Bank of America 2001 Annual Report Download - page 33

31
<Serving Large Corporations and Institutional Markets
a top ten firm in both listed and over-the-counter (OTC)
trading. We maintain a market in more than 1,400 listed
and 600 OTC securities.
We continue to deepen the analyst expertise in
our focused sectors. Our 66 equity research ana-
lysts cover 773 companies in eight key industries
in the U.S. and 30 research analysts cover 126
companies in Europe. Nine are ranked analysts by
Institutional Investor while four were named as
up-and-coming stars.
We believe we are the largest equity-deriv-
atives dealer in the U.S. and we know that our
strategic clients rank us highly on equity deriva-
tives quality. This business, focused on equity
risk management, convertibles origination and
distribution and proprietary derivatives trading,
serves the needs of corporate, institutional and
high-net-worth households. We have significant
opportunities to leverage the large number of
high-net-worth households served through our
Private Bank to provide portfolio protection to
clients whose net worth may be narrowly con-
centrated in a few stocks.
Global Treasury Services and syndicated
finance are also highly profitable core businesses.
We rank first in treasury services, dominating the
U.S. market with significant volumes and client penetration
and cited by the highest percentage of large U.S. corpora-
tions as their most important treasury-relationship bank.
This business includes funds collection and concentration,
disbursements, investments, information reporting and
forecasting on a global basis. Very much a business of scale,
we serve approximately 10,000 clients through our global
network of branches. The payments and cash management
services are also key products for the middle-market business.
With e-commerce an increasingly important capability in this
business, Bank of America Direct, our e-commerce platform, is
an industry leader.
In syndicated finance we have held a leading market
share for several years. We have consistently been ranked
No. 2 in dollar volume and No. 1 by a wide margin in number
of transactions, standings clearly driven by the
breadth of our client base. This leadership is key
to generating investment banking fees as syndi-
cated finance is consistently at the core of multiple
product delivery. We are aggressively executing
an originate-to-distribute strategy in our lending
business, retaining only about 10% of the syndicated
loans we originate. We are managing our credit
exposure to reserve capital for more profitable
clients. Since August 2000, GCIB loan balances
have declined more than 30% and we have also
significantly reduced unfunded commitments.
Underpinning all these strategies, we are
executing an infrastructure strategy. Quality and
productivity tools are being utilized to drive for
an efficient, error-free operating platform and one
of the industry’s lowest cost structures.
Investments in technology are being made
in our e-commerce platforms and selected areas
that support our business objectives and enhance
client service.
The depth and breadth of our intellectual
capital continue to grow. We have a large and
growing integrated team of quality corporate and investment
bankers, analysts, traders and sales professionals – a team we
believe has the talent to address our client needs and harness
the strength of all of our products, services and expertise.
Our momentum has continued to build over the past few
years and our integrated model has served us well in uncer-
tain climates. Evidence of our success can be seen in a wide
variety of measures, yet we know that our potential for further
growth is tremendous. We are confident that we have the right
business model and strategies for the next year and beyond.
Total Loans Outstanding
(Dollars in billions)
REDUCING CAPITAL
■ Lead Investment Bank
■ Important Investment Bank
U.S. Market Position
GROWTH IN MAJOR
INVESTMENT
BANKING RELATIONSHIPS
Aug 2000 Dec 2001
1999 2000 2001
$99
$67
31%
22%
3%
40%
11%
14%