As part of its ongoing commitment to small businesses, Bank of America today announced that it would hire over 1,000 small business bankers by early 2012.
Bank of America will expand its small business presence by hiring small business bankers in select banking centers in Dallas, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., beginning in the fourth quarter of 2010. Hiring will continue in select locations across the country throughout 2011.
Bank of America small business bankers will provide more personalized attention to small business owners by spending time with them at their place of business and learning more about what their companies do. Customers will have convenient access to local small business expertise and a dedicated resource who understands their business. Small business bankers will consult with small business owners and assess their companies' deposit, credit and cash management needs.
"As one of the nation's largest financial services providers, Bank of America is actively engaged in fostering the growth of small business," said Joe Price, Consumer and Small Business Banking executive for Bank of America. "With the creation of this role, we are responding directly to what our customers have asked for - local small business experts who provide small businesses with the financial solutions necessary to sustain and grow their business."
In the first half of 2010, Bank of America has provided $45.4 billion in credit to small and medium-sized companies and is expected to meet or exceed its pledge to increase lending to those businesses by $5 billion in 2010. In addition, Bank of America is the nation's largest investor into Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), with more than $1 billion in loans and investments to 120 CDFIs in 37 states.
Bank of America also is increasing its spending with small, medium-sized and diverse businesses through a commitment to purchase $10 billion in products and services from those suppliers over the next five years. Other efforts to help small businesses include recent improvements to the bank's 2 million small business credit card accounts, such as no rate increases on existing balances, and enhancements to the Advisor AllianceTM retirement plan platform, which serves more than 900,000 people from more than 40,000 businesses.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 57 million consumer and small business relationships with 5,900 retail banking offices, more than 18,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 29 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to more than 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
