Banking
Bank of America is working to strengthen its investment banking franchise following a series of senior departures that have raised concerns about competitive positioning and employee morale. The departures became particularly visible in early August, when veteran banker Amy Lissauer left after unsuccessful efforts by CEO Brian Moynihan and global investment banking co-head Faiz Ahmad to persuade her to remain.
Lissauer’s departure followed other losses, including technology dealmaker Kevin Brunner, who announced plans to join JPMorgan Chase in late 2025, and David Fishman, Bank of America’s former co-head of technology, media and telecommunications mergers and acquisitions. Global investment banking co-head Mike Joo and technology banker Ed Liu also departed during the same week as Lissauer.
The loss of senior bankers can affect more than headcount. Experienced dealmakers often maintain long-standing relationships with corporate executives, influence advisory mandates and help generate opportunities for financing and strategic transactions. Maintaining those relationships is particularly important when competition for mergers, acquisitions and capital-markets business is intensifying.
Bank of America ranked fourth in Dealogic’s global investment banking fee league tables for 2025 and 2026, behind JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The bank had held third place from 2022 through 2024 before Morgan Stanley moved ahead during the expansion of artificial intelligence-related financing activity.
The ranking shift has increased attention on the bank’s ability to retain senior talent and compete for high-value mandates. However, league table position represents only one measure of performance and does not fully capture profitability, client relationships or the long-term value of advisory assignments.
Bank of America has emphasized its strength in AI-related capital markets. According to figures cited in the report, Dealogic recorded the bank as bookrunner for $818 billion in issuance volume since January 2026, representing 59% of total AI-related capital raised across investment-grade debt, leveraged finance and equity capital markets.
The bank also reported its second-highest investment banking fees ever in the first half of 2026. Advisory and debt issuance fees reached their highest first-half levels since 2009, providing management with evidence that the business remains commercially active despite the departures.
Following the August departures, Ahmad and other senior bankers met with employees involved in mergers and acquisitions to discuss the group’s direction. Participants said executives reiterated their intention to move Bank of America toward the top of the investment banking rankings and continue recruiting experienced senior bankers, particularly in technology.
Matthew Koder, president of the bank’s global corporate and investment banking unit, reinforced that strategy in an internal memo. He said the firm continued investing in talent and had welcomed more than 40 new managing directors to its corporate and investment bank during the year.
Recent hires include experienced technology bankers Jason Rowe, Gary Kirkham and Richard Hardegree, as well as Bryce Dakin, who is expected to join later in the year. The bank has also recruited industrials banker George Murphy and Alban de La Sablière as vice chair of healthcare dealmaking in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Bank of America maintains that senior managing director hires have outpaced departures. Its leadership has also pointed to its role in major transactions, including advising on Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, as evidence of continued market participation.
Despite management’s public confidence, some bankers have expressed concern about the depth of the bank’s corporate-client coverage teams in New York. These bankers manage relationships with major companies and can play a central role in securing mergers, acquisitions and financing mandates.
Compensation has also emerged as a point of tension. Some employees have reportedly questioned the bank’s bonus structure, particularly arrangements involving deferred compensation. Competitors such as JPMorgan and Citigroup may use different compensation packages to attract experienced professionals.
Deferred compensation can create practical considerations for employees facing near-term expenses, including housing costs and education payments. For the bank, the challenge is balancing compensation discipline with the need to retain professionals whose relationships and expertise contribute directly to revenue generation.
Management, however, has rejected the suggestion that employee morale is broadly weak, citing strong revenue, technology investment and the arrival of new colleagues.
Bank of America’s investment banking strategy illustrates how human capital can influence a financial institution’s competitive position. Senior bankers bring client relationships, sector knowledge and transaction experience that may take years to develop. Replacing departing executives therefore involves more than recruiting equivalent job titles; the bank must also preserve client continuity and convert new hires into productive revenue-generating teams.
For investors, the key indicators to monitor include investment banking fees, advisory and underwriting activity, the stability of senior leadership, and the bank’s ability to sustain market share in technology-related financing. Compensation trends and employee retention may also offer insight into the durability of its growth strategy.
For business owners and corporate executives, the competitive environment may create opportunities to reassess banking relationships, financing alternatives and advisory coverage. A bank’s ranking is relevant, but the quality of its execution, access to capital, sector expertise and understanding of a client’s objectives remain essential considerations when selecting financial partners.
Bank of America is pursuing an ambitious investment banking expansion while managing the reputational and operational challenges associated with senior banker departures. Its reported first-half fee performance and continued recruitment provide evidence of underlying business strength, but maintaining momentum will depend on retaining experienced professionals, rebuilding coverage where needed and converting new hires into durable client relationships.
The central question is whether the bank can translate its recruitment efforts and AI-related financing activity into sustained gains in advisory business and league table performance. Its progress will be measured not simply by the number of senior bankers hired, but by the revenue, client relationships and strategic opportunities those professionals help generate.
For a confidential discussion about wealth strategy, financial risk, or cross-border financial planning, contact the SKN CBBA advisory team.
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