© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Bank of America logo is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York, U.S., January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bank of America Corp Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said on Monday its loan portfolio showed no signs of an impending recession.
“There’s this question of what’s going to happen in the future, and there’s what we’re seeing right now. And what we’re seeing right now, the credit is in great shape,” Borthwick said when asked about asset quality at a conference organized by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:).
Consumer spending at the second-largest U.S. bank is up 9% so far this month from a year ago, while credit card balances remain below pre-pandemic levels, Borthwick said.
“It’s sort of a testament to consumer health, I would say,” Borthwick said. “They are not too extensive in terms of leverage.”
Corporate clients are also doing well, with credit quality improving in the travel, restaurant and hospitality sectors, Borthwick said. And as “the economy continues to recover”, it is pushing the bank’s corporate clients to borrow more, he said.
“Overall, we’re seeing reasonably good loan growth right now,” he said. “We should see high single-digit loan growth. It’s a good environment for loan growth.”
Borthwick’s comments contrasted with those JPMorgan (NYSE:) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon made earlier this month.
Dimon said inflation, the conflict in Ukraine and other challenges facing the economy looked like a “hurricane” to come. [L1N2XO17E]
Borthwick said the investment banking fee environment was “challenging” as fewer companies went public in the current volatile market.
Borthwick also warned that they expect to report a $100-150 million write-down on its leveraged finance portfolio this quarter.