Bank of America’s Q1 2016 earnings call had a bunch of fascinating information about where the company, and therefore financial services industry, is heading.
- Let’s start with the company’s financial investments in technology. Brian Moynihan, the CEO, said they continue to invest $3 billion annually on technology initiatives, with a deep focus in those that relate to mobile and online banking.
- The bank added 910,000 net new mobile users in Q1 (more than any other quarter in the last three years), bringing the total number of active users to 20 million. According to Mr. Moynihan, 16% of the company’s deposit transactions are completed from mobile devices. The company continues to enhance their mobile platform and heavily promote it in their brick-and-mortar branches via digital ambassadors.
- While they’re growing their mobile user base, the online banking customer segment also continues to grow. The bank added 1 million online banking customers over the last year.
- Another interesting nugget brought up during the call was the consolidation of bank branches, eliminating smaller branches and making bigger ones even bigger. The company sees brick-and-mortar locations as a place where relationship managers can sit and service customers more complex needs, as opposed to a place where people come in and perform their day-to-day banking activities. Paul Donofrio, the bank’s chief financial officer, say’s “we’re organizing our branches so that they become destinations for people who need help with their financial lives.”
