NEW YORK, NY – Bank of America Corp. today announced that its wealth management businesses, including Merrill Wealth Management and Bank of America Private Bank, have been recognized by multiple industry organizations for leadership in digital innovation and/or private banking. These recent awards spotlight the company’s ongoing investments in new initiatives designed to deliver a superior client experience, create efficiencies for advisors and help drive responsible growth.  

“We believe these awards further demonstrate the success of our high tech, high touch approach to serving clients,” said Jeff Busconi, Bank of America’s Head of Wealth Management Strategy, Products and Services. “For over a decade, we have made ongoing investment in new initiatives to deliver a superior client experience and make it easier for our advisors to do business.”

Recent digital awards include:

• Professional Wealth Management (PWM)’s 2023 Wealth Tech Award: Bank of America Private Bank and Merrill were recognized for the best use of technology and Bank of America Private Bank was awarded best digital client service in North America from by PWM, a Financial Times publication.¹
• Global Private Banker’s 2023 Private Bank Innovation Award: Merrill was recognized for the best account opening and onboarding technology for its fully digitalized Collaborative Onboarding Experience (COBE).² Committed to continual enhancements, COBE now offers the ability to open subsequent accounts for clients without additional signatures or paperwork. The capability will be rolling out to Bank of America Private Bank clients later this year. Additionally, Merrill was awarded outstanding use of technology for its Mobile Advisor Experience (MAX), an app that enables advisors to perform critical work functions away from their computers and workstations.²
• 2023 Global Finance Innovators Award: Merrill was recognized as a top innovator in consumer finance for Merrill Advisor Match, a research-based, digital platform that connects people seeking financial advice with a Merrill financial advisor who best fits their preferences and needs.³ The ability for advisors to introduce themselves to prospective clients through a short video using Merrill Video Pro has recently been added to the tool.
• Euromoney 2023 Private Bank Awards: Bank of America Private Bank was recognized as the Best Private Bank for Digital in North America as the firm invests in technology to deliver a fully integrated and tailored client experience.⁴

Additionally, Bank of America Private Bank received a series of industry awards for being a leader in serving high-net-worth individuals and families. Combining a boutique-like client experience with access to extensive resources, Bank of America Private Bank was recognized by the Family Wealth Report Awards ⁵ and Global Private Banker's annual Private Banking Innovation Awards ² as the best private bank in the nation. Additionally, Bank of America Private Bank was awarded best private bank for transfer/succession planning by the Euromoney Private Banking Awards ⁴ for helping families transfer their values, wealth, and businesses from one generation to the next.

Busconi added: “Our wealth management business continues to be recognized for its leadership, breath of capabilities, and the experience of our teams.”

Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation 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:

Julia Ehrenfeld, Bank of America
Phone: 1.646.855.3267
julia.ehrenfeld@bofa.com

MAP # 5751355

Footnotes

¹ Professional Wealth Management 2023 Wealth Tech Award recognized Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank for “Best Private Bank Use of Technology” and Bank of America Private Bank for “Best Digital Client Service” in North America. The judging criteria is based on institutional key achievements, changes or improvements in relation to how technology is transforming business models and contributing to drive growth, support advisers, enhance brand and improve client experience. A judging panel composed of leading industry professionals will nominate the best private banks, regardless of size, in different categories. Rankings and recognition from the Professional Wealth Management are no guarantee of future investment success, do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and should not be construed as an endorsement.

² Bank of America Private Bank was awarded “Best Private Bank in North America” and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management was recognized for “Best Account Opening and Onboarding Technology” for Collaborative Onboarding Experience (COBE) and “Outstanding Use of Technology” for Mobile Advisor Experience (MAX) by Global Private Banker and The Digital Banker at the 2023 Global Private Banking Innovation Awards.  Shortlisted nominees were selected on the qualitative and quantitative depth of their nominations. Shortlisted institutions or individuals per category, were put to our impartial panel of expert judges who undertook a rigorous audit type process to carefully select the winners. A proprietary, numerical and qualitative scoring methodology was applied to all submissions and augmented by market research and input from seminal industry experts, corporate executives and in some cases the High Net Worth & Ultra High Net Worth Community. Rankings and recognition from Global Private Banker or The Digital Banker are no guarantee of future investment success, do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and should not be construed as an endorsement.

³ Merrill was recognized by Global Finance in 2023 as a top innovator in the consumer finance category. Global Finance’s editorial board selected the winners for the Innovators Award with input from executives and industry insiders. The editors also use information from entries submitted by companies, in addition to independent research, to evaluate a series of objective and subjective factors. Rankings and recognition from Global Finance are no guarantee of future investment success, do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and should not be construed as an endorsement.

⁴ Bank of America Private Bank was awarded 2023 Euromoney Private Banking awards for Best for Wealth Transfer/Succession Planning in the U.S. and Best for Digital in the U.S. Winners were selected based on written entries from leading private banking and wealth management institutions showcasing their achievements in client service, product development and commitment to the sector in the last 12 months. Country awards are decided by an in-house panel. Entries for our regional and global private banking awards are assessed by an external judging panel, consisting of some of the market’s most senior and seasoned private banking experts. Rankings and recognition from Euromoney is no guarantee of future investment success, do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and should not be construed as an endorsement.

⁵ The 2023 Family Wealth Report Awards are part of a global program run by ClearView Financial Media and its sister publications WealthBriefing and WealthBriefingAsia. The results are based on input from more than forty judges from family offices, private banks, trusted advisers, consultants and other service providers each of whom has in-depth knowledge and a broad experience. Every submission is carefully reviewed to ensure the most deserving companies and individuals are selected as winners in each category. Rankings and recognition from Family Wealth Report is no guarantee of future investment success, do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and should not be construed as an endorsement.