Good morning. Business leaders are working to manage volatility and an evolving economic environment, as the goalpost keeps moving on policies.
Bank of America (BofA) CFO Alastair Borthwick offered some insight into what the bank is hearing from its commercial clients—concerns over trade policy and recent market turmoil have grown. “What our clients are telling us is they’re looking for certainty,” Borthwick said during a media call on Tuesday. BofA’s commercial clients range from small businesses to middle-market and large corporations.
They’re seeking clarity, not just around trade policy, but also the tax package and regulatory reform. “Every day provides a little more information” and also “a little bit more in the way of certainty for people,” he said.
He added: “It’s a slow-growth environment. That’s what we continue to try and support our clients through.”
CFOs certainly are grappling with tariff uncertainty. Some are taking actions such as devising alternative-sourcing plans, stockpiling greater inventory, and creating financial buffers.
However, BofA’s research team at this point doesn’t believe we’ll see a recession, Borthwick said. And clients continue to show “encouraging signs.” Employment remains healthy, and consumers have proven resilient, he said.
For its Q1, Bank of America reported on Tuesday net income of $7.4 billion and earnings per share of 90 cents, up from 76 cents the same time last year. Revenue growth was 6%. It was driven by net interest income (NII), which was up 3% from the prior year, reaching $14.6 billion, partially helped by lower deposit costs. NII is the difference between what the bank earns on loans and investments and pays out on its liabilities, including deposits.
BofA maintained its guidance that NII will reach $15.5 to $15.7 billion in the fourth quarter and achieve 6% to 7% year-over-year growth for 2025, Borthwick said. This goes against the grain of what’s becoming more common this earnings season—some companies are pulling guidance due to tariff tumult.
“We run our business to withstand volatility over the short and the long term and through our responsible growth strategy,” Borthwick said on the media call. BofA is prepared to manage through any potential downturn in the economy, he said.
An analyst asked during BofA’s Q1 earnings call on Tuesday if there will be any potential impacts from the U.S. stock market losing trillions in wealth following the announcement of the Trump administration’s sweeping tariff policy.
The real risk in any bank’s balance sheet is going to be its credit posture, CEO Brian Moynihan said on the call. Even if there is “a very slight recession…we should fare well in that,” he said.
No one has a crystal ball to perfectly predict the future, Moynihan said. BofA is positioning itself for every outcome, he said. “But we don’t want people to lose sight of the strong performance of this company and our team in the first quarter of 2025,” Moynihan said.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Fortune 500 Power Moves
A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc. (A-Mark) (No. 421) has appointed Cary Dickson as CFO, effective July 1. Dickson, who previously served as the company’s CFO from November 2015 through September 2019, will re-join A-Mark on May 2 as its executive vice president. He will assume the role of CFO upon the departure of current CFO Kathleen Simpson-Taylor, who has informed the company of her decision to retire as of the end of the current fiscal year. Dickson most recently served as a partner of Hardesty LLC, a provider of a full range of financial services, including fractional and interim CFO services, to private equity firms and middle-market companies.
Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.
More notable moves:
Wolf Schmuhl was promoted to CFO of trivago N.V. (Nasdaq: TRVG), effective June 1. Schmuhl’s career spans over a decade of military service and leadership, followed by roles in the finance sector. Most recently, he served as the head of corporate finance and development at trivago, His experience also includes roles such as manager in audit and transaction services, as well as positions in controlling and as a finance Lead within the Körber AG Group.
Ken Myszkowski, CFO of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARWR) will retire after 16 years of service, effective May 13. He will be succeeded by Daniel Apel, who has been appointed as the company’s new CFO. Apel joins the company from Walgreens Boots Alliance, where he served as global head of financial planning and analysis. Before that, he served in various roles in his nearly 20-year career at Bayer, including as CFO for Bayer U.S.
Big Deal
“Ready for resilience” is a new Accenture report that offers guidance for navigating the new tariff landscape and its economic impact. Executives should ask the questions: How has the near-term and long-term outlook changed, and how might it affect our performance across business lines?
For example, the goal of scenario planning should move beyond just reacting to change, but toward proactively preparing for fundamental shifts in demand, financial conditions, and global trade, according to the report. Accenture recommends integrating automated economic signal monitoring and AI-powered scenario simulation directly into the enterprise decision-making process.
Going deeper
“United Airlines plans for two outcomes in the economic fog—weaker but stable and full-blown recession” is a new Fortune report by Amanda Gerut. United Airlines is planning for multiple operating environments, the company announced on Tuesday. In one scenario, the airline sees consistent customer bookings even as the economy weakens. In the other, the U.S. stumbles headlong into a recession. It may be an approach other companies adopt given the wild swings roiling the markets.
Overheard
“We’re in a world of tremendous uncertainty.”
—Janet Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chair and secretary of the U.S. Treasury, said Monday on Bloomberg Television. Yellen has called the Trump administration’s tariffs “misguided” and “the objectives unclear.”
