Bank of America 2014 Annual Report Download - page 21

Bank of America 2014 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
“anticipates,” “targets,” “expects,” “hopes,” “estimates,” “intends,”
“plans,” “goal,” “believes,” “continue” 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 Corporation’s current expectations, plans or forecasts
of its future results and revenues, and future business and economic
conditions more generally, and other future matters. These
statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and
involve certain known and unknown 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 our 2014
Annual Report on Form 10-K and in any of the Corporation’s
subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings for further
information about factors that could affect such forward-looking
statements: the Corporation’s ability to resolve representations and
warranties repurchase claims and the chance that the Corporation
could face related servicing, securities, fraud, indemnity or other
claims from one or more counterparties, including monolines or
private-label and other investors; the possibility that final court
approval of negotiated settlements is not obtained, including the
possibility that the court decision with respect to the BNY Mellon
Settlement is overturned on appeal 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; potential claims, damages, penalties, fines and
reputational damage resulting from pending or future litigation and
regulatory proceedings, including the possibility that amounts may
be in excess of the Corporation’s recorded liability and estimated
range of possible losses for litigation exposures; the possibility that
the European Commission will impose remedial measures in relation
to its investigation of the Corporation’s competitive practices; the
possible outcome of LIBOR, other reference rate and foreign
exchange inquiries and investigations; 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; the impact of U.S. and global interest
rates, currency exchange rates and economic conditions; the
negative impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act on the Corporation’s business and earnings, including
as a result of additional regulatory interpretations and rulemaking
and the success of the Corporation’s actions to mitigate such
impacts; the potential impact of a prolonged low interest rate
environment on the Corporation’s business, financial condition and
results of operations; 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;
uncertainty regarding the content, timing and impact of regulatory
capital and liquidity requirements, including, but not limited to, any
GSIB surcharge or as a result of changes to our Basel 3 Advanced
approaches estimates; the Corporation’s ability to fully realize the
cost savings and other anticipated benefits from cost-saving
initiatives, including in accordance with currently anticipated
timeframes, the impact of implementation and compliance with new
and evolving U.S. and international regulations, including, but not
limited to, recovery and resolution planning requirements, the
Volcker Rule, and derivatives regulations; the potential impact of
the U.K. tax authorities’ proposal to limit how much NOLs can offset
annual profit; a failure in or breach of the Corporation’s operational
or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third parties with
whom we do business, including as a result of cyber attacks; 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-year amounts have been reclassified
to conform to current-year presentation. Throughout the MD&A,
the Corporation uses certain acronyms and abbreviations which
are defined in the Glossary.