Bank of America aims to 'double' its slice of US retail business

Brian Moynihan, Chief Executive with Bank of America, is not concerned with overwhelming his industry sector - instead, he believes the banking giant can double its consumer market share.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Moynihan was candid: "Our market share in consumer is probably 12, 13, 14 percent, depending on who counts?.?.?.?The reality is, you could double that. Other companies that you think might have big consumer markets share - the auto companies, the soft drink companies, the beer companies - they have massively more consumer share [than BofA]," he said.

The United States has thousands of consumer banks, but, over a decade out from the Great Recession and financial crisis of 2008, already-dominant players like Bank of America have only grown. Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, after a 2019 merger between BB&T and SunTrust, expressed his concerns that deregulation had "amplified the potential for the biggest banks to threaten our financial system. Further consolidation by large banks would make matters even worse."

Moynihan believes doubling Bank of America's retail business could happen without opening more branches.

"If we do a good job for the customers and clients and we're fair in our pricing, I think that's good because?.?.?.?the scale that we have enables us to do more for the customers," Moynihan said.

As the bank sees growth in online products and services, and as deposits increase beyond industry averages - by almost $50bn in 2019 alone - Moynihan is not planning to expand overseas to achieve retail growth, citing Bank of America's wealth management division's recent departure from international markets due to an inability to achieve profitability. And he believes foreign diversification won't buttress the bank during future economic challenges.

"There isn't going to be enough to offset a U.S. recession in what we could do outside the United States because [the] U.S. is so big," Moynihan said.

More than 63 percent of merchant service providers (MSPs) want to overhaul their core payment processing systems so they can up their value-added services (VAS) game. It's tough, though, since many of these systems date back to the pre-digital era. In the January 2020 Optimizing Merchant Services Playbook, PYMNTS unpacks what 200 MSPs say is key to delivering the VAS agenda that is critical to their success.

The New York Times endorsed Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren for the Democratic presidential nomination, its first time choosing two candidates. The liberal newspaper's pick comes just a few weeks before the Iowa caucuses on February 3 which officially begins the presidential primary season.

The Times described Massachusetts senator Warren as the "radical" and Minnesota senator Klobuchar as the "realist" choice.

"An essential debate is underway between two visions that may define the future of the (Democratic) party and perhaps the nation," the editorial board wrote.

"Some in the party view President Trump as an aberration and believe that a return to a more sensible America is possible. Then there are those who believe that President Trump was the product of political and economic systems so rotten that they must be replaced."

"Both the radical and the realist models warrant serious consideration," the board said. "That's why we're endorsing the most effective candidates for each approach. They are Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar."

Warren has consistently polled at third place, behind former vice president Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders-Warren's fellow progressive. She surged during the summer but has seen her support slide since October. But The Times called her the new "standard-bearer for the Democratic left," praising her plans for structural and social reform.

"Ms. Warren's path to the nomination is challenging, but not hard to envision," the board said. For Klobuchar, who is more moderate, The Times said her "lengthy tenure in the Senate and bipartisan credentials would make her a deal maker (a real one) and uniter for the wings of the party-and perhaps the nation."

"May the best woman win," The Times concluded.

For the first time, The Times detailed its decision-making process on its television show "The Weekly".