Bank of America CEO, Brian Moynihan expressed that as the economy is continuing to open up, American consumers have started spending more freely.
Moynihan told that transaction volumes on debit and credit cards of consumers and over the Zelle payment network have significantly grown by 20% this year compared to this point in 2019. The comparison skips 2020 as an abnormal year in so many respects because of widespread stay-at-home orders due to the pandemic.
Moynihan said that people have got a great stimulus of money and they have been spending it. He also said that the spending is increased because unemployment rates are reducing as more people are returning to work.
When lawmakers passed President Biden’s stimulus bill in the month of March, the total amount of pandemic stimulus reached $5 trillion. This was a great response to an unprecedented situation.
Moynihan said that almost all spending categories have recovered, excluding travel, which is yet as much as 15% lower than in 2019. Bank of America is the second-largest USA bank by consideration of assets after JPMorgan Chase and has relationships with close to half of American households.
Moynihan said that stimulus checks and bolstered unemployment benefits have pumped up checking accounts of consumers. He also said that the accounts with an average balance of $1,000 to $2,000 are up by 6 to 7 times than they were before the pandemic.
