How ‘Erica’ helped power a 19% spike in earnings at Bank of America

Erica is a financial assistant that’s been having a lot of conversations over the past five years—more than a billion. But she hasn’t lost her voice.

So far this year, Bank of America’s clients have engaged with Erica more than 333 million times. Some of what the virtual assistant does is help with tasks like sending money, accessing account information, transferring money between accounts, and finding a nearby branch or ATM. But “personalized and proactive insights” now account for more than 60% of engagement with customers, according to Bank of America.

For example, clients are using Erica 2.1 million times per month to understand spending habits. CEO Brian Moynihan sang Erica’s praises during the company’s Q2 2023 earnings call on Tuesday, noting that interactions with Erica rose 35% in the past year, and now there have been 1.5 billion client interactions over five years.

Bank of America customers are increasingly using digital tools to get their banking done. For the quarter, digital households accounted for 83% of the bank’s relationships, which is up from 77% in the same time two years ago. CashPro App sign-ins are up nearly 60% from last year. “In consumer, we now have 46 million active users that are digitally engaged with our digital platform and are logging [in] over 1 billion times a month,” Moynihan said on the call. “And even with this scale, the stage of maturity logins is up double digits from last year.”

For Q2, Bank of America’s net income rose 19% to $7.41 billion, compared to $6.25 billion at the same time last year. Revenue increased 11% to $25.2 billion. The economy “remains healthy,” but at a slowing rate of growth, Moynihan said. “The consumer is pretty resilient,” Bank of America CFO Alastair Borthwick said. “And we’re benefiting [from it] right now in the card experience.”

‘The efficiency toolbox’

Bank of America and other major banks are betting on innovation like A.I. to help build future growth, according to John Cunnison, chief investment officer at the bank and wealth management institution Baker Boyer.

“The big banks have been automating for years now,” Cunnison tells me. “A.I. is just one more tool in the efficiency toolbox.”

Does he think every bank must be on board with growing digital to remain competitive and relevant?

“Yes and no,” Cunnison explains. “For smaller banks, with more affluent clientele, the magic will be in digitally enhanced human interaction. A.I. and other digital tools in the hands of a thoughtful financial advisor or banker will provide a very compelling customer experience.”

However, it’s unlikely that digital offerings will be a major differentiator in how customers choose banks, Cunnison says.

“All the major banks will be going in this direction,” he says. “And for mid-sized and small banks, there are a tremendous number of software solutions to choose from. Ultimately, these digital tools are likely to enhance the customer experience and, in the right hands, allow financial professionals to do more with less. It’s not about replacing people. The winners are going to leverage technology to allow the best people to do more.”

The recent white paper “State of Digital Sales and Engagement in Banking,” commissioned by Alkami Technology, Inc. and written by Jim Marous, a financial industry strategist and influencer, addresses this topic. Over the next three to five years, financial institutions will employ A.I. to help with increasingly complex tasks, like financial planning and investment advice, the report predicts. More than 50% of the banks surveyed believe implementations will be effective or very effective beyond the five-year time frame.

Moynihan said on the call that investments made in technology have helped Bank of America “grow industry-leading positions in digital tools,” also “enabling our clients to do great things and making us more efficient.”

But consumers will continue to be the judge of that. And it’s up to Erica to have the right answers.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Big deal

Skyhigh Security has released its "Cloud Adoption and Risk Report, Financial Services Edition," which explores how the financial services sector is navigating cloud security in an era of increased cloud adoption. Financial services firms—including banks, insurance companies, brokerage houses, and credit card companies—tend to have the highest degree of security maturity, however, they also face the greatest threats, according to the report.

Most organizations across all industries have experienced a cybersecurity breach, cybersecurity threat, or even theft of data. But 78% of financial services firms have experienced all three compared to 75% of organizations across industries that have experienced the same. The findings are based on a global survey of 124 IT professionals in the financial services industry.

Going deeper

"Creating Authentic Connections in Virtual Teams," a new report in Wharton's business journal, explores how scientists from the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative leveraged an exercise known as "Fast Friends" to improve online collaboration within the organization, and how any group can adopt the same technique.

Leaderboard

Tricia L. Fulton, EVP and CFO at Helios Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: HLIO), a provider of motion and electronic controls technology, has decided to retire from Helios after serving over 26 years with the company and the last 17 years as CFO. Following Helios’ earnings call on Aug. 8, Sean P. Bagan, VP of Finance—Business Unit CFO for International and Shared Services at Polaris (NYSE: PII), will succeed Fulton as CFO. Bagan joins Helios after spending 23 years at Polaris Inc. His responsibilities scaled with Polaris over the decades in operational finance, international sales, product segments, acquisitions, and corporate finance and treasury.

David M. Kratochvil was named CFO at Northann Corp., a producer of natural and sustainable material-based products for interior finishes, effective July 14. Kratochvil brings more than 25 years of experience to the Northann Corp. team. He was previously managing partner at Vista Capital Advisors and Group CFO at VolitionRx, an NYSE-listed company. 

Overheard

“Growth has slowed, but our labor market continues to be quite strong—I don’t expect a recession.”

—U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said of the U.S. economy in a Bloomberg Television interview on Monday. The economy is on a “good path” to bring inflation down without a major weakening in the labor market, Yellen said.