Brian Thomas Moynihan (born October 9, 1959)
is an American investment banker, businessman and the chairman and CEO of
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
. He joined the board of directors, following his promotion to president and CEO in 2010.
Early life and education
Moynihan was born in
Marietta, Ohio
Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Ma ...
October 9, in 1959,
the sixth of eight children in a family of
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
descent.
Moynihan graduated from
Brown University in 1981, where he majored in history, co-captained the
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
team, and met his future wife, classmate Susan E. Berry.
He earned a
Juris Doctor from the
University of Notre Dame Law School,
before returning to
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...
to join
Edwards & Angell LLP, the city's largest corporate law firm.
Career
Moynihan held numerous banking positions before becoming president of consumer and small business banking (SBB) at
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
in January 2009.
He joined
Fleet Boston bank in April 1993 as a deputy general counsel.
From 1999 to April 2004, he served as executive vice president, managing Fleet's brokerage and wealth management division. After
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
(BofA)
merged with FleetBoston Financial in 2004, he joined BoA as president of global wealth and investment management.
He was named CEO of
Merrill Lynch after its sale to BoA in September 2008, and became the CEO of Bank of America after
Ken Lewis stepped down in 2010.
On August 25, 2011, CNBC's Drew Sandholm noted that "
spite having recently told investors Bank of America ... doesn't need to raise capital, CEO Brian Moynihan will accept $5 billion in capital from famed investor
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...
. The deal not only surprised the ''Fast Money'' traders on Thursday, it also caused them to question Moynihan's credibility."
On September 12, 2011,
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
's John Carney noted that Moynihan had "once again laid out his company's plan to meet regulatory capital requirements and denied that the bank will have to issue new stock to raise capital ...
oynihansays that
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...
's $5 billion counts as Tier 1 Capital. But the markets have largely ignored the investment, most likely because it looks a lot more like debt than capital."
On October 26, 2011, ''
Huffington Post'' blogger Jillian Berman noted that BoA "has also been hammered in the stock and bonds markets" and "was the worst performer in the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
for two-quarters straight ... while Moody's downgraded the bank last month." She added while
Jamie Dimon,
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
's CEO, received a $19 million raise in 2010, Moynihan's salary stayed level at $950,000.
On December 27, 2011, Julia LaRoche wrote in ''
Business Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...
'' that Moynihan "admitted the proposed $5 monthly fee for debit card users wasn't the best idea". She quoted him as saying: "We struck a chord with customers that no one anticipated. We learned our lesson and stopped it." It was later reported that the failed fee plan led to a 20% increase in account closures during the last three months of 2011.
''
Business Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...
'' noted that "a group of law professors and activists from a non-profit called Public Citizen sent a 24 page petition to Fed Chairman
Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Geithner asking them to consider breaking up and reforming Bank of America.
In July 2020, Moynihan was named Chief Executive Magazine’s 2020 CEO Of The Year.
He currently lives in
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of Greater Boston. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of Massachusetts Bay Communit ...
, and frequently commutes between
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and Bank of America's headquarters in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
using Bank of America's
private jets. This practice has come under scrutiny from some shareholders.
[https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2018/03/12/bank-of-america-ceo-brian-moynihan-sees-big-pay.html#:~:text=BofA%20CEO%20Brian%20Moynihan%20lives%20in%20Wellesley. ]
Criticism
The bank's 2012 shareholder meeting in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
convened "as protests swirled inside and outside", according to the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
''. There were complaints from shareholders regarding the bank's mortgage servicing operations, decreased share prices, and other issues. Protesters converged outside the building, which they were barred from entering by police and metal barricades. In response to the criticisms of the bank's mortgage servicing operations, Moynihan tried to reassure the audience, saying "you can call us and we will figure it out".
In 2012, Moynihan, alongside several other CEO's, faced heavy criticism from
Bernie Sanders in a report titled "Top Corporate Tax Dodgers". According to the report, Moynihan's Bank of America paid no
federal income tax
Income taxes in the United States are imposed by the federal government, and most states. The income taxes are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allow ...
in 2010 and received a $1.9 billion tax refund despite making $4.4 billion in profits. The report also includes criticisms of Bank of America's use of
tax haven
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
s.
Top Corporate Tax Dodgers
Top Americans For Tax Fairness, Institute for Policy Studies
The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American progressive think tank started in 1963 that is based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 2021 Tope Folarin was announced as new Executive Director. ...
See also
*Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moynihan, Brian
1959 births
Living people
American bankers
American chief executives of financial services companies
American people of Irish descent
Bank of America executives
Brown University alumni
Merrill (company) people
People from Marietta, Ohio
Directors of Bank of America
Catholics from Ohio
Notre Dame Law School alumni