According to the Triangle Business Journal, Bank of America has agreed to spend as much as $25 million over the next five years in a research partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ("M.I.T."). The Charlotte North Carolina-based BofA said it will "team with MIT's Media Laboratory to create the Center for Future Banking, which will be located on MIT's campus and seek to transform the ways banking is conducted. Researchers will address issues related to information technology, financial planning and customer service."

"Bank of America is investing in the future of banking," Anne Finucane, chief marketing officer at BofA, said in a statement "Working with the MIT Media Lab provides a unique opportunity to grow banking in innovative ways that respond to evolving customer behavior, preferences, and trends."

As a graduate of MIT professionally focused on financial services and technology, Lars Toomre is always intrigued by the amazing research that results from the M.I.T. academic experience and its research labs. It certainly will be interesting over the coming months to see what results from this research effort in the Media Lab.