Bank of America expects to spend $3.8 billion on technology development in 2024 as its overall spending increases due to investment in people, incentive compensation and technology. 

The $3.8 billion is part of the bank’s overall cost of running its technology platform, which totals around $12 billion, Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said Dec. 5 during the Goldman Sachs 2023 U.S. Financial Services Conference.

“We invest in technology because that makes us more efficient and more effective,” he said. 

The $3.2 trillion bank’s overall spending, and specifically technology spend, has increased since the start of the pandemic, when tech initiative spending was $2.8 billion to $3 billion, Moynihan said. 

Bank of America’s technology spend is going toward people, new initiatives and patent efforts, he said.  

The bank’s active patents and applications exceeded 6,100 this year, according to a Bank of America report. AI and machine learning patents ticked up, with a 22% increase from the first half of 2022, to 762 AI and ML patents and applications as of Sept. 19. 

2023 tech launches 

The bank’s technology efforts this year included: 

• The April launch of a search function on CashPro; 
• The May launch of AI-driven assistant Erica for internal operations; and 
• The September launch of a business-to-consumer payments solution in Canada. 

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