Bank of America credit traders feel impact of cautious AI strategy

When your competitors are gorging on a $400 billion buffet and your boss has you on a strict diet, the mood at the trading desk tends to suffer. That’s roughly the situation at Bank of America, where credit traders are grappling with the consequences of the bank’s deliberate choice to avoid many of the blockbuster AI-related debt deals that have defined Wall Street’s 2026. Companies have collectively issued more than $400 billion in bonds tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure this year. That flood of new paper has created a thriving secondary market, with investors actively trading the expanded supply. BofA’s credit desk, however, hasn’t been able to fully ride that wave, because the bank chose to sit out several of the most prominent deals its rivals jumped on. The cost of saying no BofA’s trading revenue has remained flat even as the AI debt bonanza has lifted results at competing banks. The bank’s restraint isn’t accidental. CEO Brian Moynihan has built his tenure around the philosophy of “responsible growth,” a framework that prioritizes human oversight and careful risk assessment over chasing every hot trend. BofA hasn’t avoided AI financing entirely. The bank has par...