The patents represent innovation across many areas including artificial intelligence, machine learning, information security, data analytics, mobile banking, and payments. This record was achieved as the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued about 1% fewer patents overall in 2022. Bank of America also rose to 75th from 86th on the Intellectual Property Owners Association’s Top 300 list of patent owners (PDF).

“Our culture of innovation is driven by our inventors’ passion for ideating, developing and patenting meaningful capabilities for our clients and teammates,” says Aditya Bhasin, Chief Technology and Information Officer for Bank of America. “Over $10B in annual investment in these innovations earned our company a patented portfolio of solutions that spans artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, payments, and other technologies that help our clients live better financial lives.”

A key driver of the bank’s patent growth is its diverse workforce. More than 6,700 inventors across 42 states and 14 countries are inventors on the bank’s 5,837 patents. Of Bank of America’s inventors 26% are women, while fewer than 17% of inventors worldwide are women.

Victoria Dravneek, a Deposits and Payments Integration executive, is one of the company’s female inventors. She has 52 patents filed with 43 of those granted, which span categories including global treasury, fraud, and digital banking.

One of her recent patent publications is related to customization of client interfaces within multiple banking channels and she leads a team responsible for new product development.

“I originally came from the world of start-ups, where ideas were fast and furious,” she said. “At Bank of America, I’m encouraged to leverage the same mindset to dream big, identify new opportunities and new ways to leverage technology to help our clients better manage their financial lives.”

By making innovation every teammate’s responsibility, the company reinforces its commitment to a diverse workforce that represents its diverse clients. Ensuring diverse viewpoints are incorporated throughout the innovation and technology development life cycle allows clients to bank how and when they prefer, securely.

“Bank of America’s philosophy toward patents is unique and purposeful, as we do not rely on an innovation lab or R&D group to invent,” said Joe Castinado, Merchant Services Technology executive. “Any teammate can innovate and patent, leveraging our diverse perspectives to drive client focused solutions.”