By Elizabeth Dilts Marshall
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said on Tuesday that consumer spending has continued to grow so far in February, indicating that the recovery the bank has seen in restaurant and other spending categories is ongoing.
"When you look at the core spending levels of consumers, they continue to be very strong," Moynihan said in an interview on CNBC. "We said January (spending) was up 15% to 20%. We're seeing that continue into February."
Moynihan, who leads the second-largest U.S. bank, said customers are spending more across the board, including at restaurants, as concern over the Omicron variant of COVID-19 wanes.
In January, combined credit and debit card spending by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) customers was up 16% to $65 billion compared to January 2021, with credit card spending alone up 28%, the bank said earlier this month.
The amount of money customers have in their checking and savings accounts in January was also up 15% year-over-year.
Moynihan said these and other trends are broadly positive for the economy. On the subject of corporations, he said that current corporate debt levels do not pose any significant economic threat.