(Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said the company’s customers are able to take on more debt, with demand driven by small businesses and those in the middle market.

“Clients have an ability to borrow to keep the economy growing,” Moynihan said in television interview Thursday with Bloomberg’s David Westin. The bank expects growth in loan balances in the low single digits this year. That depends, though, on the trajectory of the U.S. economy, Moynihan said.

His comments come after the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank reported fourth-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates. Earnings were driven by an increase in loan balances and lower costs. Overall revenue rose faster than expenses, which are expected to be flat this year.

In the middle market, “we’re seeing more demand for loans there,” Moynihan said. Small businesses are taking on more debt as well. In that sector, “we actually have seen 125%, 150%” of quarterly production “compared with where where it was before the pandemic, so not only have we gotten all the way back, we’re also growing and creating more loans per quarter, which again is good for the economy.”

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.