<P> Founded as the Bank of Italy by Amadeo Pietro Giannini in 1904, it provided Italian immigrants who faced service discrimination various banking options . Originally headquartered in San Francisco, California, Giannini renamed his bank Banca d'America e d'Italia (Bank of America and Italy) in 1922, and expanded further into California . The passage of landmark federal banking legislation facilitated rapid growth in the 1950s, quickly establishing a prominent market share . After suffering a significant loss after the 1998 Russian bond default, BankAmerica, as it was then known, was acquired by the Charlotte - based NationsBank for US $62 billion . Following what was then the largest bank acquisition in history, the Bank of American Corporation was founded . Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, it built upon its commercial banking business by establishing Merrill Lynch for wealth management and Bank of America Merrill Lynch for investment banking in 2008 and 2009, respectively . Since both divisions carry the "Merrill Lynch" signage, the former is often referred to as "Merrill Lynch Wealth Management" to differentiate itself from the latter . </P> <P> Both Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management retain large market shares in their respective offerings . The investment bank is considered within the "Bulge Bracket" as the third largest investment bank in the world, as of 2018 . Its wealth management side manages US $1.081 trillion in assets under management (AUM) as the second largest wealth manager in the world, after UBS . In commercial banking, Bank of America operates--but does not necessarily maintain retail branches--in all 50 states of the United States, the District of Columbia and more than 40 other countries . Its commercial banking footprint encapsulates 46 million consumer and small business relationships at 4,600 banking centers and 15,900 automated teller machines (ATMs). </P> <P> The bank's large market share, business activities, and economic impact has led to numerous lawsuits and investigations regarding both mortgages and financial disclosures dating back to the 2008 financial crisis . Its corporate practices of servicing the middle class and wider banking community has yielded a substantial market share since the early 20th century . As of August 2018, Bank of America has a $313.5 billion market capitalization, making it the 13th largest company in the world . As the sixth largest American public company, it garnered $102.98 billion in sales as of June 2018 . Bank of America was named the "World's Best Bank" by the Euromoney Institutional Investor in their 2018 Awards for Excellence . </P> <P> The history of Bank of America dates back to October 17, 1904, when Amadeo Pietro Giannini founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco . The Bank of Italy served the needs of many immigrants settling in the United States at that time, providing services denied to them by the existing American banks which typically discriminated against them and often denied service to all but the wealthiest . Giannini was raised by his mother and stepfather Lorenzo Scatena, as his father was fatally shot over a pay dispute with an employee . When the 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck, Giannini was able to save all deposits out of the bank building and away from the fires . Because San Francisco's banks were in smoldering ruins and unable to open their vaults, Giannini was able to use the rescued funds to commence lending within a few days of the disaster . From a makeshift desk consisting of a few planks over two barrels, he lent money to those who wished to rebuild . In 1922, Giannini established Bank of America and Italy . In 1986, Deutsche Bank AG acquired 100% of Banca d'America e d'Italia, a bank established in Naples in 1917 following the name - change of Banca dell'Italia Meridionale with the latter established in 1918 . In 1918 another corporation, Bancitaly Corporation, was organized by A.P. Giannini, the largest stockholder of which was Stockholders Auxiliary Corporation . This company acquired the stocks of various banks located in New York City and certain foreign countries . In 1918, the Bank opened a Delegation in New York in order to follow American political, economic and financial affairs more closely; together with the London Delegation, this was the first permanent overseas office opened by the Bank, at a time when the foundations were being laid for the restructuring of the international money market . In 1928, Giannini merged his bank with Bank of America, Los Angeles, headed by Orra E. Monnette and consolidated it with other bank holdings to create what would become the largest banking institution in the country . Bank of Italy was renamed on November 3, 1930, to Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association, which was the only such designated bank in the United States of America at that time . Giannini and Monnette headed the resulting company, serving as co-chairs . </P>

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