NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - Bank of America ( BAC )

secured a record 644 U.S. patents in 2023, up 13% from the

previous year, as the lender focused on information security,

artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, it said on

Wednesday.

The second-largest U.S. lender now has 6,600 granted patents

or pending applications worldwide, including more than 800

related to AI. Its more than 7,300 inventors span 42 U.S. states

and 14 countries.

"Innovation is everybody's business - this is not a lab or

some small group tucked away," said Aditya Bhasin, BofA's Chief

Technology and Information Officer. "We are thinking about how

AI can be used to make us able to serve our clients better."

For example, the bank uses some patented technology for its

virtual assistant, Erica, to give customers alerts about their

spending habits or reminders about recurring transactions.

BofA also clinched patents in programming technology, online

or mobile banking and payments last year, it said.

The banking giant spends $12 billion a year on technology.

It plans to allocate $3.8 billion to new initiatives this year.