Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individuals, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company serves approximately 56 million U.S. consumers and small business relationships. It is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading.
The origin of this bank goes back to 1904 when Amadeo Pietro Giannini established the Bank of Italy in San Francisco. Eighteen years later, Bank of America was established in Los Angeles, and Giannini was one of its minority shareholders. In 1928, both banks entered into a merger agreement, creating the largest bank in the entire country. The bank was renamed Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association two years after the merger. In 1983, the company started expanding outside California. In 1958, the bank launched BankAmericard, which we know as Visa today.
BankAmerica Corp was established in 1956 as a holding company for Bank of America and its subsidiaries. In 1998, NationsBank purchased BankAmerica in a deal that was the largest bank acquisition at the time. The merged bank re-adopted "Bank of America" as its name. As of 2021, the Bank of America was the 12th largest bank by deposits.