Bank of America 2008 Annual Report Download - page 11

We modified about
230,000 home loans
during 2008 to help
avoid foreclosures
as the regulatory environment changes
in the wake of our current crisis. A
diversified revenue stream naturally
exerts a stabilizing influence on earn-
ings over time, which reassures those
charged with overseeing the strength
and stability of the industry. And
diversification also protects against
changes in the profitability of individual
financial sectors due to changing rules
and regulations.
The universal bank model has
come under a lot of fire over the past
year. But my firm belief is that, when
properly executed, the universal model
will grow in favor as the strongest
and most viable in the industry. The
successful universal bank will be one
that achieves leading positions in the
markets in which it competes; inte-
grates operations to create value for
customers; and creates a strong, bind-
ing culture across the enterprise that
supports the institutional mission.
This is the strategy we’ve followed
at Bank of America throughout my
tenure as CEO. I continue to believe it
is the strategy that will enable us to
outperform our competitors when the
economy finally strengthens.
Looking toward the future
Successfully executing our strategy,
and managing through one of the worst
economic environments in our nation’s
history, will require an extremely
capable, experienced and tight-knit
leadership team. To that point, I’d
like to review some of the leadership
changes we’ve had over the past year.
Barbara Desoer, a longtime Bank of
America leader, has moved to Calaba-
sas, California, where she is leading the
team that is hard at work reinventing
the home lending industry. Barbara’s
experience leading our Consumer
Products and Global Technology &
Operations divisions in recent years has
prepared her well for this challenge.
Bruce Hammonds, one of the
driving forces behind the evolution of
the card industry over the past three
decades, retired at the end of 2008.
Bruce successfully led our Card
Services business since our acquisi-
tion of MBNA in 2006. He has been
succeeded by Ric Struthers, who
helped create MBNA in 1982. Ric’s
deep knowledge and experience in the
card industry will be critical to our suc-
cess as we reposition that business in
a changing economic environment.
Brian Moynihan, who led our Global
Corporate & Investment Banking
business during 2008, has taken
responsibility for Global Banking &
Wealth Management, including
Commercial and Corporate Banking and
Global Product Solutions. Brian, who
led the rapid growth of our wealth
industry now faces is helping consum-
ers deleverage their household balance
sheets. For an industry that became
too dependent on interest income
to produce profits, the prospect of
significantly lower consumer borrowing
levels can be sobering. The answer, in
my view, is for financial institutions to
diversify their business models,
creating a balanced revenue stream
that includes both interest and non-
interest income from a wide range of
financial products and services that
enable customers not only to borrow,
but also to save and invest.
Bank of America’s diversified
business model should be a model
for the industry. Because we offer a
wide range of savings and investment
products as well as credit products,
we are not captive to an ever increas-
ing need for interest income. There’s
great credibility in being able to tell
customers you want to help them
achieve financial balance and finan-
cial health when you have the product
set to back it up.
Diversification also will be helpful
Total Loans
and Leases
’06 ’07 ’08
In millions, at ye ar e nd
$706,490
$876,344 $931,446
Strong
Customer
Support
Bank of America 2008 9