Risk Factors
There are important differences between the notes and a conventional debt security. An investment in the notes involves significant risks, including those listed below. You should carefully review the more detailed explanation of risks relating to the notes in the “Risk Factors” sections beginning on page PS-4 of the product supplement, page S-7 of the Series A MTN prospectus supplement, and page 7 of the prospectus identified above. We also urge you to consult your investment, legal, tax, accounting, and other advisors before you invest in the notes.
Structure-related Risks
■There is no fixed principal repayment amount on the notes at maturity. If the notes are not automatically called and the Ending Value is less than the Threshold Value, you will lose up to 100% of the principal amount of your notes.
■Your potential for a positive return based on the depreciation of the Underlying Stock is limited. The benefit of the absolute value return feature applies only if the notes are not called and the Ending Value is less than the Starting Value but greater than or equal to the Threshold Value. Because the Threshold Value is 65.00% of the Starting Value, any positive return due to the depreciation of the Underlying Stock will be limited to 35.00%. Any decline in the Ending Value from the Starting Value by more than 35.00% will result in a loss, rather than a positive return, on the notes.
■Payments on the notes will not reflect changes in the value of the Underlying Stock other than on the Call Observation Dates or the Final Calculation Day. As a result, even if the price of the Underlying Stock increases during the term of the notes, your notes will not be called if the Observation Value on each Call Observation Date is less than the Call Value. Similarly, you will receive a Redemption Amount that is less than the principal amount if the Ending Value is less than the Threshold Value on the Final Calculation Day, even if the price of the Underlying Stock was always greater than the Threshold Value prior to such Final Calculation Day.
■Your return on the notes may be less than the yield you could earn by owning a conventional fixed or floating rate debt security of comparable maturity.
■If the notes are called, your investment return is limited to the return represented by the applicable Call Premium. If, on any Call Observation Date, the Observation Value is greater than or equal to the Call Value, we will automatically call the notes. If the notes are automatically called, your return will be limited to the applicable Call Premium, regardless of the extent of the increase in the value of the Underlying Stock.
■If the notes are called, you will be subject to reinvestment risk.
■Payments on the notes are subject to our credit risk, and the credit risk of BAC, and actual or perceived changes in our or BAC’s creditworthiness are expected to affect the value of the notes. If we and BAC become insolvent or are unable to pay our respective obligations, you may lose your entire investment.
■Your investment return may be less than a comparable investment directly in the Underlying Stock.
■We are a finance subsidiary and, as such, will have limited assets and operations.
■BAC’s obligations under its guarantee of the notes will be structurally subordinated to liabilities of its subsidiaries.
■The notes issued by us will not have the benefit of any cross-default or cross-acceleration with other indebtedness of BofA Finance or BAC; events of bankruptcy or insolvency or resolution proceedings relating to BAC and covenant breach by BAC will not constitute an event of default with respect to the notes.
Valuation- and Market-related Risks
■The initial estimated value of the notes considers certain assumptions and variables and relies in part on certain forecasts about future events, which may prove to be incorrect. The initial estimated value of the notes is an estimate only, determined as of the pricing date by reference to our and our affiliates’ pricing models. These pricing models consider certain assumptions and variables, including our credit spreads, and those of BAC, BAC’s internal funding rate on the pricing date, mid-market terms on hedging transactions, expectations on interest rates and volatility, price-sensitivity analysis, and the expected term of the notes. These pricing models rely in part on certain forecasts about future events, which may prove to be incorrect.
■The public offering price you are paying for the notes exceeds the initial estimated value. If you attempt to sell the notes prior to maturity, their market value may be lower than the price you paid for them and lower than the initial estimated value. This is due to, among other things, changes in the price of the Underlying Stock, changes in BAC’s internal funding rate, and the inclusion in the public offering price of the underwriting discount and costs associated with hedging the notes, all as further described in “Structuring the Notes” on page TS-12. These factors, together with various credit, market and economic factors over the term of the notes, are expected to reduce the price at which you may be able to sell the notes in any secondary market and will affect the value of the notes in complex and unpredictable ways.
■The initial estimated value does not represent a minimum or maximum price at which we, BAC, MLPF&S, BofAS or any of our other affiliates would be willing to purchase your notes in any secondary market (if any exists) at any time. The value of your notes at any time after issuance will vary based on many factors that cannot be predicted with accuracy, including the performance of the Underlying Stock, our and BAC’s creditworthiness and changes in market conditions.