BANK OF AMERICA

1. INTRODUCTION

Bank of America is an American multinational banking and financial services corporation

headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the second largest bank holding
company in the United States by assets. As of 2016, Bank of America is the 26th largest
company in the United States by total revenue. In 2016, Forbes listed Bank of America as
the eleventh largest company in the world.

Bank of America provides its products and services through operating 5,100 banking
centers, 16,300 ATMs, call centers, and online and mobile banking platforms. Its Consumer
Real Estate Services segment offers consumer real estate products comprising fixed and
adjustable-rate first-lien mortgage loans for home purchase and refinancing needs, home
equity lines of credit, and home equity loans.

The bank's 2008 acquisition of Merrill Lynch made Bank of America the world's
largest wealth management corporation and a major player in the investment
banking market. According to the Scorpio Partnership Global Private Banking Benchmark
2014 it had assets under management of US$1,866.6 Bn, an increase of 12.5% on 2013.

The company held 12.2% of all bank deposits in the United States in August 2009, and is
one of the Big Four banks in the United States, along with Citigroup, JPMorgan
Chase and Wells Fargoits main competitors. Bank of America operatesbut does not
necessarily maintain retail branchesin all 50 states of the United States, the District of
Columbia and more than 40 other countries. It has a retail banking footprint that serves
approximately 50 million consumer and small business relationships at 5,151 banking
centers and 16,259 automated teller machines (ATMs).

Bank of America has been the subject of many lawsuits and investigations regarding both
mortgages and financial disclosures dating back to the financial crisis, including a record
settlement of $16.65 billion on August 21, 2014

2. HISTORY

Bank of Italy
The history of Bank of America dates back to October 17, 1904, when Amadeo Pietro
Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco. The Bank of Italy served the needs of
many immigrants settling in the United States at that time, providing services denied to
them by the existing American banks which typically discriminated against them and often
denied service to all but the wealthiest. Giannini was raised by his mother and stepfather
Lorenzo Scatena, as his father was fatally shot over a pay dispute with an employee. When
the 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck, Giannini was able to save all deposits out of the
bank building and away from the fires. Because San Francisco's banks were in smoldering
ruins and unable to open their vaults, Giannini was able to use the rescued funds to
commence lending within a few days of the disaster. From a makeshift desk consisting of a
few planks over two barrels, he lent money to those who wished to rebuild.
In 1928 Giannini merged his bank with Bank of America, Los Angeles, headed by Orra E.
Monnette and consolidated it with other bank holdings to create what would become the
largest banking institution in the country. Bank of Italy was renamed on November 3, 1930
to Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association, which was the only such
designated bank in the United States of America at that time. Giannini and Monnette
headed the resulting company, serving as co-chairs.

3. MERGER OF NATIONSBANK AND BANKAMERICA

In 1997, Bank of America lent D. E. Shaw & Co., a large hedge fund, $1.4 billion in order to
run various businesses for the bank. However, D.E. Shaw suffered significant loss after
the 1998 Russia bond default. BankAmerica was acquired by NationsBank of Charlotte in
October 1998 in what was the largest bank acquisition in history at that time.
While NationsBank was the nominal survivor, the merged bank took the better-known name
of Bank of America. Hence, the holding company was renamed Bank of America
Corporation, while NationsBank, N.A. merged with Bank of America NT&SA to form Bank of
America, N.A. as the remaining legal bank entity. The combined bank still operates under
Federal Charter 13044, which was granted to Giannini's Bank of Italy on March 1, 1927.
However, the merged company is headquartered in Charlotte and retains NationsBank's
pre-1998 stock price history. Additionally, all U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) filings before 1998 are listed under NationsBank, not Bank of America.
NationsBank president, chairman and CEO Hugh McColl took on the same roles with the
merged company.
Bank of America possessed combined assets of $570 billion, as well as 4,800 branches in
22 states. Despite the mammoth size of the two companies, federal regulators insisted only
upon the divestiture of 13 branches in New Mexico, in towns that would be left with only a
single bank following the combination. (Branch divestitures are only required if the
combined company will have a larger than 25% Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC) deposit market share in a particular state or 10% deposit market share
overall.) In addition, the combined broker-dealer, created from the integration of
BankAmerica Robertson Stephens and NationsBank Montgomery Securities, was
renamed Banc of America Securities in 1998.

4. 2001 TO PRESENT

Typical Bank of America local office in Los Angeles

In 2001, McColl stepped down and named Ken Lewis as his successor.
In 2004, Bank of America announced it would purchase Boston-based bank FleetBoston
Financial for $47 billion in cash and stock. By merging with Bank of America, all of its banks
and branches were given the Bank of America logo. At the time of merger, FleetBoston was
the seventh largest bank in United States with $197 billion in assets, over 20 million
customers and revenue of $12 billion. Hundreds of FleetBoston workers lost their jobs or
were demoted, according to The Boston Globe.
On June 30, 2005, Bank of America announced it would purchase credit card
giant MBNA for $35 billion in cash and stock. The Federal Reserve Board gave final
approval to the merger on December 15, 2005, and the merger closed on January 1, 2006.
The acquisition of MBNA provided Bank of America a leading domestic and foreign credit
card issuer. The combined Bank of America Card Services organization, including the
former MBNA, had more than 40 million U.S. accounts and nearly $140 billion in
outstanding balances. Under Bank of America the operation was renamed FIA Card
Services.

5. BANK OF AMERICA FOOTPRINT

In May 2006, Bank of America and Banco Ita (Investments Ita S.A.) entered into an
acquisition agreement through which Ita agreed to acquire BankBoston's operations in
Brazil and was granted an exclusive right to purchase Bank of America's operations
in Chile and Uruguay. The deal was signed in August 2006 under which Ita agreed to
purchase Bank of America's operations in Chile and Uruguay. Prior to the transaction,
BankBoston's Brazilian operations included asset management, private banking, a credit
card portfolio, and small, middle-market, and large corporate segments. It had 66 branches
and 203,000 clients in Brazil. BankBoston in Chile had 44 branches and 58,000 clients and
in Uruguay it had 15 branches. In addition, there was a credit card company, OCA, in
Uruguay, which had 23 branches. BankBoston N.A. in Uruguay, together with OCA, jointly
served 372,000 clients. While the BankBoston name and trademarks were not part of the
transaction, as part of the sale agreement, they cannot be used by Bank of America in
Brazil, Chile or Uruguay following the transactions. Hence, the BankBoston name has
disappeared from Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. The Ita stock received by Bank of America in
the transactions has allowed Bank of America's stake in Ita to reach 11.51%. Banco de
Boston de Brazil had been founded in 1947.
On November 20, 2006, Bank of America announced the purchase of The United States
Trust Company for $3.3 billion, from the Charles Schwab Corporation. US Trust had about
$100 billion of assets under management and over 150 years of experience. The deal
closed July 1, 2007.
On September 14, 2007, Bank of America won approval from the Federal Reserve to
acquire LaSalle Bank Corporation from ABN AMRO for $21 billion. With this purchase,
Bank of America possessed $1.7 trillion in assets. A Dutch court blocked the sale until it
was later approved in July. The acquisition was completed on October 1, 2007. Many of
LaSalle's branches and offices had already taken over smaller regional banks within the
previous decade, such as Lansing and Detroit based Michigan National Bank.
The deal increased Bank of America's presence in Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana by 411
branches, 17,000 commercial bank clients, 1.4 million retail customers, and 1,500 ATMs.
Bank of America became the largest bank in the Chicago market with 197 offices and 14%
of the deposit share, surpassing JPMorgan Chase.
LaSalle Bank and LaSalle Bank Midwest branches adopted the Bank of America name on
May 5, 2008.
Ken Lewis, who had lost the title of Chairman of the Board, announced that he would retire
as CEO effective December 31, 2009, in part due to controversy and legal investigations
concerning the purchase of Merrill Lynch. Brian Moynihan became President and CEO
effective January 1, 2010, and afterward credit card charge offs and delinquencies declined
in January. Bank of America also repaid the $45 billion it had received from the Troubled
Assets Relief Program.

6. OPERATIONS

Bank of America branch in Washington, D.C.

Bank of America generates 90% of its revenues in its domestic market and continues to buy
businesses in the U.S. The core of Bank of America's strategy is to be the number one bank
in its domestic market. It has achieved this through key acquisitions.

7. CONSUMER

Consumer banking is the largest division in the company, and provides financial services to
consumers and small businesses. The acquisition of FleetBoston and MBNA significantly
expanded its size and range of services, resulting in about 51% of the company's total
revenue in 2005. It competes primarily with the retail banking arms of America's three other
megabanks: Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. The Consumer Banking
organization includes over 5,800 retail branches and over 18,000 ATMs across the United
States.
Bank of America is a member of the Global ATM Alliance, a joint venture of several major
international banks that until the end of 2013 allowed customers of the banks to use
their ATM card or check card at another bank within the Global ATM Alliance without access
fees when traveling internationally. A change of policy means that customers are now
charged 3% of funds withdrawn from ATMs overseas. Other participating banks
are Barclays (United Kingdom), BNP Paribas (France), Ukrsibbank (Ukraine), China
Construction Bank (China), Deutsche Bank (Germany), Santander
Serfin (Mexico), Scotiabank (Canada) and Westpac (Australia and New Zealand). This
feature is restricted to withdrawals using a debit card and is subject to foreign currency
conversion fees, credit card withdrawals are still subject to cash advance fees and foreign
currency conversion fees. Additionally, some foreign ATMs use Smart Card technology and
may not accept non-Smart Cards.
Bank of America offers banking and brokerage products as a result of the acquisition of
Merrill Lynch. Savings programs such as "Add it Up" and "Keep the Change" have been
well received and are a reflection of the product development banks have taken during the
2008 recession.
Bank of America, N.A is a nationally chartered bank, regulated by the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, Department of the Treasury, Federal USA Government.

8. CORPORATE

Bank of America Tower, located on Laura Street in Jacksonville, Florida

Before Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch, the Global Corporate and Investment
Banking (GCIB) business operated as Banc of America Securities LLC. The bank's
investment banking activities operate under the Merrill Lynch subsidiary and
provided mergers and acquisitions advisory, underwriting, capital markets, as well as sales
& trading in fixed income and equities markets. Its strongest groups include Leveraged
Finance, Syndicated Loans, and mortgage-backed securities. It also has one of the largest
research teams on Wall Street. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is headquartered in New York
City.

9. INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Global Wealth and Investment Management (GWIM) manages assets of institutions and
individuals. It is among the 10 largest U.S. wealth managers (ranked by private banking
assets under management in accounts of $1 million or more as of June 30, 2005). In July
2006, Chairman Ken Lewis announced that GWIM's total assets under management
exceeded $500 billion. GWIM has five primary lines of business: Premier Banking &
Investments (including Bank of America Investment Services, Inc.), The Private Bank,
Family Wealth Advisors, and Bank of America Specialist.
Bank of America has spent $675 million building its U.S. investment banking business and
is looking to become one of the top five investment banks worldwide. "Bank of America
already has excellent relationships with the corporate and financial institutions world. Its
clients include 98% of the Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and 79% of the Global
Fortune 500. These relationships, as well as a balance sheet that most banks would kill for,
are the foundations for a lofty ambition.
Bank of America has a new headquarters for its operations at the Bank of America Tower,
New York City. The skyscraper is located on 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas,
at Bryant Park, and features state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly technology throughout
its 2.1 million square feet (195,096 m) of office space. The building is the headquarters for
the company's investment banking division, and also hosts most of Bank of America's New
Yorkbased staff.
An April 21, 2012 article by The New York Times named the Bank of America as a
corporate member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

10. INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

In 2005, Bank of America acquired a 9% stake in China Construction Bank, one of the Big
Four banks in China, for $3 billion. It represented the company's largest foray into China's
growing banking sector. Bank of America has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai,
and Guangzhou and was looking to greatly expand its Chinese business as a result of this
deal. In 2008, Bank of America was awarded Project Finance Deal of the Year at the 2008
ALB Hong Kong Law Awards. In November 2011, Bank of America announced plans to
divest most of its stake in the China Construction Bank.
Bank of America operated under the name BankBoston in many other Latin American
countries, including Brazil. In 2006, Bank of America sold BankBoston's operations to
Brazilian bank Banco Ita, in exchange for Ita shares. The BankBoston name and
trademarks were not part of the transaction and, as part of the sale agreement, cannot be
used by Bank of America (ending the BankBoston brand).
Bank of America's Global Corporate and Investment Banking has its U.S. headquarters in
New York, European headquarters in London, and Asian headquarters in Hong Kong.
 JPMORGAN CHASE & CO

1. INTERODUCTION

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a U.S. multinational banking and financial services holding
company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest bank in the United States,
the world's fifth largest bank by total assets, with total assets of US$2.424 trillion, and the
world's most valuable bank by market capitalization. It is a major provider of financial
services, and according to Forbes magazine is the world's sixth largest public company
based upon a composite ranking. The hedge fund unit of JPMorgan Chase is the second
largest hedge fund in the United States. The company was formed in 2000, when Chase
Manhattan Corporation merged with J.P. Morgan & Co.

The J.P. Morgan brand, historically known as Morgan, is used by the investment
banking, asset management, private banking, private wealth management, and treasury &
securities services divisions. Fiduciary activity within private banking and private wealth
management is done under the aegis of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.the actual trustee.
The Chase brand is used for credit card services in the United States and Canada, the
bank's retail banking activities in the United States, and commercial banking. The corporate
headquarters is located at 270 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The
retail and commercial bank is headquartered in Chase Tower, Chicago
Loop, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is considered to be a universal bank.
As of 2016, JPMorgan Chase is one of the Big Four banks of the United States, followed
by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup.

JPMorgan Chase, in its current structure, is the result of the combination of several large
U.S. banking companies since 1996, including Chase Manhattan Bank, J.P. Morgan &
Co., Bank One, Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. Going back further, its predecessors
include major banking firms among which are Chemical Bank, Manufacturers Hanover, First
Chicago Bank, National Bank of Detroit, Texas Commerce Bank, Providian
Financial and Great Western Bank. Its original predecessor, the Bank of the Manhattan
Company, was the second oldest banking corporation in the United States, and the 31st
oldest bank in the world, having been established on September 1, 1799 by Aaron Burr.

2. HISTORY

The Bank began operations in Japan in 1924, in Australia during the latter part of the
nineteenth century, and in Indonesia during the early 1920s. An office of the Equitable
Eastern Banking Corporation (one of J.P. Morgan's predecessors) opened a branch in
China in 1921 and Chase National Bank was established there in 1923. The bank has
operated in Saudi Arabia and India since the 1930s. Chase Manhattan Bank opened an
office in Korea in 1967. The firm's presence in Greece dates to 1968. An office of JPMorgan
was opened in Taiwan in 1970, in Russia (Soviet Union) in 1973, and Nordic operations
began during the same year. Operations in Poland began in 1995.

The J.P. Morgan & Co. logo before its merger with Chase Manhattan Bank in 2000

Influence of J.P. Morgan in Large Corporations, 1914

The J.P. Morgan headquarters in New York City following the September 16, 1920 bomb
explosion that took the lives of 38 and injured over 400
The heritage of the House of Morgan traces its roots to the partnership of Drexel, Morgan &
Co., which in 1895 was renamed J.P. Morgan & Co. (see also: J. Pierpont Morgan).
Arguably the most influential financial institution of its era, J.P. Morgan & Co. financed the
formation of the United States Steel Corporation, which took over the business of Andrew
Carnegie and others and was the world's first billion dollar corporation. In 1895, J.P. Morgan
& Co. supplied the United States government with $62 million in gold to float a bond issue
and restore the treasury surplus of $100 million. In 1892, the company began to finance
the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and led it through a series of acquisitions
that made it the dominant railroad transporter in New England.
Built in 1914, 23 Wall Street was known as the "House of Morgan", and for decades the
bank's headquarters was the most important address in American finance. At noon, on
September 16, 1920, a terrorist bomb exploded in front of the bank, injuring 400 and killing
38. Shortly before the bomb went off, a warning note was placed in a mailbox at the corner
of Cedar Street and Broadway. The warning read: "Remember we will not tolerate any
longer. Free the political prisoners or it will be sure death for all of you. American Anarchists
Fighters." While there are many hypotheses regarding who was behind the bombing and
why they did it, after 20 years of investigation the FBI rendered the case inactive without
ever finding the perpetrators.
In August 1914, Henry P. Davison, a Morgan partner, traveled to the UK and made a deal
with the Bank of England to make J.P. Morgan & Co. the monopoly underwriter of war
bonds for the UK and France. The Bank of England became a "fiscal agent" of J.P. Morgan
& Co., and vice versa. The company also invested in the suppliers of war equipment to
Britain and France. Thus, the company profited from the financing and purchasing activities
of the two European governments.
In the 1930s, all of J.P. Morgan & Co. along with all integrated banking businesses in the
United States, was required by the provisions of the GlassSteagall Act to separate
its investment banking from its commercial banking operations. J.P. Morgan & Co. chose to
operate as a commercial bank, because at the time commercial lending was perceived as
more profitable and prestigious. Additionally, many within J.P. Morgan believed that a
change in political climate would eventually allow the company to resume its securities
businesses but it would be nearly impossible to reconstitute the bank if it were
disassembled.
In 1935, after being barred from securities business for over a year, the heads of J.P.
Morgan spun off its investment-banking operations. Led by J.P. Morgan partners, Henry S.
Morgan (son of Jack Morgan and grandson of J. Pierpont Morgan) and Harold
Stanley, Morgan Stanley was founded on September 16, 1935, with $6.6 million of
nonvoting preferred stock from J.P. Morgan partners. In order to bolster its position, in 1959,
J.P. Morgan merged with the Guaranty Trust Company of New York to form the Morgan
Guaranty Trust Company. The bank would continue to operate as Morgan Guaranty Trust
until the 1980s, before beginning to migrate back toward the use of the J.P. Morgan brand.
In 1984, the group finally purchased the Purdue National Corporation of Lafayette Indiana,
uniting a history between the two figures of Salmon Portland Chase and John Purdue. In
1988, the company once again began operating exclusively as J.P. Morgan & Co.

3. 2013 SETTLEMENT

On November 19, 2013, the Justice Department announced that JPMorgan Chase agreed
to pay $13 billion to settle investigations into its business practices pertaining to mortgage-
backed securities. Of that, $9 billion was penalties and fines and the remaining $4 billion
was consumer relief. This was the largest corporate settlement to date. Much of the alleged
wrongdoing stemmed from its 2008 acquisitions of Bear Sterns and Washington Mutual.
The agreement did not settle criminal charges

4. STRUCTURE

JPMorgan Chase & Co. owns five bank subsidiaries in the United States: 1

JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association; Chase Bank USA, National Association;
Custodial Trust Company; JPMorgan Chase Bank, Dearborn; and J.P. Morgan Bank and
Trust Company, National Association.

For management reporting purposes, JPMorgan Chase's activities are organized into a
corporate/private equity segment and four business segments; consumer and community
banking, corporate and investment bank, commercial banking, and asset management. The
investment banking division at J.P. Morgan is divided by teams: industry, M&A and capital
markets. Industry teams include consumer and retail, healthcare, diversified industries and
transportation, natural resources, financial institutions, metals and mining, real estate and
technology, media and telecommunications.

JPMorgan Europe, Ltd.

The company, known previously as Chase Manhattan International Limited, was founded
on September 18, 1968.

In August 2008, the bank announced plans to construct a new European headquarters,
based at Canary Wharf, London. These plans were subsequently suspended in December
2010, when the bank announced the purchase of a nearby existing office tower at 25 Bank
Street for use as the European headquarters of its investment bank. 25 Bank Street had
originally been designated as the European headquarters of Enron and was subsequently
used as the headquarters of Lehman Brothers International (Europe).

The regional office is in London with offices in Bournemouth, Glasgow,

and Edinburgh for asset management, private banking, and investment.

5. OPERATIONS

Earlier in 2011 the company announced that by the use of supercomputers, the time taken
to assess risk had been greatly reduced, from arriving at a conclusion within hours to what
is now minutes. The banking corporation uses for this calculation Field-Programmable Gate
Array technology.
 COMPARISON

We looked them over top to bottom, though, and heres whose services prevailed.

Bank of America Chase

Checking

Savings and
money market accounts

Certificates of deposit It's a tie.

Customer experience It's a tie.

Overdraft fees

Overall It's a tie.

In the checking, savings and overdraft fee categories, Chase came out ahead. It wasnt by
much, but each time it was enough. When it comes to certificates of deposit and overall
customer service experience, though, not much separates these two banks. Among
national banks, Chase and Bank of America are both decent options.

But the details matter. Heres a closer look at how these two banking behemoths compare.
Checking accounts

Bank of America Core

Chase Total Checking
Checking

Monthly fee $12. Waived if you meet one $12. Waived if you meet one
of these criteria: of these criteria:

Receive direct deposits Receive direct deposits

of at least $250 each of at least $500 each
month month

Maintain a minimum Maintain a minimum

daily balance of $1,500 daily balance of $1,500

Are a Bank of America Maintain an average

Preferred Rewards balance of at least
client $5,000 among all
linked Chase accounts
Are a student under 23

Minimum opening $25 $25

deposit

Interest on None None

balances

ATM network (does

not include 15,900 free Bank of 16,000 free Chase
surcharges America ATMs ATMs
assessed by
 Bank of America Core
Chase Total Checking
Checking

owners of non-
network ATMs) $2.50 fee for using out- $2.50 fee for using out-
of-network ATMs of-network ATMs

$5 fee for using $5 fee for using

international out-of- international out-of-
network ATMs network ATMs

ANALYSIS

Both banks most basic checking accounts have relatively low requirements for minimum
opening deposits, give customers several ways to avoid monthly fees and offer large
networks of free ATMs. Neither account earns interest. However, Chase currently offers a
couple of sign-up bonuses that can provide a quick influx of cash.

Chase also offers two advanced checking options: the Premier Plus and Premier Platinum
accounts. Both come with annual percentage yields of 0.01%, as well as perks like waiving
charges from non-Chase ATMs (rates are effective 12/5/2016 and are variable and subject
to change). But they also come with steep fees that you can dodge only by keeping a large
balance or taking out a mortgage with Chase. The bank also offers a Private Client
checking account.

Bank of America offers one interest-bearing checking account. Balances above $50,000
earn an APY of 0.02% while those below earn a 0.01% return. This interest-bearing account
has a $25 monthly maintenance fee, which you can avoid by maintaining a combined
balance above $10,000 in your eligible Bank of America accounts or being a Preferred
Rewards client. The bank also has a SafeBalance Banking Account that doesnt charge
overdraft fees; the bank denies transactions if you dont have enough cash in your account.
The $4.95 monthly fee cant be waived.
Savings accounts

Bank of America Regular

Chase Savings
Savings

Monthly fee $5. Waived if you meet one $5. Waived if you meet one
of these criteria: of these criteria:

Maintain a daily Maintain a daily

balance of $300 balance of $300

Have a repeating Have a repeating

automatic transfer of automatic transfer of
at least $25 each at least $25 each
month from your Bank month from your
of America checking Chase checking
account account

Have a linked Bank of Have a linked Chase

America Interest Premier Plus, Premier
Checking account Platinum or Private
Client checking
 Bank of America Regular
Chase Savings
Savings

Are a Preferred account

Rewards client
Are under 18

Interest on balances 0.01% APY 0.01% APY (effective

12/5/2016; interest rates are
variable and subject to
change)

Minimum opening $25 $25

deposit

Automatic transfer Yes Yes

from linked
checking?

ANALYSIS

The banks most basic savings accounts are nearly identical and almost identically
disappointing. The annual percentage yields are below the already dismal national average
of 0.06%. Its fairly easy to avoid monthly fees, so if you simply need a place to park your
savings, either account works, but know that Chase offers a solid sign-up bonus on its
savings account.

If youre looking to maximize your return over the course of the year, though, youd be
better served by an online savings account, as these typically come with significantly higher
APYs.
Certificates of deposit

Bank of America Chase

Minimum opening $1,000 $1,000

deposit

APY on 1-year term 0.05% on all balances 0.01% on all balances

APY on 3-year term 0.12% on all balances 0.05% on all balances

 Bank of America Chase

APY on 5-year term 0.15% on all balances 0.25% on all balances

ANALYSIS

A $1,000 minimum opening deposit requirement is high, and rates are low across the
board. Chase checking customers qualify for slightly higher rates than those shown above,
although the difference isnt significant for balances under $10,000. Bank of America offers
a few different types of CDs, such as one for which customers dont have to pay early
withdrawal fees if they need their cash before the certificate matures. But the APY is low
and varies by location, and youll need to cough up $5,000 just to open it. With that kind of
money, youd be better served by going to an online bank or credit union, which typically
has stronger rates and lower minimum deposit requirements.

Customer experience

Bank of Americas website features an excellent FAQ section, and its Checking Clarity
Statements provide clear overviews of what each account offers and what the associated
fees are. The bank also has several helpful budgeting and savings tools.

Bank of America and Chase both let customers make quick side-by-side comparisons of
their respective checking and savings accounts, and fees and rates are fairly easy to spot.

A note for frequent travelers: Bank of America has branches in 35 states, while Chase
serves 26 states. Chase has about 5,200 branches across the country; Bank of America
has about 4,600.

Overdraft fees

Compared with credit unions and online-only banks, neither institution is especially forgiving
when it comes to overdraft fees.
Bank of Americas is $35, and you can be charged up to four times in a day. Youll owe an
additional $35 when your account remains overdrawn for five straight business days.

Chase is slightly better; its overdraft fee is $34, which you can rack up as many as three
times a day. Chase charges $15 when your account is in the red for five or more
consecutive business days.

Both offer overdraft protection, moving money from a savings account or credit card to
cover you. Transfers are free at Chase. They cost $12 at Bank of America, except for on the
interest-bearing checking account, where they are free.