Bank of America Forecasts Faster 2026 Net Interest Income Growth, While Truist Pins Results on Loan Growth and Fixed-Rate Repricing

Bank stocks heading into 2026 are increasingly being valued through two lenses, net interest income and fee revenue. Net interest income (NII) is the spread banks earn between interest from loans and securities and interest paid on deposits and funding. In a market comparison published June 8, Bank of America was framed as having stronger upside than Truist based on its earnings mix, its NII trajectory, and its platform for investment banking and digital client engagement.

Bank of America’s most explicit 2026 forecast centers on NII. In January, the bank said it expects full-year 2026 NII (on a “FTE” basis, or taxable-equivalent, non-GAAP presentation) to grow 5% to 7% year over year. It also projected operating leverage of roughly 200 basis points in 2026, with expectations that noninterest expense would rise less quickly as revenue builds. In the same outlook package, Bank of America said it expected other income of $100 million to $300 million per quarter and an effective tax rate of about 20%. Those figures are assumptions, tied to interest-rate and business-mix conditions.

Truist’s 2026 NII expectations are narrower. In its first-quarter 2026 earnings materials filed with the SEC, Truist said it expects NII to increase 2% to 3% in 2026 versus 2025. The deck attributes that rise to 3% to 4% average loan growth, a stable Fed funds rate assumption, and fixed-rate asset repricing. Truist also referenced its swap positioning as part of how its NII outlook reflects updated market rate expectations.

The digital-technology angle in the BAC vs. TFC debate also rests on concrete initiatives, not just brand messaging. Bank of America described its AI agent “Erica®” as a long-running feature across customer channels, saying 20 million people used it in the fourth quarter of 2025, nearly 200 million times, with the technology supporting alerts and customer interactions. Bank of America also highlighted ongoing investment in technology and AI for productivity and efficiency, in part to strengthen operational execution across its business lines.

Truist, meanwhile, has emphasized client-facing AI tools that it says are embedded into day-to-day banking. In an August 2025 investor announcement, Truist described “Truist Assist” as an AI-enhanced digital assistant averaging nearly half a million conversations per month. The same release also pointed to an AI-driven “Truist Insights” platform delivering more than 550 million personalized, real-time financial insights per year, available through mobile and online banking, and positioned the tools as part of expanding digital capabilities while adding advisory capacity in select markets.

On the revenue side beyond NII, both banks are navigating the cyclical nature of investment banking and trading. Truist’s first-quarter 2026 SEC deck shows noninterest income drivers, stating that noninterest income increased, with “increased investment banking and trading income” cited as a key offset, even as other income declined related to certain investments. It also shows that investment banking and trading income rose 36% year over year in the quarter. Bank of America’s materials, while not offering a single 2026 investment banking fee forecast in the same way, emphasize fee performance alongside NII, reporting in its shareholder letter that revenues net of interest expense in 2025 were $113.1 billion split roughly 53% net interest income and 47% fee performance, with continuing investments in technology across its segments.

A final caution is that the June 8 market comparison itself was not fully accessible for direct verification in this review, due to access restrictions. That means the piece’s valuation logic, specific target assumptions, and any forward-looking comparisons beyond what the banks disclose should be treated as unconfirmed until reviewed directly. What is confirmable, from filings and investor materials, is the directionally different NII growth outlook ranges and the role each company assigns to rate conditions, loan growth, repricing, and fee income sensitivity.

Next, investors will likely focus on how realized deposit costs and loan growth match the assumptions embedded in 2026 guidance, since those variables can change the pace of NII even when interest rates move as expected. They will also watch for the durability of noninterest income drivers, especially investment banking and trading volumes, and whether AI-enabled engagement translates into lower unit costs and steadier operating leverage. Both companies have framed their 2026 outlooks as forward-looking statements subject to uncertainty, including rate-market shifts and execution risks.