Bank of America continued to invest in technology and people during its fourth quarter amid global economic uncertainty. 

WHY IT MATTERS: The $3 trillion bank’s Q4 non-interest expenses rose 8% year over year to $5.1 billion, “primarily driven by investments in technology and employees, including hiring, higher costs from return to work, and client engagement,” according to the bank’s Q4 earnings presentation.

The bank also increased its workforce by 3,600 employees sequentially, Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said today during the bank’s earnings call. The areas of hiring were not specified by Bank of America during the call or in the presentation. 

“Our investments over the past several years in our people, tools, and resources for our customers and our teammates have allowed us to continue to enhance the customer experience to record-high levels and fuel organic growth,” Borthwick said.  

THE BIG PICTURE: Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America credits its digital focus with a rising customer base despite fewer physical branches, according to Borthwick.  

The bank’s overall digital adoption in Q4 inched up 3% YoY to 56 million users while its number of Zelle person-to-person payments increased 25% YoY to 273 million, totaling $81 billion in volume, according to the presentation. 

BY THE NUMBERS: Bank of America reported for Q4: 

• Total revenue increased 11% YoY to $24.5 billion; and 
• Net income rose 2% YoY to $7.1 billion. 

NOTEWORTHY: Seventy-three percent of Bank of America customers are “fully digitally active,” with more than 1 million logins to the bank’s digital platforms each month during 2022, Borthwick noted on the call. 

In addition, the bank’s virtual assistant Erica clocked a 36% YoY jump in users in Q4 to 33.5 million customers, according to the earnings presentation.  

“As adoption and engagement with Erica and other digital capabilities grows, we will continue to look at clients’ interactions and overall financial needs, based on their current use, to help inform our investments in new digital offerings,” Senior Vice President Jorge Camargo previously told Bank Automation News. 

THE BOTTOM LINE: On the heels of shuttering 187 branches last year, the bank turned its focus to digital product development — including the launch of a biometric sign-in capability for its CashPro app and a real-time payment option in the United Kingdom. 

“We continue to see increased activity around both investments in our team, our business and our banking products,” Borthwick said. 

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