Bank of America customers are earning a fraction of what competitors offer on their savings, and the gap has widened into one of the most lopsided spreads on Wall Street.
The Charlotte-based lender still pays a baseline annual percentage yield of just 0.01% on its standard Advantage Savings account, according to the bank's published rate sheet.
That's one dollar of interest per year on a $10,000 balance.
Meanwhile, a growing list of online banks and money market funds are advertising yields north of 4%.
It's the difference between a $10,000 balance earning a single dollar annually at BofA versus roughly $400 to $450 at a high-yield savings account.
For households sitting on emergency funds, that spread can quietly cost hundreds of dollars a year.
Why the nation's second-largest bank keeps rates near zero comes down to simple math.
Big banks with millions of legacy checking customers don't need to compete for deposits the way online-only institutions do.
Customers who keep their paycheck direct-deposited and their bills on autopay rarely shop around, so the bank has little incentive to raise what it pays.
Its Preferred Rewards program bumps savings yields for customers who hit certain balance tiers across their accounts, and promotional rates occasionally appear for new deposits.
But the top tier still lands well below what a basic online savings account pays with no strings attached.
The catch for anyone tempted to jump ship: moving money isn't always painless.
Transfers between banks can take one to three business days, and some institutions hold funds longer on large deposits.
Customers who rely on branch access, in-person service, or a single app for checking and savings may decide the convenience is worth the cost — though that's a harder case to make when the annual difference runs into the hundreds.
A few practical moves can close the gap without a full breakup.
Keeping a small buffer at BofA for ATM access and bill pay while parking the bulk of savings at a higher-yield account is one common approach.
Setting up automatic transfers prevents the money from drifting back.
And anyone already in Preferred Rewards should check their current tier, since rates shift as balances cross thresholds.
The broader lesson extends beyond one bank.
Deposit rates at the largest institutions have historically lagged the Federal Reserve's benchmark rate by a wide margin, and that pattern tends to stick even when the Fed moves.
Consumers who never check what their savings earns are effectively donating the difference to their bank's bottom line.
It pays to treat your savings rate like any other recurring bill — something to review at least once a year, not something to set and forget.
A five-minute comparison could be the highest-paid five minutes of your financial year.
The uncomfortable truth is that loyalty to a big bank rarely pays interest — literally.
Final Thoughts
If your savings account statement shows pennies on a four-figure balance, that's not a glitch, it's a business model, and you're on the wrong side of it.