Bank of America CEO: No mass layoff announcements are in the cards

Brian Sozzi

DAVOS, Switzerland — While some big names on Wall Street are currently in the midst of handing out pink slips to employees they hired in the investment banking boom of the past few years, Bank of America (BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan said it's business as usual for his steady-as-she-goes bank.

"There'll be none," Moynihan told Yahoo Finance Live at the World Economic Forum Tuesday when asked about the potential for deep cutbacks amid the industry-wide slowdown in investment banking.

Moynihan added that Bank of America has managed headcount "very carefully" in recent years and has been able to move employees around from one department to another to better match demand trends.

"We have flexibility in our company," he said.

Chairman and CEO of Bank of America Brian T. Moynihan attends a session at the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Chairman and CEO of Bank of America Brian T. Moynihan attends a session at the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 21, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (Denis Balibouse / Reuters)

The same flexibility hasn't been on display from others on the Street to kick off 2023.

Goldman Sachs (GS) is in the middle of laying off 3,200 workers, or about 6% of its workforce. And in December, Morgan Stanley (MS) cut ties with roughly 1,200 employees or 2% of its workforce. BlackRock (BLK) has let go of 500 employees, or less than 3% of its workforce, representing the company's first round of layoffs since 2019.

As for Bank of America, it enjoyed a solid fourth quarter of profits without lightening up its staff.

Net interest income rose 29% from the prior year as the lender amassed higher interest payments — reflecting interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve — on the loans it disseminated.

"Because we have a broad set of businesses, our consumer business is making the most money it has ever done, our wealth management business making record profits," Moynihan said on the employee count. "So investment banking is down, but markets are making money. So you shift people."

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Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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