BoA CFO: Consumers Are Spending ‘Robustly,’ Credit in ‘Great Shape’

Bank of America Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said customers continue to borrow money and to spend, Bloomberg reported, citing his remarks at a Morgan Stanley conference.

“The consumer is still spending pretty robustly,” Borthwick said, according to the news service.

Borthwick also said, according to Bloomberg, that he does not envision the U.S. entering into a recession soon.

“Credit is in great shape,” and credit-card balances are lower than average at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, Borthwick reportedly said. Mortgages, he said, are “keeping pace” but not growing in volume.

According to Bloomberg, Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan previously has said there are signs that despite inflation, consumers are paying down credit card balances.

Borthwick also reportedly said Bank of America’s trading business is on track to be up between 10 percent and 16 percent over a year ago.

Separately, despite a significant number of recession forecasts from Wall Street heavyweights, Bloomerg also reported today (June 13) that J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. strategist Marko Kolanovic said it appears the country will avoid one for now.

Bloomberg quoted a note to investors from Kolanovic and colleagues that states, in part: “Friday’s strong CPI print that led to a surge in yields, along with the sell-off in crypto over the weekend, are weighing on investor sentiment and driving the market lower,” Kolanovic and his team wrote in a note to clients on Monday. “However, we believe rates market repricing went too far and the Fed will surprise dovishly relative to what is now priced into the curve.”

A top-rated analyst based on his track record, Kolanovic predicts a gradual return of equity prices in calendar 2022, Bloomberg reported.

In related news, stock market losses made it clear that not everyone shared Kolanovic’s perspective.

Read more: Recession Fears Send CE100 Stocks Lower, Led by Live and Bank Pillars