Bank of America was founded in 1904 as the Bank of Italy by Amadeo Giannini in San Francisco, California. It was established to serve immigrants who were denied service by other banks. The bank grew rapidly and was renamed Bank of America in 1930. Over the decades, through a series of mergers and acquisitions, including the pivotal merger with NationsBank in 1998, Bank of America transformed into a national and then global banking powerhouse. Today, it is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and serves millions of customers worldwide