Bank Of America Corp (BAC) SEC Quarterly Report (10-Q) for Q1 2018

Bank of America Corporation (the "Corporation") and its management may make certain statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often use words such as "anticipates," "targets," "expects," "hopes," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "goals," "believes," "continue" and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "may," "might," "should," "would" and "could." Forward-looking statements represent the Corporation's current expectations, plans or forecasts of its future results, revenues, expenses, efficiency ratio, capital measures, strategy and future business and economic conditions more generally, and other future matters. These statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are often beyond the Corporation's control. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any of these forward-looking statements.

You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should consider the following uncertainties and risks, as well as the risks and uncertainties more fully discussed under Item 1A. Risk Factors of our 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in any of the Corporation ' s subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings: the Corporation's potential claims, damages, penalties, fines and reputational damage resulting from pending or future litigation, regulatory proceedings and enforcement actions, including inquiries into our retail sales practices, and the possibility that amounts may be in excess of the Corporation's recorded liability and estimated range of possible loss for litigation exposures; the possibility that the Corporation could face increased servicing, securities, fraud, indemnity, contribution or other claims from one or more counterparties, including trustees, purchasers of loans, underwriters, issuers, other parties involved in securitizations, monolines or private-label and other investors; the possibility that future representations and warranties losses may occur in excess of the Corporation's recorded liability and estimated range of possible loss for its representations and warranties exposures; the Corporation's ability to resolve representations and warranties repurchase and related claims, including claims brought by investors or trustees seeking to avoid the statute of limitations for repurchase claims; uncertainties about the financial stability and growth rates of non-U.S. jurisdictions, the risk that those jurisdictions may face difficulties servicing their sovereign debt, and related stresses on financial markets, currencies and trade, and the Corporation's exposures to such risks, including direct, indirect and operational;

the impact of U.S. and global interest rates, currency exchange rates, economic conditions, trade policies and potential geopolitical instability; the impact on the Corporation's business, financial condition and results of operations of a potential higher interest rate environment; the possibility that future credit losses may be higher than currently expected due to changes in economic assumptions, customer behavior, adverse developments with respect to U.S. or global economic conditions and other uncertainties; the Corporation's ability to achieve its expense targets, net interest income expectations, or other projections; adverse changes to the Corporation's credit ratings from the major credit rating agencies; estimates of the fair value of certain of the Corporation's assets and liabilities, which may change; uncertainty regarding the content, timing and impact of regulatory capital and liquidity requirements; the potential impact of total loss-absorbing capacity requirements; potential adverse changes to our global systemically important bank surcharge; the potential impact of Federal Reserve actions on the Corporation's capital plans; the possible impact of the Corporation's failure to remediate a shortcoming identified by banking regulators in the Corporation's Resolution Plan; the effect of regulations, other guidance or additional information on our estimated impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; the impact of implementation and compliance with U.S. and international laws, regulations and regulatory interpretations, including, but not limited to, recovery and resolution planning requirements, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation assessments, the Volcker Rule, fiduciary standards and derivatives regulations; a failure in or breach of the Corporation's operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third parties, including as a result of cyber attacks; the impact on the Corporation's business, financial condition and results of operations from the planned exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union; and other similar matters.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Corporation undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statement was made.

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements referred to in the Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (MD&A) are incorporated by reference into the MD&A. Certain prior-period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current-period presentation. Throughout the MD&A, the Corporation uses certain acronyms and abbreviations which are defined in the Glossary.

The Corporation is a Delaware corporation, a bank holding company (BHC) and a financial holding company. When used in this report, "the Corporation" may refer to Bank of America Corporation individually, Bank of America Corporation and its subsidiaries, or certain of Bank of America Corporation's subsidiaries or affiliates. Our principal executive offices are located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Through our banking and various nonbank subsidiaries throughout the U.S. and in international markets, we provide a diversified range of banking and nonbank financial services and products through four business segments: Consumer Banking , Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM) , Global Banking and Global Markets , with the remaining operations recorded in All Other . We operate our banking activities primarily under the Bank of America, National Association (Bank of America, N.A. or BANA) charter. At March 31, 2018 , the Corporation had approximately $2.3 trillion in assets and a headcount of approximately 208,000 employees. Headcount has remained relatively unchanged since December 31, 2017 .

As of March 31, 2018 , we served clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Our retail banking footprint covers approximately 85 percent of the U.S. population, and we serve approximately 47 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 4,400 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs, and leading digital banking platforms (www.bankofamerica.com) with approximately 36 million active users, including approximately 25 million active mobile users. We offer industry-leading support to approximately three million small business owners. Our wealth management businesses, with client balances of over $2.7 trillion , provide tailored solutions to meet client needs through a full set of investment management, brokerage, banking, trust and retirement products. We are a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world.

U.S. macroeconomic trends in the first quarter were characterized by moderate economic growth, low inflation and a strong labor market. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the first quarter of 2018 was moderate and lower than previously estimated, with actual GDP growth of 2.3 percent, well below the fourth quarter's 2.9 percent annualized pace. Notably, retail sales slowed in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, economic fundamentals point to a second-quarter pickup. Consumer confidence remains near cyclical highs, which along with the robust labor market, point to the likelihood of a household spending rebound in the second quarter. Business investment in equipment and software accelerated over 2017. Both manufacturing and non-manufacturing investments are near their highs of the current economic expansion.

Housing activity showed some signs of growth during the first quarter, with continued solid price appreciation when compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Selling rates are near year-ago levels with continued persistent supply shortages.

Labor market conditions remain strong. Nonfarm payroll growth has been volatile month-to-month but solid on a trend basis. Initial jobless claims are near historic lows. The unemployment rate was 4.1 percent at the end of the quarter, unchanged for six consecutive months, as strong employment gains have been met with solid increases in labor force growth. Wage growth, however, has been relatively muted.

Inflation strengthened in the first quarter, led by gains in apparel, health care and energy. The core Consumer Price Index increased at a three-percent annualized rate, the fastest quarterly rise of the current business expansion, although the less volatile year-on-year rate remained at 2.1 percent.

Equity markets increased substantially through the end of 2017 and into early 2018, with anticipation and enactment of corporate tax reform being the main catalysts, as well as a synchronous global economic expansion. However, equity volatility increased sharply in early February and periodically in March. The S&P 500 finished the first quarter down 1.2 percent from the year end. The 10-year Treasury yield finished the first quarter at 2.76 percent, up from 2.41 percent at the end of 2017. Although the Treasury yield curve steepened during the equity sell-off, the curve subsequently flattened back to levels that prevailed at the end of 2017. The U.S. dollar index trended lower through most of the first quarter.

The Federal Reserve raised its target Federal funds rate corridor to 1.5 to 1.75 percent, the sixth 25-basis point (bp) rate increase of the current cycle. Current Federal Reserve baseline forecasts suggest gradual rate increases will continue into 2018 against a backdrop of solid economic expansion and a tightening labor market. The Federal Open Market Committee also upgraded their economic forecasts, with somewhat faster GDP growth expected this year and in 2019, and a lower trough anticipated for the unemployment rate. Federal Reserve balance sheet normalization is continuing as initially scheduled.

International trade tensions escalated in the first quarter. The U.S. Administration announced plans for broad-based tariffs on steel and aluminum, although subsequently gave exemptions to various trading partners. The Administration also announced plans for tariffs on imports from China, and the Chinese government announced retaliatory measures. Full enactment of the tariffs remains subject to negotiation and further review by the Administration.

After posting its strongest annual GDP growth in 10 years in 2017, economic activity in the eurozone lost some momentum in the first quarter of the year. Despite the positive trend in growth, underlying inflationary pressures have remained dormant. In this context, the European Central Bank continued with the tapering of its quantitative easing program. The impact of the 2016 U.K. referendum vote in favor of leaving the European Union (EU) continues to weigh on the U.K. economy which, in line with the eurozone, has also showed some signs of slowing in the first three months of the year.

Supported by a very accommodative monetary policy stance and sustained growth in external demand, the Japanese economy has continued to expand with headline inflation reaching its highest level since 2015. Across emerging nations, economic activity was supported by China's continued transition towards a more consumption-based growth model.

Recent Events

During the first quarter of 2018 , we repurchased approximately $4.9 billion of common stock pursuant to the Board of Directors' (the Board) June 2017 repurchase authorization under our 2017 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) capital plan, including repurchases to offset equity-based compensation awards, and an additional share repurchase authorization in December 2017. For more information, see Capital Management on page 18 .

On April 30, 2018, the Corporation announced that it has submitted redemption notices for 11 series of trust preferred securities, which will result in the redemption of such trust

preferred securities, along with the trust common securities (held by the Corporation or its affiliates), on June 6, 2018. The Corporation has received all necessary approvals for these redemptions. Upon the redemption of the trust preferred securities and the extinguishment of the related junior subordinated notes issued by the Corporation, expected to occur in the second quarter of 2018, the Corporation will record a charge to other income and pretax income estimated to be approximately $800 million, subject to certain redemption price calculations at that time. For additional information, see the Corporation's Current Report on Form 8-K filed on April 30, 2018.

Table 1 provides selected consolidated financial data for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 , and at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 .

Financial Highlights

Net income was $6.9 billion , or $0.62 per diluted share for the three months ended March 31, 2018 compared to $5.3 billion , or $0.45 per diluted share for the same period in 2017. The results for the three months ended March 31, 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 were driven by an increase in net interest income and noninterest income, and a decline in noninterest expense as well as lower income tax expense due to the impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act). These impacts include a reduction in the federal tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, an increase in U.S. taxes related to our non-U.S. operations and the elimination of tax deductions for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) premiums. These changes resulted in a net reduction to our estimated annual effective tax rate of approximately nine percentage points.

Total assets increased $47.2 billion from December 31, 2017 to $2.3 trillion at March 31, 2018 driven by higher cash and cash equivalents from seasonally higher deposits and an increase in securities borrowed or purchased under agreements to resell to support Global Markets client activity. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in debt securities due to lower reinvestment-related purchases as well as market value declines.

Total liabilities increased $48.2 billion from December 31, 2017 to $2.1 trillion at March 31, 2018 primarily driven by seasonally higher deposits and an increase in trading account liabilities from increased activity in Global Markets . Shareholders' equity decreased $922 million from December 31, 2017 primarily due to returns of capital to shareholders through common stock repurchases and common and preferred stock dividends, and market value declines on debt securities, largely offset by net income and issuances of preferred stock.

Net interest income increased $550 million to $11.6 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 , and the net interest yield increased one bp to 2.36 percent. These increases were primarily driven by the benefits from higher interest rates along with loan and deposit growth, partially offset by the sale of the non-U.S. consumer credit card business in the second quarter of 2017 and higher funding costs in Global Markets. For more information regarding interest rate risk management, see Interest Rate Risk Management for the Banking Book on page 45 .

Noninterest income increased $327 million to $11.5 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 . The following highlights the significant changes.

The provision for credit losses remained relatively unchanged for the three months ended March 31, 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 with continued improvement in the consumer real estate portfolio and the impact of the sale of the non-U.S. credit card business during the second quarter of 2017, largely offset by an increase in U.S. credit card due to portfolio seasoning and loan growth. For more information on the provision for credit losses, see Provision for Credit Losses on page 41 .

Noninterest expense decreased $196 million to $13.9 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 driven by lower non-personnel costs, primarily litigation expense and professional fees.

The effective tax rate for 2018 reflects the new 21 percent federal tax rate and the other provisions of the Tax Act. Further, the effective tax rates for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 were lower than the applicable federal and state statutory rates due to our recurring tax preference benefits and tax benefits related to stock-based compensation. We expect the effective tax rate for 2018 to be approximately 20 percent, absent unusual items.

In this Form 10-Q, we present certain non-GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP financial measures exclude certain items or otherwise include components that differ from the most directly comparable measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures are provided as additional useful information to assess our financial condition, results of operations (including period-to-period operating performance) or compliance with prospective regulatory requirements. These non-GAAP financial measures are not intended as a substitute for GAAP financial measures and may not be defined or calculated the same way as non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.

We view net interest income and related ratios and analyses on a fully taxable-equivalent (FTE) basis, which when presented on a consolidated basis, are non-GAAP financial measures. To derive the FTE basis, net interest income is adjusted to reflect tax-exempt income on an equivalent before-tax basis with a corresponding increase in income tax expense. For purposes of this calculation, we use the federal statutory tax rate of 21 percent for 2018 (35 percent for all prior periods) and a representative state tax rate. In addition, certain performance measures, including the efficiency ratio and net interest yield, utilize net interest income (and thus total revenue) on an FTE basis. The efficiency ratio measures the costs expended to generate a dollar of revenue, and net interest yield measures the bps we earn over the cost of funds. We believe that presentation of these items on an FTE basis allows for comparison of amounts from both taxable and tax-exempt sources and is consistent with industry practices.

We may present certain key performance indicators and ratios excluding certain items (e.g., debit valuation adjustment (DVA) gains (losses)) which result in non-GAAP financial measures. We believe that the presentation of measures that exclude these items is useful because such measures provide additional information to assess the underlying operational performance and trends of our businesses and to allow better comparison of period-to-period operating performance.

We also evaluate our business based on certain ratios that utilize tangible equity, a non-GAAP financial measure. Tangible

equity represents an adjusted shareholders' equity or common shareholders' equity amount which has been reduced by goodwill and certain acquired intangible assets (excluding mortgage servicing rights (MSRs)), net of related deferred tax liabilities. These measures are used to evaluate our use of equity. In addition, profitability, relationship and investment models use both return on average tangible common shareholders' equity and return on average tangible shareholders' equity as key measures to support our overall growth goals. These ratios are as follows:

We believe that the use of ratios that utilize tangible equity provides additional useful information because they present measures of those assets that can generate income. Tangible book value per share provides additional useful information about the level of tangible assets in relation to outstanding shares of common stock.

The aforementioned supplemental data and performance measures are presented in Table 6.

For more information on the reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures, see Non-GAAP Reconciliations on page 48 .

We report our results of operations through the following four business segments: Consumer Banking , GWIM , Global Banking and Global Markets , with the remaining operations recorded in All Other . We periodically review capital allocated to our businesses and allocate capital annually during the strategic and capital planning processes. We utilize a methodology that considers the effect of regulatory capital requirements in addition to internal risk-based capital models. Our internal risk-based capital models use a risk-adjusted methodology incorporating each segment's credit,

market, interest rate, business and operational risk components. For more information on the nature of these risks, see Managing Risk on page 17 . The capital allocated to the business segments

is referred to as allocated capital. Allocated equity in the reporting units is comprised of allocated capital plus capital for the portion of goodwill and intangibles specifically assigned to the reporting unit. For more information, see Note 8 – Goodwill and Intangible Assets to the Consolidated Financial Statements .

For more information on the basis of presentation for business segments and reconciliations to consolidated total revenue, net income and period-end total assets, see Note 17 – Business Segment Information to the Consolidated Financial Statements .