Is Cryptocurrency Threatening Earnings at Bank of America? (thenextweb.com)

An anonymous reader quotes The Next Web: One of the world's largest financial institutions admitted in its annual report that cryptocurrency is a looming threat to its business model. According to a report filed with the SEC by Bank of America, "Clients may choose to conduct business with other market participants who engage in business or offer products in areas we deem speculative or risky, such as cryptocurrencies. Increased competition may negatively affect our earnings by creating pressure to lower prices or credit standards on our products and services requiring additional investment to improve the quality and delivery of our technology and/or reducing our market share, or affecting the willingness of clients to do business with us."

Comments

I don't partake in cryptocurrencies but

[C18H27NO3]

I honestly couldn't care less what Bank of America thinks about anything at all.

Re:I don't partake in cryptocurrencies but

[amiga3D]

Bank of America is the worst bank ever. I've never seen anything that bad in my 58 years on this earth.

Re:I don't partake in cryptocurrencies but

[ShanghaiBill]

I honestly couldn't care less what Bank of America thinks about anything at all.

SEC filings don't indicate what companies think. The rules for SEC filings are simple:

1. If you leave something out, you may get sued.
2. If you put something in, it can't hurt you because nobody reads them.

So companies tend to just toss any possible threat into the document, no matter how implausible. If they later get a shareholder lawsuit, they can point to the SEC filing and say "Hey, we warned you".

The mention of bitcoin in BOA's SEC filing just means their lawyers are doing their job and nothing else. It certainly does not mean they see it as a plausible threat.

Re:I don't partake in cryptocurrencies but

[humankind]

Another reason is, Bank of America is actively patenting crypto currency schemes. The natural progression isn't for traditional banks to become more crypto-like, it's for crypto to become more centralized and they're taking steps to do so, and listings like this notify their shareholders they're going to spend some resources to get their fingers into this market... on their own terms.

Before everyone gets too excited

[rsilvergun]

They're required by law to call out any and all risks in these statements, no matter how remote. Also, the big worry is not so much serious competition from crypto currencies but that they might have to spend money responding to them. Bank of America, like most major US banks, has more than enough power to reign crypto currencies in before they're any real threat to them.

My point is, don't go expecting crypto currencies to shake up out monetary and/or banking system to any real degree. If you want to see meaningful change you need to get behind guys like Dylan Ratigan.

Re:Before everyone gets too excited

[Anonymous Coward]

They're required by law to call out any and all risks in these statements, no matter how remote. Also, the big worry is not so much serious competition from crypto currencies but that they might have to spend money responding to them. Bank of America, like most major US banks, has more than enough power to reign crypto currencies in before they're any real threat to them.

In addition, BofA called out why they're not currently a real threat too, with the 'speculative' line. Is it possible cryptocurrency could become huge for real? Yes. Is it possible when your non-technical Facebook friends are going all frenzy without knowing what "cryptocurrency" means? Nope. BofA knows this. They'll know when to take it seriously.

Their own policies might hurt them

[mysidia]

Clients may choose to conduct business with other market participants who engage in business or offer products in areas we deem speculative or risky, such as cryptocurrencies

They're basically talking about BoA's choice to BAN customers using a portion of their own money taken from their deposits with BoA to buy or sell Crypto from/to a crypto exchange. BECAUSE Clients may choose to conduct this business, these clients may close their BoA accounts and/or move their funds to a BoA competitor; as a result of BoA's policy which restricts their clients' use of their clients' deposits ---- Basically Clients may choose to conduct business.... Meaning they WILL NOT tolerate BoA's Attempt to RESTRICT customers from using customers' own moneywith business in areas "BoA deems too risky or speculative" to allow business, and basically say F**** YOU to BoA for trying to impede their business with those speculative exchanges.

I think YEAH.... BoA should definitely list that as a risk, and I hope more and more customers will wake up to BoA's shady practices and unreasonable/arbitrary policies and restrictions on customers' use of funds

Increased competition ...

[PPH]

... may negatively affect our earnings

Welcome to the free market. Did you BofA execs actually study Adam Smith in college? Or were you sleeping off a drinking binge at the frat house that day?