On September 14, at a Barclays conference, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan put a number on the bank’s AI program: 130 to 140 projects in place “at a cost of $400 million, generating a benefit of $800 million.” The bank has never given a dollar figure like that on an earnings call. On October 14 it reports third-quarter results, its first call since Moynihan spoke. Will the $800 million make it onto the call?
I wouldn’t bet on it. My team went through 919 earnings calls of 60 major U.S.-listed financial firms since January 2023. One firm put a specific dollar figure on what AI had saved or earned it: S&P Global, about $9 million a year from its Kensho Scribe tool. Analysts asked for such a number 29 times and never got one.
