(Bloomberg) — Bank of America Corp., the second-largest U.S. lender, attracted record new assets last year to its unit servicing retirement and other employee-benefit plans as it cross-sold products through the commercial bank.
The company saw $24.3 billion in new assets, a 28% increase from a year earlier, says Kevin Crain, head of institutional
The nation’s largest banks, including Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America and New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co., have been trying to win more of the $3.5 trillion that Americans held in 401(k) retirement plans as of September. They’re competing with traditional account managers such as mutual-fund firms Fidelity Investments and Vanguard Group Inc.
“It is critically important for the bank overall to have a robust retirement business,” Crain says. “It’s the starting place for many employees and individuals toward their long-term financial security.”
Bank of America’s new-asset figures include 401(k)s it administers as well as defined benefit, deferred compensation and stock-award plans. The firm sold 5,998 plans of which about 96%, or 5,773, were 401(k)s.
“The highest-selling product in terms of extending the relationship has been the 401(k),” says Bob Arth, regional executive for the global commercial bank.
