Bank of America Corporation Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

NOTE 10 – Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill

The table below presents goodwill balances by business segment at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010. The reporting units utilized for goodwill impairment tests are the operating segments or one level below.



(Dollars in millions)	September 30 2011		December 31 2010
Deposits	$	17,875	$	17,875
Card Services	10,014		11,889
Consumer Real Estate Services	—		2,796
Global Commercial Banking	20,668		20,656
Global Banking & Markets	10,673		10,671
Global Wealth & Investment Management	9,928		9,928
All Other	1,674		46
Total goodwill	$	70,832	$	73,861

During the three months ended September 30, 2011, the Corporation completed its annual goodwill impairment test as of June 30, 2011 for all applicable reporting units. Based on the results of step one of the annual goodwill impairment test, the Corporation determined that step two was not required for any of the reporting units as their fair value exceeded their carrying value indicating there was no impairment.

On August 15, 2011, the Corporation announced that it has agreed to sell its Canadian consumer card business and that it will exit its European consumer card businesses. In light of these actions, the results of its international consumer card businesses were moved to All Other. Included in the movement of assets was goodwill of approximately $1.9 billion that was allocated from the Card Services reporting unit to All Other. This was partially offset by a reduction in goodwill related to the sale of the Canadian consumer card business which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011. The allocation of goodwill was based on the relative fair values of the respective businesses within Card Services and the international consumer card businesses.

As discussed in Note 1 – Summary of Significant Accounting Principles, the Corporation adopted new accounting guidance issued in September 2011 on testing goodwill for impairment for the goodwill impairment test for Card Services and the European consumer card businesses completed during the three months ended September 30, 2011. The Corporation assessed the qualitative factors surrounding the goodwill remaining in Card Services and the goodwill allocated to All Other for the European consumer card businesses and concluded that it was not more-likely-than-not that the fair values of the reporting units are less than the carrying values. As a result, step one of the goodwill impairment test was not considered necessary.

Intangible Assets

The table below presents the gross carrying amounts and accumulated amortization related to intangible assets at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010.



	September 30, 2011				December 31, 2010
(Dollars in millions)	Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization		Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization
Purchased credit card relationships	$	7,152	$	4,515	$	7,162	$	4,085
Core deposit intangibles	5,394		4,331		5,394		4,094
Customer relationships	4,229		1,540		4,232		1,222
Affinity relationships	1,647		1,003		1,647		902
Other intangibles	3,085		1,354		3,087		1,296
Total intangible assets	$	21,507	$	12,743	$	21,522	$	11,599

None of the intangible assets were impaired at September 30, 2011 or December 31, 2010.

Amortization of intangibles expense was $377 million and $1.1 billion for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 compared to $426 million and $1.3 billion for the same periods in 2010. The Corporation estimates aggregate amortization expense will be approximately $360 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, and $1.3 billion, $1.1 billion, $950 million, $870 million and $770 million for 2012 through 2016, respectively.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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