The average salary for employees at the Dublin based Bank of America’s Europe operation last year increased to $217,584 (€184,469).
The Bank of America has its EU banking hub in Dublin where it employs 1,052 of 2,707 staff across a network of 11 branches in the EU, UK and Switzerland.
Numbers employed at the Irish branch showed the strongest growth across its European network with headcount increasing by 131 from 921 to 1,052.
New accounts filed with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) for Bank of America Europe DAC show that pre-tax profits last reduced by 8% from $1.76 billion to $1.62 billion.
The decrease in pre-tax profits came as total operating income rose by 2% from $3.26 billion to $3.31 billion.
Staff costs last year increased from $623m to $713m, which included $589m in wages and salaries as average pay increased from $209,886 to $217,584.
Numbers employed at its European network increased by 158 from 2,549 to 2,707.
The directors state that the $90m increase in staff costs to $713m was driven by higher headcount, higher incentive and related payroll tax accruals, partially offset by lower severance costs.
Pay to directors last year totalled $5.67m and directors were made up of three executive directors and eight were non-executive directors.
Bank of America chose Dublin as its EU headquarters in 2017. The unit has two main divisions – global banking and markets, and a support services division. The US banking giant has had a presence in the Republic since 1968.
On the market environment, the directors state that “during 2025, global macroeconomic conditions remained challenging, with elevated trade-related uncertainty and geopolitical tensions contributing to market volatility”.
“Tariff actions across major economies have impacted global trade flows and introduced inflationary pressures, particularly in commodities. These developments have influenced investor sentiment and contributed to shifts in asset allocation and risk appetite,” they say.
The directors state that despite the headwinds faced in 2025, primary market activity remained robust; EMEA Mergers and Acquisitions volumes improved and Debt Capital Markets issuance remained strong, with high demand for refinancing transactions.
The directors state that pre-tax profits decreased by $134m to $1.6 billion “reflecting higher operating expenses and staff costs along with lower net interest income and other operating income offset by higher trading and fair value income and fee and commission income”.
They state that total operating income increased by $56m to $3.3 billion “primarily due to an increase in net trading and fair value gains and net fees and commission; offset by decrease in net interest and other operating income”.
In accounts signed off on March 13, the directors say that “heightened uncertainty in early 2026 surrounding developments in the Middle East, including Iran, contributed to increased market volatility as well as repricing across equity markets as investors assessed the potential for a more extended conflict and broader regional impacts”.
The bank’s revenues were made up of $1 billion in net interest income, $654m in net fee and commission income, net trading income of $483m, $214m in net income from financial instruments and $954m in other operating income.
The bank recorded a post tax profit of $1.28 billion after incurring a corporation tax charge of $347m which included foreign taxes of $285m.
The cash reserves of the Bank of America Europe held with central banks other than mandatory reserves increased from $23.07 billion to $23.92 billion.
The bank’s total equity amounted to $17.39 billion at the end of 2024 that included accumulated profits of $8.18 billion.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
