A record number of patents were filed by Bank of America inventors, with 722 applications filed with the United States Patent Office last year, the most in the bank’s history, the bank said in a Thursday (Feb. 18) press release.
Although some 85 percent of BofA’s employees have been working remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic, the bank was granted 444 patents of the total applicants sent in 2020.
“Bank of America clients benefit every day from our focus on innovation,” said Chief Operations and Technology Officer Cathy Bessant. “Continuing to build our patent portfolio is one way that we measure our success. Invention happens across our company at an ever-increasing pace, and our 2020 patent performance set records for our firm.”
Bank of America embraces diversity and advances the notion that innovation is everyone’s job. Inventors have shown that bringing their varied backgrounds and experiences to the patent process is a benefit to all.
“Being a bank inventor has been a highlight of my professional career,” said BofA Consumer Products Strategic Analyst Jinna Kim. “It doesn’t matter that my patents are outside of my day-to-day responsibilities; if you have a good idea, you can bring it forward at Bank of America. In just a couple years, I’ve co-filed several patents on wide-ranging topics, from frictionless banking to cognitive automation, to open banking and information security.”
Bank of America said its portfolio comprises more than 4,400 patents and applications, with 5,700 inventors from 42 states and 12 countries represented. The bank noted 26 percent of its inventors are women, more than double the global average.
Last month Bank of America reported the number of active mobile banking users escalated 6 percent to hit 30.8 million during the quarter. In addition, active digital banking users grew 3 percent to 39.3 million. In terms of online banking, Bank of America said digital sales accounted for 45 percent of all consumer banking sales for the quarter.
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