BAML rebrands to ‘Bank of America’
(23 October 2019 – United States) Bank of America has shed its current branding as Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) with immediate effect.
Known as BAML since 2009, Bank of America is now the primary brand for businesses formerly known as Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The bank has reassured clients and staff hat nothing else changes, the bank’s core business will remain the same. BofA Securities will be used to represent Bank of America’s institutional broker dealer businesses covering global markets, investment banking and capital markets. BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research will transition to a new brand at a later date.
The rebranding announcement comes at a time when the banking industry is undergoing a seismic shift in direction. According to a wide ranging study from McKinsey, over one in three global banks face a “do or die” moment and risk collapsing if they do not reinvent themselves. Nearly two thirds of banks are not generating the cost of capital with revenue and loan growth stagnating in the prevailing low interest rate environment set to remain ‘lower for longer’. McKinsey found that 35 percent of banks globally are ‘sub-scale’ and will have to merge or sell out to a bigger company if they are to survive another downturn.
"Regarding the brand change, there is no shift in our business or strategy. In terms of the whole company Bank of America – across all its business lines – it has made a lot of progress in strengthening the business and delivering responsible growth. Responsible growth is the strategy that is driving our business and in this we’ve done really well. For us this is more an evolution of the brand – it reflects the power of the global franchise. How we serve some of the largest companies from all over the world – our company banks with the Fortune 1000 companies and the largest corporates and MNCs operating in Asia. We deliver our broad range of capabilities across all our businesses as one company so the repositioning reflects this” a bank spokesperson said.
Subscribe