and mortgage-related products. Corporate banking services provide a range of lending-related products and services, integrated working capital management and treasury solutions to clients through its network of offices and client relationship teams along with various product partners. GWIM The GWIM segment provides wealth management capabilities to a base of clients from emerging affluent to the ultra-high-net-worth. These services include investment and brokerage services, estate and financial planning, fiduciary portfolio management, cash and liability management and specialty asset management. GWIM also provides retirement and benefit plan services, philanthropic management, and asset management to individual and institutional clients. GWIM consists of three primary businesses: Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management (MLGWM); U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management (U.S. Trust); and Retirement Services. MLGWM’s advisory business provides a client experience through a network of approximately 17,000 financial advisors U.S. Trust, together with MLGWM’s Private Banking & Investments Group, provides wealth management solutions targeted at wealthy a
nd ultra-wealthy clients, as well as customized solutions to meet clients’ wealth structuring, investment management, trust and banking needs. Retirement Services partners with financial advisors to provide institutional and personal retirement solutions, including investment management, administration, recordkeeping and custodial services for 401(k), pension, profit-sharing, equity award and non-qualified deferred compensation plans. Retirement Services also provides investment advisory services to individuals, small to large corporations, and pension plans. All Other All Other consists of equity investment activities including Global Principal Investments, Strategic and other investments, and Corporate Investments. All Other also includes liquidating businesses, merger and restructuring charges, asset and liability management (ALM) functions, such as residential mortgage portfolio and investment securities and related activities, including economic hedges and gains/losses on structured liabilities, the impact of certain allocation methodologies, and accounting hedge ineffectiveness. Other also includes certain residential mortgage and discontinued real estate loans that are managed by Legacy Asset Servicing within CRES. Significant Events During 2011, the company sold its Canadian consumer card business. Bank of America Corporation announced that it changed its basis of presentation to five segments from six segments during the three months ended March 31, 2012. In its 2011 annual report, BofA reported its results through the following six segments: deposits, card services, consumer real estate services (CRES), global commercial banking, global banking and markets (GBAM), global wealth and investment management (GWIM) and the remaining operations in All Other. Now the bank has the following five segments: consumer and business banking (CBB), CRES, global banking, global markets, GWIM and All Other. former deposits and card services segments, together with the business banking segment, which was included in global commercial banking, are now reflected in CBB. The former global commercial banking segment was combined with the global corporate and investment banking business, which was included in the former global banking and markets segment, to form global banking. The remaining global markets business of GBAM is now reported as a separate global markets segment. In June 2012, Bank of America Corporation moved its business support activities to the Philippines via a new non-bank subsidiary. The company has established a wholly-owned non-bank subsidiary, BA Continuum Philippines Inc., to execute the bank's business support operations in Manila. The firm will carry out back-office transactions, customer support, technology services, human resource management, and business planning, among other tasks. History Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1874.
