Bank of America CEO Says His Company Has to Make Profit and ‘Take a Stand’

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said the company can’t just produce profits -- it also has to wade into thorny debates.

The head of the second-largest U.S. bank said Wednesday that the firm needed to act on issues such as gun control, particularly because of the impact on employees who were affected by mass shootings.

“You had teammates in every one of those situations that led our team to say we’ve got to take a stand on something,” Moynihan said at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum. Companies have to both “produce a great profit, and make progress” for society, he said.

Companies have shown more willingness in recent years to enter the fray on political and societal issues. The Business Roundtable last month released a statement abandoning the long-held view that shareholders’ interests should come first amid growing public discontent over income inequality and the burgeoning cost of health care and higher education.

Read more: BofA says 151 employees affected by mass shootings in U.S.

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