Bank of America Uses Virtual Reality for Training Over 200,000 Staffers

Bank of America is using digital tools to prepare employees for real-world situations.

The bank is using the latest in artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and the metaverse to create an immersive learning experience for its employees, Bloomberg reported Thursday (July 13).

John Jordan, head of the Academy at Bank of America, said in the report: “These simulations act like practice reps. It makes a new employee experienced, even if they’re brand new.”

The technologies are used to help train staffers about such things as calming an angry customer or remaining calm themselves during a robbery, according to the report. They are also used to provide virtual tours and explanations of bank branches, the company’s history and employee benefits.

With this teaching method, Bank of America aim to provide a hands-on and interactive training approach to staff, so that they have the capacity to better understand the complexities of their jobs and the bank itself, the report said.

More than 200,000 staffers around the world — both new recruits and existing employees — have used at least one of the technologies for training, per the report.

Mike Wynn, innovation and design executive for Bank of America’s Academy, said the immersive experience delivered by the technology helps simulate conversations with customers during training: “It’s hard to teach traditionally. VR creates anxiety, it gets your heart rate up. It makes you nervous.”

Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, noted the potential of the technology while also expressing caution, saying in the report that AI could have “extreme benefits” but “we have to understand how the decisions are made” as AI becomes more advanced.

Training is one of the many uses to which AI, VR and the metaverse have been applied.

For example, in January, workplace VR startup Gemba raised $18 million in a Series A funding round to continue expanding its selection of training simulations, tools, events and learning experiences.

In October 2022, it was reported that the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has built a global virtual training facility in a private metaverse that includes a training course on travel document verification and passenger screening.


Corporate Delinquencies Reach Highest Rate Since 2017

business loans, delinquencies, banking

Corporate delinquencies are reportedly at the highest rate they’ve reached in eight years.

The delinquency rate for loans from U.S. banks to both U.S. and foreign companies rose to 1.3% at the end of 2024, a figure that was the highest since the first quarter of 2017 but well below the 5% seen during the 2008 financial crisis, the Financial Times (FT) reported Monday (Feb. 17), citing data from BankRegData.

The total amount of bank debt on which U.S. business borrowers were at least one month late reached $28 billion, up $2.2 billion from three months earlier and up $5.4 billion from a year earlier, according to the report.

The report attributed the rise to interest rates that remain high, surprising some observers who expected them to fall this year. A pickup in inflation in January and concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs have delayed further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, the report said.

Corporate bank loans tend to be variable rate, so the expected decline in interest rates would have given some relief to borrowers, the report said.

The data from BankRegData does not include loans from direct lenders and private credit funds, per the report.

It was reported in January that the growth in commercial bank loans was at the slowest it’s been since the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

Commercial bank loans grew by around 2.7% in 2024, which was only somewhat faster than the 2.3% rise seen in 2023.

A number of bankers said they hoped to see loan growth later this year, citing optimism among clients and other indicators.

Bank of America said during a January earnings call that commercial loans were up 5% year over year in the fourth quarter and that loan and deposit growth in the current year should outpace last year’s.

J.P. Morgan Chase said during a January earnings call that there has been improvement in business sentiment and that balance sheets at small businesses are healthy.

Citi CEO Jane Fraser said during a January earnings call that in the United States, “growth is not only being driven by the higher-end consumer but also by a strong and innovative corporate sector.”