Bank of America CEO predicts stronger GDP growth — defies general view on Wall Street
The CEO of one of America's largest banks says there is stronger-than-anticipated growth to come in the new year, which may defy Wall Street's expectations. Bank of America (BoFA) CEO Brian Moynihan told Fox News in an interview on Monday that his firm's research team had recently upgraded the predicted GDP growth from 2.6% to 2.8%, well above the general consensus, for a number of good reasons. The same sentiment was expressed last week by a group of banking leaders after the big banks posted positive numbers in their earnings meeting.
"What’s behind that move is a belief that there are more good things happening in the U.S. economy in 2026 than we thought earlier this year. So we moved from 2.6% growth to 2.8%, which is well above the general consensus," Moynihan told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo in Davos, Switzerland. He further noted that January spending and seasonal patterns have shown signs of strength, bolstering the resilient economic trend seen in 2025, before adding that the credit conditions are great, and consumer spending has taken off after flatlining post-Thanksgiving.
Moynihan expressed optimism for small businesses as well, saying they have "figured out the tariffs" and the market uncertainty. He added that the tax benefits from the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" will further boost economic growth in the coming months. Furthermore, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) benefits and rate cuts from the Federal Reserve are expected to ease business conditions. The BoFA also shared its analysis for 2026, claiming that the risk of an AI bubble wasn't imminent yet.
Talking about rate cuts, Moynihan said his team expects two rate cuts coming this year, despite the inflation worries. He explained that the target inflation rate was a debatable number, but the economy should do fine with an upper limit of 4% inflation, with the job market doing a bit better than last year. When asked about President Trump's potential plan to cap credit card interest rates, Moynihan said there had been no concrete policy announcement yet, but the banks won't completely agree to it. However, he noted that they were willing to do anything to help the administration tackle the affordability issue.
Last week, leaders from big banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase, expressed similar views on the economy. “The U.S. economy is doing just fine. There are downside risks out there, geopolitical risks in particular. But when I step back and look at it holistically, we have an economy that has managed uncertainty and risks in a resilient type fashion,” Mark Mason, Citigroup’s chief financial officer, told reporters, as per Fox News. In the earnings call for the latest quarter, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) chief Jamie Dimon, also referenced the economy as "resilient" while highlighting a set of "hazards," including inflation and geopolitical risks. Meanwhile, Moynihan told reporters, "While any number of risks continue, we are bullish on the U.S. economy in 2026," a sentiment he reiterated in a Fox interview.
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