The Two-Word Mantra That Changed Bank of America’s Risk Culture
Being No. 1 in trading or dealmaking requires taking chances Bank of America would rather avoid.
Brian Moynihan (center) at a September Senate hearing with Wells Fargo’s Charles Scharf and JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon.
Photographer: Saul Loeb/Getty Images
At the time, the two words seemed like a passing thought. Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan uttered them seven years ago as he outlined plans for the bank after settling a slew of financial-crisis-era probes and lawsuits. But the words have come up again and again, including on 30 consecutive earnings calls. Moynihan repeated them 12 times in US Senate testimony in September, and his lieutenants invoke them whenever they address the public.
The mantra is “responsible growth.” It means that “market share is not the only thing,” says Moynihan. What’s more important is profitable market share and profitable customers, he says. “It’s customers that stick with you. That’s responsible growth.”