Consumers and businesses are holding up well, but many Americans still need another round of stimulus to make it through the end of the pandemic, Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan said Wednesday.
Moynihan said that consumer spending has been “robust,” with customers using debit often more than credit and that customers, even those who are unemployed, are saving more. In BofA's loan book, charge-offs have been lower than expected, Moynihan said.
At the same time, the U.S. is still in a period of great uncertainty and Moynihan urged Congress to deliver fresh aid to those households and businesses, particularly those in the travel and hospitality sectors, that could still struggle until a vaccine is widely available. He also called on the federal government to assist states and nonprofits.
“People want to work, and they want to get back to work. We have a group of Americans that can't get back to work because their businesses are closed or their businesses are severely restricted. And we need to, I think, continue to provide a bridge to the other side of the river for that group of people,” he said at the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference.
Moynihan
Moynihan also briefly discussed the impact of changing consumer and workplace behaviors on BofA’s physical footprint. He said he expects the company to streamline its branch network in response to declining foot traffic and will consider reducing some of its back- office space if more employees are able and willing to do their jobs remotely.
“There are a lot of our colleagues that would come back to the office tomorrow, if it's safe,” he said. “Once the vaccine’s in, we'll just see how that all works and we'll be able to be potentially more efficient with office space.”
