Bank of America started as two separate banks that merged in 1998

Bank of America as it exists today was created when NationsBank, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, bought BankAmerica Corporation in 1998. The combined company took the BankAmerica name because it was older and more widely recognized. But the story of how these two banks came to exist is longer than that single merger.

BankAmerica itself was founded in 1904 by Amadeo Giannini in San Francisco. Giannini started the Bank of Italy to serve Italian immigrants who had been turned away by other banks. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, his bank was one of the first to reopen and lend money to rebuild the city. In 1930, he renamed it Bank of America and expanded it across California and eventually nationwide.

NationsBank came from a different path. It grew out of the North Carolina National Bank, which was founded in 1874. In the 1980s and 1990s, under the leadership of Hugh McColl Jr., NationsBank became one of the largest regional banks in the United States through a series of mergers and acquisitions across the Southeast.

Key Takeaways

  • Bank of America today is the result of a 1998 merger between NationsBank (based in Charlotte) and BankAmerica Corporation (based in San Francisco).
  • BankAmerica was founded in 1904 by Amadeo Giannini as the Bank of Italy to serve Italian immigrants who could not get loans from other banks.
  • NationsBank grew out of the North Carolina National Bank, founded in 1874, and expanded through mergers in the 1980s and 1990s.
  • The merged company kept the BankAmerica name because it had stronger brand recognition across the country.

Amadeo Giannini and the founding of Bank of Italy

Amadeo Giannini was born in San Jose, California, in 1870 to Italian immigrant parents. He worked in banking and real estate before deciding to start his own bank. In 1904, at age 34, he opened the Bank of Italy in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, which was home to many Italian immigrants.

At that time, Italian immigrants faced discrimination from established banks, which saw them as poor credit risks. Giannini believed these immigrants were hardworking and creditworthy, and he built his bank on lending to them. He made loans to small business owners, fishermen, and laborers — people other banks ignored.

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake tested Giannini's bank. Most banks closed or were destroyed. Giannini moved his records to safety and reopened within days, operating from a makeshift desk on the street. He lent money to people rebuilding the city, which built his reputation and his customer base. By the 1920s, the Bank of Italy had become one of California's largest banks.

The name change to Bank of America and national expansion

In 1930, Giannini renamed the Bank of Italy to Bank of America. The new name reflected his ambition to build a bank that served all Americans, not just Italian immigrants. He began expanding beyond California, opening branches in other states and eventually establishing a presence across the country.

Giannini also pioneered several banking practices that were unusual at the time. He introduced branch banking — the idea that one bank could have multiple locations — when most banks operated from a single office. He also focused on customer service and made banking more accessible to ordinary people rather than just the wealthy.

Giannini retired in 1945 and died in 1949. Bank of America continued to grow under later leadership, becoming one of the largest banks in the United States by the 1960s and 1970s.

NationsBank's growth in the Southeast

While Bank of America was expanding from the West Coast, NationsBank was building power in the Southeast. The North Carolina National Bank, founded in 1874, was a regional institution for most of its history. In 1968, it changed its name to NCNB Corporation and began an aggressive expansion strategy.

Hugh McColl Jr. became the leader of NCNB in the 1980s and transformed it into a major national player. He renamed the company NationsBank in 1991 to reflect its growing reach beyond North Carolina. Through the 1980s and 1990s, NationsBank bought dozens of smaller banks across the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest, becoming one of the top five banks in the country.

By the mid-1990s, NationsBank was large enough to compete with the biggest banks on the coasts. McColl decided the next step was to merge with an equally large bank to create a true national powerhouse.

The 1998 merger that created modern Bank of America

In 1998, NationsBank and BankAmerica Corporation announced they would merge. NationsBank was the buyer, but the combined company took the Bank of America name. This decision was strategic: Bank of America had been a household name for decades, while NationsBank was less known outside the Southeast.

The merger created the largest bank in the United States at that time, with branches across the country and assets of over $500 billion. The headquarters moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where NationsBank had been based, but the company kept the San Francisco-based BankAmerica's name and brand.

After the merger, Bank of America continued to grow through additional acquisitions. It bought FleetBoston Financial in 2004 and Merrill Lynch in 2008, further expanding its size and services. Today, Bank of America is one of the "Big Four" banks in the United States, along with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup.

Why the history matters for customers today

Understanding where Bank of America came from helps explain how it operates now. The bank's roots go back to Giannini's belief that banking should serve ordinary people, not just the wealthy. That philosophy shaped the bank's focus on retail banking — serving individual customers and small businesses — which remains a core part of what Bank of America does.

The merger history also explains why Bank of America has such a large branch network. Many of those branches came from the banks that NationsBank and Bank of America acquired over the decades. If you use a Bank of America branch, it may have started as a completely different bank decades ago before being absorbed into the larger institution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Bank of America the oldest bank in the United States?

No. Bank of America, founded in 1904, is not the oldest. The First Bank of the United States was chartered in 1791. However, Bank of America is one of the oldest banks still operating under a similar name and structure.

Did Amadeo Giannini start any other banks?

Giannini focused on building Bank of Italy and then Bank of America throughout his career. He did not start other banks, though he did invest in other businesses and was involved in real estate.

Why did NationsBank buy BankAmerica instead of the other way around?

NationsBank was the larger company at the time of the merger and was the buyer in the transaction. However, the combined company kept the BankAmerica name because it was more recognizable nationally. In banking mergers, the buyer's name does not always survive.

Has Bank of America always been headquartered in the same place?

No. Bank of America started in San Francisco under Giannini. After the 1998 merger, the headquarters moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where NationsBank had been based. It remains in Charlotte today.