CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bank of America (NYSE: BAC):

1 2015 results include early adoption of new accounting guidance on the recognition and measurement of financial instruments. See endnote H for more information.
2 Financial Highlights and Business Highlights comparison to year-ago quarter unless noted. Loan and deposit balances are shown on an end-of-period basis. Fully taxable-equivalent (FTE) basis for the corporation is a non-GAAP financial measure. See endnote A for more information. Total revenue, net of interest expense, on a GAAP basis was $19.5B for Q4-15, and net interest income on a GAAP basis was $9.8B for Q4-15. Earnings per share on a fully diluted basis.

Note: All Other consists of ALM activities, equity investments, the international consumer card business, liquidating businesses, residual expense allocations and other. ALM activities encompass certain residential mortgages, debt securities, interest rate and foreign currency risk management activities including the residual net interest income allocation, the impact of certain allocation methodologies and accounting hedge ineffectiveness. Beginning with new originations in 2014, we retain certain residential mortgages in Consumer Banking, consistent with where the overall relationship is managed; previously such mortgages were in All Other. Additionally, certain residential mortgage loans that are managed by Legacy Assets and Servicing are held in All Other. The results of certain ALM activities are allocated to our business segments. Equity investments include our merchant services joint venture as well as Global Principal Investments, which is comprised of a portfolio of equity, real estate and other alternative investments.

About 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 47 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 4,700 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs, and award-winning online banking with approximately 32 million active users and approximately 19 million mobile 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 owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Forward-Looking Statements

Bank of America and its management may make certain statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often use words such as “anticipates,” “targets,” “expects,” “hopes,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “goals,” “believes,” “continue” and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “may,” “might,” “should,” “would” and “could.” Forward-looking statements represent Bank of America's current expectations, plans or forecasts of its future results and revenues, and future business and economic conditions more generally, and other future matters. These statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are often beyond Bank of America's control. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any of these forward-looking statements.

You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should consider the following uncertainties and risks, as well as the risks and uncertainties more fully discussed under Item 1A. Risk Factors of Bank of America's 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in any of Bank of America's subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings: the Company's ability to resolve representations and warranties repurchase and related claims, including claims brought by investors or trustees seeking to distinguish certain aspects of the ACE Securities Corp. v. DB Structured Products, Inc. (ACE) ruling or to assert other claims seeking to avoid the impact of the ACE ruling; the possibility that the Company could face related servicing, securities, fraud, indemnity, contribution or other claims from one or more counterparties, including trustees, purchasers of loans, underwriters, issuers, other parties involved in securitizations, monolines or private-label and other investors; the possibility that future representations and warranties losses may occur in excess of the Company's recorded liability and estimated range of possible loss for its representations and warranties exposures; the possibility that the Company may not collect mortgage insurance claims; potential claims, damages, penalties, fines and reputational damage resulting from pending or future litigation and regulatory proceedings, including the possibility that amounts may be in excess of the Company’s recorded liability and estimated range of possible losses for litigation exposures; the possibility that the European Commission will impose remedial measures in relation to its investigation of the Company's competitive practices; the possible outcome of LIBOR, other reference rate and foreign exchange inquiries and investigations; uncertainties about the financial stability and growth rates of non-U.S. jurisdictions, the risk that those jurisdictions may face difficulties servicing their sovereign debt, and related stresses on financial markets, currencies and trade, and the Company's exposures to such risks, including direct, indirect and operational; the impact of U.S. and global interest rates, currency exchange rates and economic conditions; the impact on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations of a potential higher interest rate environment; the impact on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations from a protracted period of lower energy prices; adverse changes to the Company's credit ratings from the major credit rating agencies; estimates of the fair value of certain of the Company's assets and liabilities; uncertainty regarding the content, timing and impact of regulatory capital and liquidity requirements, including the potential adoption of total loss-absorbing capacity requirements; the potential for payment protection insurance exposure to increase as a result of Financial Conduct Authority actions; the possible impact of Federal Reserve actions on the Company’s capital plans; the impact of implementation and compliance with new and evolving U.S. and international regulations, including but not limited to recovery and resolution planning requirements, the Volcker Rule, and derivatives regulations; a failure in or breach of the Company’s operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third parties, including as a result of cyber attacks; and other similar matters.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Bank of America undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statement was made.

BofA Global Capital Management Group, LLC (BofA Global Capital Management) is an asset management division of Bank of America Corporation. BofA Global Capital Management entities furnish investment management services and products for institutional and individual investors.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the marketing name for the Global Banking and Global Markets businesses of Bank of America Corporation. Lending, derivatives and other commercial banking activities are performed by banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation, including Bank of America, N.A., member FDIC. Securities, financial advisory and other investment banking activities are performed by investment banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (Investment Banking Affiliates), including Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, which are registered broker-dealers and members of FINRA and SIPC. Investment products offered by Investment Banking Affiliates: Are Not FDIC Insured * May Lose Value * Are Not Bank Guaranteed. Bank of America Corporation's broker-dealers are not banks and are separate legal entities from their bank affiliates. The obligations of the broker-dealers are not obligations of their bank affiliates (unless explicitly stated otherwise), and these bank affiliates are not responsible for securities sold, offered or recommended by the broker-dealers. The foregoing also applies to other non-bank affiliates.

For more Bank of America news, visit the Bank of America newsroom at http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com.

www.bankofamerica.com

(1) For information on the impact of early adoption of new accounting guidance on recognition and measurement of financial instruments, see page 9.

(2) Return on average tangible common shareholders' equity and tangible book value per share of common stock are non-GAAP financial measures. We believe the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides additional clarity in assessing the results of the Corporation. Other companies may define or calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently. See Reconciliations to GAAP Financial Measures on pages 17-19.

(3) Ratios do not include loans accounted for under the fair value option during the period. Charge-off ratios are annualized for the quarterly presentation.

(4) Balances do not include past due consumer credit card, consumer loans secured by real estate where repayments are insured by the Federal Housing Administration and individually insured long-term stand-by agreements (fully-insured home loans), and in general, other consumer and commercial loans not secured by real estate; purchased credit-impaired loans even though the customer may be contractually past due; nonperforming loans held-for-sale; nonperforming loans accounted for under the fair value option; and nonaccruing troubled debt restructured loans removed from the purchased credit-impaired portfolio prior to January 1, 2010.

(5) Regulatory capital ratios are preliminary.

(6) Common equity tier 1 capital ratio at September 30, 2015 reflects the migration of the risk-weighted assets calculation from the general risk-based approach to the Basel 3 Standardized approach, and Common equity tier 1 capital includes the 2015 phase-in of regulatory capital transition provisions.

(7) Bank of America received approval to begin using the Advanced approaches capital framework to determine risk-based capital requirements beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015. With the approval to exit parallel run, Bank of America is now required to report regulatory capital under both the Standardized and Advanced approaches. The approach that yields the lower ratio is to be used to assess capital adequacy and was the Advanced approaches in the fourth quarter of 2015. Prior to exiting parallel run, we were required to report regulatory capital under the Standardized approach only.

(8) Tangible equity ratio equals period-end tangible shareholders' equity divided by period-end tangible assets. Tangible common equity ratio equals period-end tangible common shareholders' equity divided by period-end tangible assets. Tangible shareholders' equity and tangible assets are non-GAAP financial measures. We believe the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides additional clarity in assessing the results of the Corporation. Other companies may define or calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently. See Reconciliations to GAAP Financial Measures on pages 17-19.

(9) Fully phased-in estimates are non-GAAP financial measures. For reconciliations to GAAP financial measures, see above.

(10) Basel 3 fully phased-in Advanced approaches estimates assume approval by U.S. banking regulators of our internal analytical models, including approval of the internal models methodology (IMM). As of December 31, 2015, the Corporation had not received IMM approval.

n/a = not applicable

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation.

(1) Fully taxable-equivalent (FTE) basis is a performance measure used by management in operating the business that management believes provides investors with a more accurate picture of the interest margin for comparative purposes.

(2) Return on average allocated capital is calculated as net income, adjusted for cost of funds and earnings credits and certain expenses related to intangibles, divided by average allocated capital. Allocated capital and the related return are non-GAAP financial measures. The Corporation believes the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides additional clarity in assessing the results of the segments. Other companies may define or calculate these measures differently. (See Exhibit A: Non-GAAP Reconciliations - Reconciliations to GAAP Financial Measures on pages 17-19.)

(3) For information on the impact of early adoption of new accounting guidance on recognition and measurement of financial instruments, see page 9.

n/m = not meaningful

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified among the segments to conform to current period presentation.

(1) For information on the impact of early adoption of new accounting guidance on recognition and measurement of financial instruments, see page 9.

(2) Fully taxable-equivalent (FTE) basis is a performance measure used by management in operating the business that management believes provides investors with a more accurate picture of the interest margin for comparative purposes.

(3) Return on average allocated capital is calculated as net income, adjusted for cost of funds and earnings credits and certain expenses related to intangibles, divided by average allocated capital. Allocated capital and the related return are non-GAAP financial measures. The Corporation believes the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides additional clarity in assessing the results of the segments. Other companies may define or calculate these measures differently. (See Exhibit A: Non-GAAP Reconciliations - Reconciliations to GAAP Financial Measures on pages 17-19.)

n/m = not meaningful

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified among the segments to conform to current period presentation.

(1) FTE basis is a non-GAAP financial measure. FTE basis is a performance measure used by management in operating the business that management believes provides investors with a more accurate picture of the interest margin for comparative purposes. See Reconciliations to GAAP Financial Measures on pages 17-19.

(2) For information on the impact of early adoption of new accounting guidance on recognition and measurement of financial instruments, see page 9.

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation.

The Corporation evaluates its business based on a fully taxable-equivalent basis, a non-GAAP financial measure. The Corporation believes managing the business with net interest income on a fully taxable-equivalent basis provides a more accurate picture of the interest margin for comparative purposes. Total revenue, net of interest expense, includes net interest income on a fully taxable-equivalent basis and noninterest income. The Corporation views related ratios and analyses (i.e., efficiency ratios and net interest yield) on a fully taxable-equivalent basis. To derive the fully taxable-equivalent basis, net interest income is adjusted to reflect tax-exempt income on an equivalent before-tax basis with a corresponding increase in income tax expense. For purposes of this calculation, the Corporation uses the federal statutory tax rate of 35 percent. This measure ensures comparability of net interest income arising from taxable and tax-exempt sources. The efficiency ratio measures the costs expended to generate a dollar of revenue, and net interest yield measures the basis points the Corporation earns over the cost of funds.

The Corporation also evaluates its business based on the following ratios that utilize tangible equity, a non-GAAP financial measure. Tangible equity represents an adjusted shareholders' equity or common shareholders' equity amount which has been reduced by goodwill and intangible assets (excluding mortgage servicing rights), net of related deferred tax liabilities. Return on average tangible common shareholders' equity measures the Corporation's earnings contribution as a percentage of adjusted average common shareholders' equity. The tangible common equity ratio represents adjusted ending common shareholders' equity divided by total assets less goodwill and intangible assets (excluding mortgage servicing rights), net of related deferred tax liabilities. Return on average tangible shareholders' equity measures the Corporation's earnings contribution as a percentage of adjusted average total shareholders' equity. The tangible equity ratio represents adjusted ending shareholders' equity divided by total assets less goodwill and intangible assets (excluding mortgage servicing rights), net of related deferred tax liabilities. Tangible book value per common share represents adjusted ending common shareholders' equity divided by ending common shares outstanding. These measures are used to evaluate the Corporation's use of equity. In addition, profitability, relationship and investment models all use return on average tangible shareholders' equity as key measures to support our overall growth goals.

In addition, the Corporation periodically reviews capital allocated to its businesses and allocates capital annually during the strategic and capital planning processes. We utilize a methodology that considers the effect of regulatory capital requirements in addition to internal risk-based capital models. The Corporation's internal risk-based capital models use a risk-adjusted methodology incorporating each segment's credit, market, interest rate, business and operational risk components. Return on average allocated capital is calculated as net income, adjusted for cost of funds and earnings credits and certain expenses related to intangibles, divided by average allocated capital. Allocated capital and the related return both represent non-GAAP financial measures. Allocated capital is reviewed periodically and refinements are made based on multiple considerations that include, but are not limited to, risk-weighted assets measured under Basel 3 Standardized and Advanced approaches, business segment exposures and risk profile, and strategic plans. As part of this process, in 2015, the Corporation adjusted the amount of capital being allocated to its business segments, primarily Legacy Assets & Servicing.

See the tables below and on pages 18-19 for reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to financial measures defined by GAAP for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the three months ended December 31, 2015, September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014. The Corporation believes the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides additional clarity in assessing the results of the Corporation. Other companies may define or calculate supplemental financial data differently.

(1) For information on the impact of early adoption of new accounting guidance on recognition and measurement of financial instruments, see page 9.

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current period presentation.