Bank of America 2013 Annual Report Download - page 21

Bank of America 2013 19
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
This report, the documents that it incorporates by reference and
the documents into which it may be incorporated by reference may
contain, and from time to time Bank of America Corporation
(collectively with its subsidiaries, the Corporation) and its
management may make certain statements that constitute forward-
looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified
by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current
facts. Forward-looking statements often use words such as
“expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “targets,” “intends,”
“plans,” “goal” and other similar expressions or future or conditional
verbs such as “will,” “may,” “might,” “should,” “would” and “could.” The
forward-looking statements made represent the current
expectations, plans or forecasts of the Corporation regarding the
Corporation’s future results and revenues, and future business and
economic conditions more generally, and other matters. These
statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and
involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult
to predict and are often beyond the Corporation’s control. Actual
outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed
in, or implied by, any of these forward-looking statements.
You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking
statement and should consider the following uncertainties and risks,
as well as the risks and uncertainties more fully discussed elsewhere
in this report, including under Item 1A. Risk Factors of this Annual
Report on Form 10-K and in any of the Corporation’s subsequent
Securities and Exchange Commission filings: the Corporation’s
ability to resolve representations and warranties repurchase claims
made by monolines and private-label and other investors, including
as a result of any adverse court rulings, and the chance that the
Corporation could face related servicing, securities, fraud, indemnity
or other claims from one or more of the government-sponsored
enterprises, monolines or private-label and other investors; the
possibility that final court approval of negotiated settlements is not
obtained; the possibility that the court decision with respect to the
BNY Mellon Settlement is appealed and overturned in whole or in
part; the possibility that future representations and warranties
losses may occur in excess of the Corporation’s recorded liability
and estimated range of possible loss for its representations and
warranties exposures; the possibility that the Corporation may not
collect mortgage insurance claims; the possible impact of a future
FASB standard on accounting for credit losses; uncertainties about
the financial stability and growth rates of non-U.S. jurisdictions, the
risk that those jurisdictions may face difficulties servicing their
sovereign debt, and related stresses on financial markets,
currencies and trade, and the Corporation’s exposures to such risks,
including direct, indirect and operational; uncertainties related to
the timing and pace of Federal Reserve tapering of quantitative
easing, and the impact on global interest rates, currency exchange
rates, and economic conditions in a number of countries; the
possibility of future inquiries or investigations regarding pending or
completed foreclosure activities; the possibility that unexpected
foreclosure delays could impact the rate of decline of default-related
servicing costs; uncertainty regarding timing and the potential
impact of regulatory capital and liquidity requirements (including
Basel 3); the negative impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act on the Corporation’s businesses and
earnings, including as a result of additional regulatory interpretation
and rulemaking and the success of the Corporation’s actions to
mitigate such impacts; the potential impact on debit card
interchange fee revenue in connection with the U.S. District Court
for the District of Columbia’s ruling on July 31, 2013 regarding the
Federal Reserve’s rules implementing the Financial Reform Act’s
Durbin Amendment; the potential impact of implementing and
conforming to the Volcker Rule; the potential impact of future
derivative regulations; adverse changes to the Corporation’s credit
ratings from the major credit rating agencies; estimates of the fair
value of certain of the Corporation’s assets and liabilities;
reputational damage that may result from negative publicity, fines
and penalties from regulatory violations and judicial proceedings;
the possibility that the European Commission will impose remedial
measures in relation to its investigation of the Corporation’s
competitive practices; the impact of potential regulatory
enforcement action relating to optional identity theft protection
services and certain optional credit card debt cancellation products;
unexpected claims, damages, penalties and fines resulting from
pending or future litigation and regulatory proceedings, including
proceedings instituted by the U.S. Department of Justice, state
Attorneys General and other members of the RMBS Working Group
of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force; the Corporation’s
ability to fully realize the cost savings and other anticipated benefits
from Project New BAC, including in accordance with currently
anticipated timeframes; a failure in or breach of the Corporation’s
operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third
parties with which we do business, including as a result of cyber
attacks; the impact on the Corporation’s business, financial
condition and results of operations of a potential higher interest
rate environment; and other similar matters.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are
made, and the Corporation undertakes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect the impact of circumstances or
events that arise after the date the forward-looking statement was
made.
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements referred to in
the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition
and Results of Operations (MD&A) are incorporated by reference
into the MD&A. Certain prior-period amounts have been
reclassified to conform to current period presentation. Throughout
the MD&A, the Corporation uses certain acronyms and
abbreviations which are defined in the Glossary.