Before 1993, the Bank of America that exists today was known as NationsBank. In 1998, NationsBank merged with San Francisco-based BankAmerica and assumed the Bank of America name. Bank of America is the largest commercial bank in the United States. Bank of America (July 19, 2006) reported second quarter 2006 net income of $5.48 billion, surpassing that of Citigroup for the first time.
In 2005, Bank of America acquired a 9% stake in China Construction Bank for $3 billion. Bank of America currently has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou and is looking to greatly expand its Chinese business as a result of this deal. Bank of America has also invested in opening new branches in India, particularly Mumbai. Bank of America operated under the name BankBoston in many other Latin American countries, including Brazil. In 2006, Bank of America sold all BankBoston's operations to Brazilian bank Banco Itau, in exchange for Itau shares. The BankBoston name and trademarks were not part of the transaction and, as part of the sale agreement, cannot be used by Bank of America. That, in practical terms, deemed the definite extinction of the BankBoston brand.
Bank of America's Global Corporate and Investment Banking spans the Globe with divisions in United States, Europe and Asia. The U.S. headquarters are located in New York, European headquarters are based in London and Asia's headquarters are split between Singapore & Hong Kong.
