• The bank’s total active portfolio of 5,837 patents comes from more than 6,700 inventors across 42 states and 14 countries.
• Ranked No. 75 in 2022 by Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Top 300 list and the bank holds the most granted U.S. patents among financial services competitors.
• 26% of Bank of America’s inventors are women while 17% of inventors worldwide are women.

CHARLOTTE, NC. - Bank of America announced a record-breaking year for patents received in 2022 with 608 patents granted, a 19% increase year over year. The patents represent innovation across many areas including artificial intelligence, machine learning, information security, data analytics, mobile banking, and payments. This record was achieved as the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued about 1% fewer patents overall in 2022. Bank of America also rose to 75^th  from 86^th  on the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Top 300 list of patent owners (PDF).

“Our culture of innovation is driven by our inventors’ passion for ideating, developing and patenting meaningful capabilities for our clients and teammates,” says Aditya Bhasin, Chief Technology and Information Officer for Bank of America. “Over $10B in annual investment in these innovations earned our company a patented portfolio of solutions that spans artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, payments, and other technologies that help our clients live better financial lives.”

A key driver of the bank’s patent growth is its diverse workforce.  More than 6,700 inventors across 42 states and 14 countries are inventors on the bank’s 5,837 patents. Of Bank of America’s inventors 26% are women, while fewer than 17% of inventors worldwide are women.

Victoria Dravneek, a Deposits and Payments Integration executive, is one of the company’s female inventors. She has 52 patents filed with 43 of those granted, which span categories including global treasury, fraud, and digital banking.

One of her recent patent publications is related to customization of client interfaces within multiple banking channels and she leads a team responsible for new product development.

“I originally came from the world of start-ups, where ideas were fast and furious,” she said. “At Bank of America, I'm encouraged to leverage the same mindset to dream big, identify new opportunities and new ways to leverage technology to help our clients better manage their financial lives.”

By making innovation every teammate’s responsibility, the company reinforces its commitment to a diverse workforce that represents its diverse clients. Ensuring diverse viewpoints are incorporated throughout the innovation and technology development life cycle allows clients to bank how and when they prefer, securely.

“Bank of America’s philosophy toward patents is unique and purposeful, as we do not rely on an innovation lab or R&D group to invent,” said Joe Castinado, Merchant Services Technology executive. “Any teammate can innovate and patent, leveraging our diverse perspectives to drive client focused solutions.”

Hear more about Joe’s journey as an inventor:

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 68 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,900 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 56 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BAC).

Reporters May Contact:

Alex Lawson, Bank of America
Phone: 1.704.387.8291
alex.lawson@bofa.com

Catherine Page, Bank of America
Phone: 1.704.519.7314
catherine.page@bofa.com