The Bank of America Corporation: Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics

BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT), headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C., has many similarities to Atlanta’s SunTrust Banks. Besides both banks being headquartered in the South, BB&T is similar in size with $174.8 billion in assets and approximately 1,800 financial centers. BB&T also operates within a similar footprint and

Bank of America is the largest US bank founded in 1904, it has expanded through several acquisitions. By the end of 2009, Bank of America was the market leader serving 82% of the US population and over 53 million customers. They are positioned as number one in online and mobile banking. Their mobile banking services were launched in 2007 and have gained 4 million customers in less than three years. Acquisitions made by Bank of America prior to the financial crisis caused a very strong drop in their stock price.

Since 1998, Bank of America has become one of the most successful financial institutions in the industry. With the mission to “make financial lives better, through the power of every connection”, Bank of America has operated its business align with its purpose. While assisting its clients understand their money, the company also put on a lot of effort on helping the communities by executing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It is undeniable that the company has successfully addressed many critical problems in the environmental, social and economics arenas, as it continually receive awards and recognitions for its CSR efforts.

The largest banking institution in the United States, Bank of America, has been characterized with numerous controversies in the recent past. While the institution only got bigger since the financial crisis and government intervention through bailouts, Bank of America headed towards collapse. In 2011, Bank of America experienced several protests of its branches by various groups like National People's Action, US Uncut and other progressive activists (Jaffe par, 1). These protests were fueled by the groups' anger at Bank of America's tax dodging, huge bonuses that were paid after government bailouts, foreclosures, and other harmful practices. These protests contributed to increased concerns on whether the too-big-to-fail behemoth would really collapse.

Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the nation. It is a multinational company and it is recognized by its high revenue value. Unfortunately, Bank of America has endured many complaints and harsh views regarding their lack of ethics. Ethical issues occur when there is a blatant disregard to implement integrity, trust, and responsibility. In some financial institutions, ethical matters are displayed in the way the consumers are treated. Within the past nine years, Bank of America has diminished all of their ethical promises by revealing customer information without their permission; discriminating against consumers based on their race; and manipulating overdraft fees in order to benefit the bank. In order to assess these problems, it is vital to recognize what Bank of America claims to stand for and determine where their most concerning issues are generated from.

Bank of America, under the impression they had made an excellent business decision was unaware of the totality involving Countrywide’s loan practices. Only a small group of Bank of America’s employees were involved in the assessment of Countrywide’s books and operations techniques, yet had no input in the acquisition (Rothacker, 2014). Only a matter of time, Bank of America would realize the magnitude of legal issues it had acquired from Countrywide. However, Bank of America, which was much larger, had the ability to manage the negative media and confront the rising legal troubles better than Countrywide. Ironically, in 2001, Bank of America discontinued subprime mortgages and higher priced loans to riskier consumers (Rothacker,

We will look at the Enron Corporation and discuss its application of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or in actuality its irresponsible behavior as related to social responsibility. We will revisit what CSR is and discuss Enron’s philosophy regarding its use and function within the corporation. We will discuss the consequences of Enron’s irresponsible behavior and the far reaching effects it had on society.

Companies today are heavily influenced by the demands of customers and stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to the social and environmental responsibility policies and practices developed by an organization to increase its positive influence and reduce its negative activity towards society (Parks, 2008). The business approach and corporate philosophy of an organization is easily altered due to economic pressures, technological improvement and stakeholder needs and demands. "Going green" or being eco-friendly is one such demand. Environmental and sustainability concerns originate most often from governments, consumer activists, and the general public (Schlosser, 2008). Thus, organizations must implement sustainability into daily practices. In addition, sustainability alters the nature of competition and drives companies to think differently about products, processes, and technologies (Parks, 2008).

Bank of America is known for being a bit of a risk-taking firm. Acquisitions make up a large part of the past for the organization. Prior to the financial crisis in the early 2000’s, Bank of America acquired FleetBoston Financial in 2004, MBNA in 2005, and ABN AMRO North America and LaSalle Bank Corporation after that. The acquisitions provided advantages to set the organization apart from the competition. They were able to become a major player across the world and became a major credit card issuer as well.

Bank of America (BOA) is a multinational banking and financial services corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The History of BOA starts in 1904 when Amadeo Pietro Giannini opened the Bank of Italy in San Francisco. In 1930 it merged with Bank of America of California, and that is when it gained its name. In 1968 this Corporation was organized in Delaware as a holding company for Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association and other financial subsidiaries. In1983 BOA merged with the biggest Washington state bank “Seafirst Corporation”, which was the largest United States interstate bank. BOA purchased their biggest competitor in California, (the Security Pacific Corporation) in 1991. On 1998 Nations Bank acquired

The sector offers a considerable barrier to new entrants due to the high capital required to establish a new bank. As banking is professional services type required high creditability, strong brand presence is the key obstacle for newcomers.

Bank of America is a banking and financial service industry located in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you would like to access the internet address for Bank of America, then you can click on this link provided https://www.bankofamerica.com . Its primary SIC Code is 6021 – National Commercial Banks, and its primary NAICS Code is 522110 – Commercial Banking. The Bank of American provides many goods and services for its customers such as banking, credit cards, loans, and investments. Every day Bank of America is competing against many competitors but JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are some of the largest. Bank of America’s stock exchange ticker symbol is NYSE: BAC. The external auditor is PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina.

As one of the world’s leading banks, with 135,000 employees in more than 50 countries, Barclays plays a significant role, from working with governments on major infrastructure projects to bringing banking to customers in emerging markets. Barclays is made up of two major businesses: Global Retail and Commercial Banking (GRCB) and Investment Banking and Investment Management (IBIM). There strategy is to achieve growth through time by diversifying their profit base making their growth relevant to their customers at all times. This case study will seek to examine the bid and intended acquisition of ABN AMRO, and the early acquisition

Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) is one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world. We are the world's local bank.

ITC Ltd has worked exremly hard to start several procedures that have led to compliance of the standards of social responsibility. ITC’s dealings within the tobacco industry have contributed to the increase in company revenues and the company has worked towards following the triple bottom line and giving back to society. Most, businesses pay little attention to their social responsibilities and make it part of their overall strategy, instead they concentrate more on financial benefits from the sales of products. Consequently, managing business in a socially responsive manner contributes to the best combination of business success and societal acceptance, trust and loyalty. Giving back to the community in ways that benefits only society such as planting trees to curb pollution and help the environment or using biodegradable materials in packaging can reap financial benefits to a company by building loyalty among the community. The notion of business ethics and corporate social responsibility is becoming a defining concept in all industries worldwide. ITC believes in the Triple Bottom Line philosophy where the performance and perception of a corporation should not be judged only on the basis of its financial statements or revenues, but its environmental and social performance as well. ITC is one of the only companies in the world to be carbon positive, water positive, and conduct solid waste recycling. ITC provides water to areas where water is very