CEO says Bank of America aims to ‘double’ its U.S. consumer market share: FT

(Reuters) – Brian Moynihan, the chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), has said the bank could double its consumer market share in the United States despite fears about the power of the country’s largest banking institutions.

“Our market share in consumer is probably 12, 13, 14 percent, depending on who counts . …  The reality is, you could double that,” Moynihan said on.ft.com/2NEtMda in an interview with the Financial Times, pointing out that some auto, soft drink and beer companies had massively more consumer share than Bank of America.

Moynihan did not provide a time frame in his interview for doubling the bank’s consumer market share.

“If we do a good job for the customers and clients and we’re fair in our pricing, I think that’s good because  …  the scale that we have enables us to do more for the customers,” he was quoted as saying, when asked whether greater concentration in banking was good for customers or likely to garner more scrutiny from regulators.

With deposits growing above the industry rate, a low risk loan portfolio and a strong balance sheet with billions in excess liquidity, the pieces were in place for the bank to continue taking market share, he told the FT.

The CEO of the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender added that he would not look overseas for retail growth, as it would take years for the bank to achieve a market share capable of giving it material deposits or revenue.

Bank of America is the second largest bank in the United States, with consumer banking its biggest business.