Bank of America Corporation is a Delaware corporation, a bank holding company
and a financial holding company under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The principal
executive offices of the Corporation are located in the Bank of America Corporate
Center, Charlotte, North Carolina 28255.
Through its banking subsidiaries (the 'Banks') and various nonbanking subsidiaries,
the Corporation provides a diversified range of banking and nonbanking financial
services and products, primarily throughout the Northeast (Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island), the Mid-Atlantic (Maryland,
New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia),
the Midwest (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri), the Southeast (Florida, Georgia,
North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee), the Southwest (Arizona, Arkansas,
New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) and the West (California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon
and Washington) regions of the United States and in selected international markets.
Management believes that these are desirable regions in which to be located.
The Corporation has the leading bank deposit market share position in California,
Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey and Washington.
In addition, the Corporation ranks second in terms of bank deposit market share
in Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South
Carolina and Texas; third in Arkansas, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho
and Maine; fourth in New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon and Virginia; fifth in
Tennessee; sixth in New York; seventh in Iowa; thirteenth in Pennsylvania; and
fourteenth in Illinois.
A financial holding company, and the companies under its control, are permitted
to engage in activities considered 'financial in nature' as defined by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act and Federal Reserve Board interpretations (including, without limitation,
insurance and securities activities), and therefore may engage in a broader
range of activities than permitted for bank holding companies and their subsidiaries.
A financial holding company may engage directly or indirectly in activities
considered financial in nature, either de novo or by acquisition, provided the
financial holding company gives the Federal Reserve Board after-the-fact notice
of the new activities. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act also permits national banks,
such as the Banks, to engage in activities considered financial in nature through
a financial subsidiary, subject to certain conditions and limitations and with
the approval of the Comptroller.
Competition
The Corporation has four business segments which were recently renamed in order
to align more closely with the scope of its business. The business segments
are Global Consumer and Small Business Banking, Global Business and Financial
Services, Global Capital Markets and Investment Banking, and Global Wealth and
Investment Management. The activities in which the Corporation and its business
segments engage are highly competitive. Generally, the lines of activity and
markets served involve competition with other banks, thrifts, credit unions
and other nonbank financial institutions, such as investment banking firms,
investment advisory firms, brokerage firms, investment companies and insurance
companies. The Corporation also competes against banks and thrifts owned by
nonregulated diversified corporations and other entities which offer financial
services, located both domestically and internationally and through alternative
delivery channels such as the Internet. The methods of competition center around
various factors, such as customer services, interest rates on loans and deposits,
lending limits and customer convenience, such as location of offices.
The commercial banking business in the various local markets served by the
Corporation's business segments is highly competitive. The four business segments
compete with other banks, thrifts, finance companies and other businesses which
provide similar services. The business segments actively compete in commercial
lending activities with local, regional and international banks and nonbank
financial organizations, some of which are larger than certain of the Corporation's
nonbanking subsidiaries and the Banks. In its consumer lending operations, the
competitors of the business segments include other banks, thrifts, credit unions,
finance companies and other nonbank organizations offering financial services.
In the investment banking, investment advisory and brokerage business, the Corporation's
nonbanking subsidiaries compete with other banking and investment banking firms,
investment advisory firms,
brokerage firms, investment companies, other organizations offering similar
services and other investment alternatives available to investors. The Corporation's
mortgage banking units compete with banks, thrifts, government agencies, mortgage
brokers and other nonbank organizations offering mortgage banking services.
In the trust business, the Banks compete with other banks, investment counselors
and insurance companies in national markets for institutional funds and insurance
agents, thrifts, financial counselors and other fiduciaries for personal trust
business. The Corporation and its four business segments also actively compete
for funds. A primary source of funds for the Banks is deposits, and competition
for deposits includes other deposit-taking organizations, such as banks, thrifts,
and credit unions, as well as money market mutual funds.