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In 1922, Amadeo Pietro Giannini—the founder of Bank of Italy—wanted to expand his business outside of San Francisco.
Seeing an opportunity in Los Angeles, Giannini took a minority stake in the Bank of America Los Angeles.
Sensing the potential of a partnership, Giannini opened negotiations with Bank of America's leadership. After months of talks, the two banks joined forces—Bank of Italy merged with Bank of America Los Angeles.
The new combined bank retained the prominent Bank of America name.
Giannini wasted no time in implementing his visionary branch banking strategy.
The infrastructure of Bank of America Los Angeles allowed rapid statewide expansion up and down the West Coast through an ever-growing web of banking offices.
This fateful merger marked the beginnings of what would grow over the next decades into the colossus known across America as Bank of America.
By 1928, the Bank of Italy had established dozens of branches.
However, the bank was just getting started and wanted to grow even more.
He orchestrated a momentous merger between Bank of Italy, Bank of America LA, and several other California banks including Liberty Bank and American Trust Company.
The new consolidated corporation was fittingly renamed Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association.
With hundreds of banking offices spread throughout California, the new Bank of America controlled extensive assets estimated at $1.4 billion. Giannini and his ally Orra Monnette presided over the emerging national bank.
From these early mergers emerged the Bank of America that we know today.
The early 1980s the Bank of America wanted to expand outside of California.
Bank of America targeted the Seattle-based Seafirst Corporation in 1983.
Seafirst owned and operated Seattle-First National Bank—it was a big deal in the Pacific Northwest.
After negotiations, Bank of America purchased Seafirst for $16 billion.
This was the largest interstate banking transaction in U.S. history at the time.
The purchase allowed Bank of America entry into attractive new markets in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
For the deal, Seattle-First National Bank retained its autonomous identity for 15 years after the acquisition.
The 1983 deal made Bank of America national bank.
The early 1990s, the Bank of America went through many mergers and takeovers.
The California behemoth identified Los Angeles-based Security Pacific as an ideal target for growth. After negotiations in 1992, Bank of America secured a $4 billion deal to acquire Security Pacific.
The purchase instantly gave Bank of America dominant market share along the entire West Coast.
With operations throughout California, Washington, Arizona and other Western states.
The Security Pacific deal kicked off a decade of aggressive growth for the bank.
As Bank of America consolidated its national standing in the early 1990s, the storied Chicago financial institution Continental Illinois faced a crisis.
Saddled with billions in bad energy sector loans, Continental verged on insolvency in the mid 1980s before an unprecedented Federal bailout.
The FDIC took control of day-to-day operations as the bank languished under government oversight for most of the decade.
Sensing an opportunity as Continental exited its long receivership in 1994, Bank of America executed the purchase of this famed Chicago bank for $1.9 billion.
Though much reduced from its halcyon days, Continental's extensive Midwest branch network gave Bank of America a long-coveted foothold in the Heartland beyond its West Coast base.
By snapping up the battered but legendary Continental Illinois franchise, Bank of America's decade-long march towards establishing coast-to-coast national dominance continued in earnest.
The 1994 Continental deal brought one of America’s pioneer banks into the Bank of America fold.
In the early 2000s, fierce rivalries emerged threatening Bank of America’s supremacy. In 2004 Bank of America wanted to buy FleetBoston Financial to consolidate power.
FleetBoston is one of America’s oldest banks, tracing its roots to 1784 as Providence Bank. The $47 billion sale brought together two storied institutions.
For Bank of America, it solidified dominance along the Eastern Seaboard to match its West Coast stronghold. The deal helped Bank of America become a coast-to-coast bank.
By the mid-2000s, Bank of America was now America’s largest bank thanks to all the acquisitions and mergers from the previous decades.
But it lagged far behind rival issuers in the explosively lucrative consumer credit card sector. To rapidly expand card market share, in 2006 Bank of America paid $35 billion to acquire famed card innovator MBNA.
MBNA began independently in the early 1980s pioneering techniques like mass affinity marketing that fueled meteoric growth.
By the time of Bank of America’s takeover, MBNA accounted for nearly 10% of all U.S. credit card balances outstanding.
The blockbuster MBNA deal vaulted Bank of America instantaneously from a minor card player into a dominant force in consumer finance.
Bank of America also gained a world-class credit card platform that provided them with new revenue streams.
In 2007, the bank wanted to acquire Chicago-based LaSalle Bank, the largest Midwest bank that was still independent.
LaSalle's attractive urban footprint across Illinois, Michigan and Indiana seamlessly filled gaps in Bank of America's emerging national matrix.
Additionally, LaSalle's commercial real estate and middle-market lending expertise added capabilities where Bank of America lagged.
Facing an unsolicited $21 billion Bank of America offer as suitors circled, LaSalle opted for the security of America's largest bank.
The 2007 LaSalle deal brought Bank of America leadership in one of the last remaining major U.S. banking markets it had yet to dominate.
Aggressive pursuit of LaSalle and other opportunistic mergers fueled Bank of America's rapid, almost uninterrupted climb from California trailblazer to the pinnacle of American banking in just over 20 years.
In wanting to manage the portfolios of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, Bank of America purchased U.S. Trust for $3.3 billion in 2007. The venerable U.S. A wealth manager going back to 1853.
Though dwarfed in scale by commercial banking at the time, U.S. Trust’s 150 years of experience and elite clientele provided the perfect vehicle for Bank of America to jump start a world-class wealth management arm.
Within a few years Merrill Lynch later augmented U.S. Trust, cementing premier private banking as a core Bank of America offering.
In 2008, Countrywide Financial was in deep trouble due to the housing bubble bursting.
This was a disaster for Bank of America.
Countrywide's failure would deal a blow to a thriving business line while spurring unpredictable fallout across banking.
Sensing catastrophe for the entire sector absent action, Bank of America engineered a rescue acquisition of the failing Countrywide in early 2008.
The $4 billion purchase averted wider contagion, establishing Bank of America as the nation's leading mortgage originator and servicer almost overnight.
Assuming Countrywide's obligations proved costly for Bank of America through years of litigation around problematic loans.
But the firm avoided incalculable wider damage from wholesale mortgage market disarray had Countrywide declared bankruptcy. Its controversial intervention received credit for arresting instability during a systemwide crisis.
The 2008 acquisition of Wall Street legend Merrill Lynch profoundly transformed Bank of America into a global financial services colossus.
When historic firm Merrill neared collapse like other venerable institutions in 2008’s market meltdown, Bank of America engineered a $50 billion emergency takeover despite its own battered finances.
The U.S. Treasury strong-armed the controversial deal to arrest accelerating systemic risk. The fusion forming Bank of America Merrill Lynch consolidated dominant positions across commercial and investment banking, wealth management, mortgage lending and beyond.
Though costly, absorbing the revered Merrill name and capabilities let Bank of America emerge from crisis commanding a uniquely diversified franchise virtually unmatched for scope across global finance.
Cementing market leadership across core businesses, the Merrill deal cemented Bank of America’s standing as a foremost international banking power.
The 2008 purchase of Merrill Lynch provided Bank of America an investment banking crown jewel, but enormous Merrill losses in the ongoing financial crisis nearly scuttled the deal.
While stabilizing its prized but battered acquisition, in 2009 Bank of America formally absorbed Merrill’s vaunted Global Wealth Management arm.
With $1.7 trillion assets under management, Merrill Wealth Management instantly boosted Bank of America to the highest echelon of private banking—second only to rival UBS globally.
The addition burnished Bank of America's image as a peerless financial services supermarket providing sophisticated wealth management alongside bedrock commercial banking.
Coping with the Merrill merger severely tested Bank of America in crisis.
But expanding into elite wealth management marked an ambitious transformation beyond its middle-class mainstay towards advising ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Despite near-collapse, the once-regional bank now commanded leading positions across multiple global financial sectors.
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