Brian Moynihan’s Secret Vocabulary Game on Wall Street Calls

The linguistic habit has become a hallmark of Moynihan’s tenure, turning routine financial updates into unexpected vocabulary tests. Employees select words like “gainsay,” “concomitant,” or “fantods” for the CEO to integrate into his script. While the internal team tracks his performance, the public-facing results often baffle automated transcription services. When Moynihan described the Iran war as “anfractuous,” major platforms including FactSet, Bloomberg, and S&P Global struggled to identify the term, resulting in wildly divergent interpretations ranging from “infructuous” to “intractable.”

Critics and colleagues view the ritual as an “intellectual flex” that stands in stark contrast to the plainspoken approach of peers like JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. A Bank of America spokesperson acknowledged the quirk, describing the executive's penchant for complex language as “ludically noetic.” Moynihan, a history graduate from Brown University with a law degree from Notre Dame, has led the $443 billion institution since 2010. While analysts like Wells Fargo’s Mike Mayo prefer simplicity, the practice remains a fixture of the bank’s corporate culture, reflecting a leader who has consistently prioritized intellectual rigor throughout his sixteen-year career.