Bank of America CEO on the financial battles being debated over in D.C.

In a new interview with Yahoo Finance’s Julie Hyman, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan explains what politicians need to act on in order to support the U.S. economy.

Video transcript

JULIE HYMAN: Well, say, I do want to ask one question about fiscal policy because there was reporting that emerged over the weekend that Democrats are aiming to potentially include a tax on billionaires' unrealized gains to help pay for their spending package. I guess I would ask, first of all, do you think that is likely to even get through? And if it does, how damaging or how concerned would you be about that kind of a measure?

BRIAN MOYNIHAN: Well, I think I'll leave the political system what gets through, because there's a lot of negotiation going on. But you have to step back. The requirements the way the budget process works, you have to pay for things. And they're trying to figure out revenue sources to pay for the packages in the legislative process.

I think we just have to let it play through and adopt after it's-- you know, I don't-- people are worried about broad-based corporate tax increases or personal tax increase because that could be the wrong time for the economy. And that's why I think you're seeing much more specific recommendations come up.

But you have to start back from the basic things that we have a lot of debt in the United States. We are still running significant budget deficits. And we need to make sure we're starting to pay for things to keep the strong fiscal position in this country. We've got to make sure the debt ceiling doesn't cause a problem. And the next time it comes up, it's six weeks away or whatever it is again. We need to get that push so we can continue to operate the country well.

But on top of that, we also have to be, I think, a little more careful now that the COVID crisis is moving behind us to make sure that we're spending on things that have good payback in the infrastructure bill that we're on record of being for the first infrastructure bill. And things can do it, but we've got to pay for it. And that's what I think the debate is about these types of taxes, and let's see it play out.