Bank of America Corporation (BAC) is the world's largest holding bank company. It provides services in three main areas: global wealth and investment management, global consumer and small business banking, and global corporate and investment banking. When Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch & Co. during the financial crisis for $1.6 billion in Bank of America common stock, it boosted the company's assets to more than $2 trillion. The company currently offers its services in more than 150 countries, including all 50 states and 44 other countries. In 2010, it had 284,000 employees.
Bank of America at the start of 2009 received $20 billion in federal bailout money through the government's TARP program and a guarantee of $118 billion that would offset any future losses the company would have. That was in addition to the $25 billion received through the program in 2008, as part of the deal to acquire Merrill Lynch. The company said it had completed its repayment at the end of 2009.
For 2009, in the midst of the financial crisis, they reported a loss of $2.2 billion. It's forecasted that the company will report a $10.2 billion-dollar profit for 2010. During the year, the stock had hit both 52-week lows ($10.91) and 52-week highs ($19.86). A bankruptcy judge in January 2011 ordered Bank of America to return $500 million in deposits to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and pay $90 million in interest. According to court papers, the company was a lender to Lehman in 2008 and took a $500 million deposit after Lehman filed for bankruptcy to pay for another unrelated loan.
Along with three other companies, they are currently in the process of managing the 1.66 billion shares of stock for insurer American International Group.
Bank of America has a long history of mergers, acquisitions and expansions, with the current standing of the company formed in 2000 when the BankAmerica Corporation and NationsBank Corporation merged. These expansions helped stablise the BAC stock price over time. Its roots date back to 1904, when its main presence was in California. In 1983, the bank expanded outside of California. Bank of America's headquarters are in Charlotte, North Carolina.
