The following is a summary of the Bank of America (BAC) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript:

Financial Performance:

Bank of America reported net income of $6.7 billion and earnings per share of $0.76 for Q1, rising to $7.2 billion and $0.83 after excluding the additional FDIC assessment.
Net interest income exceeded guidance at $14.2 billion. Deposits grew by over $20 billion quarter-end.
Nearly $1.6 billion was reported in investment banking fees, a 35% increase from Q1 2023.
Investment and brokerage services revenue increased 11% to nearly $3.6 billion year-over-year.
The bank returned $4.4 billion to shareholders by way of dividends and share repurchases.
The bank reported a return on average assets of 83 basis points and a return on tangible common equity of 12.7%.
The bank ended the quarter with total assets of $3.27 trillion, up $94 billion from the previous quarter due to increased global market activity.
The bank bought back $2.5 billion in shares and paid out $1.9 billion in common dividends.

Business Progress:

Bank of America’s digital platforms added 245,000 new checking accounts and received over 2 billion interactions with its virtual banking assistant, Erica.
It added 7,300 net new wealth relationships with Merrill and the private bank.
The bank invested in middle-market investment banking and dual coverage teams, growing from 15 to over 200 bankers since 2018.
Adoption of Zelle surpassed the combined number of checks written and cash withdrawals from tellers and ATMs for the quarter.
In wealth management, the bank reported record revenue of $5.6 billion and $1 billion in net income.
Despite higher provisions and lower net interest income, the global banking unit reported earnings of almost $2 billion.
Merrill clients’ digital engagement was at 86%.
The bank sees more robust capital returns from Q2 2024 as rules clarifying capital requirements are expected to become clearer.
Net interest income is projected to improve in the next quarters due to stabilizing deposit prices and rates.
The bank aims to reduce expenses over time, with a projected additional expense of $100 million per quarter in the near future.
AFS portfolio management and hedging against rate changes have been effective in reducing AOCI risk.
The bank plans to enter the post-pandemic economy and handle changing customer behaviors while benefiting from technology development and managing balance sheets intentionally.
Bank of America plans to handle any changes to Basel III standards while retaining its strong position.
In commercial businesses, the bank sees a normalization for IB line and anticipates continuous assets under management flows in wealth management.