Bank of America Hires 45 Small Business Bankers Across the Carolinas

Bank of America Hires 45 Small Business Bankers Across the Carolinas

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Includes 12 New Bankers in Charlotte Area, Eight in Triangle Area CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 3, 2012-- Bank of America today announced that it is hiring 45 small business bankers across North and South Carolina to provide guidance and counsel to local small business owners. The additions are part of the company’s previously announced plan to hire 1,000 small business bankers across the nation by mid-2012. “Today, we’re proud to announce that small businesses in the Carolinas will have access to a new level of expertise to help them grow and thrive,” said Steve Turner, Southeast region sales executive for Bank of America. “By working with one of our small business bankers, small businesses will have more resources to help them better manage their cash flow so they can run their businesses more efficiently.” Through a relationship with a Bank of America small business banker, clients will have convenient access to local small business expertise and a dedicated resource who knows their business. Small business bankers will consult with small business owners at their place of business and educate them on solutions to help with all facets of their operations including deposit, credit and cash management needs. These new hires will support the unique needs of small business owners across these two states: North Carolina – 32 hires, including: Charlotte area – 12 hires. Triangle area – 8 hires. Piedmont Triad – 5 hires. South Carolina – 13 hires, including: Charleston area – 4 hires. Columbia – 3 hires. Greenville-Spartanburg – 3 hires. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are over one million small businesses in the Carolinas. In North Carolina alone, these businesses represent 98 percent of all employers and approximately 1.6 million employees. Of the 28,518 companies with operations in Charlotte, 26,487 companies employ fewer than 50 workers. In South Carolina, small businesses represent over 97 percent of all employers and employ nearly 50 percent of the private-sector workforce. The majority (77.8 percent) of South Carolina’s small businesses have fewer than 20 employees. Bank of America continued to actively lend to small businesses across the U.S. in 2011, extending$6.4 billion in new originations to small businesses. This increased new credit to small businesses by 20 percent in 2011, enabling the bank to exceed its small business lending pledge to the White House and the SBA. Bank of America is the leading bank supporting Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), providing more than $200 million to finance small businesses that cannot qualify for traditional loans. The CDFI grant program, created in 2010 to unlock low-cost capital for small businesses, has allowed CDFIs to access more than $93 million, serving over 8,700 local businesses and helping to retain more than 13,000 jobs. Other efforts to help small businesses include a new suite of small business charge cards that give businesses more choice and control over their payment and expense management needs. Additionally, Bank of America has made recent improvements to the bank's two million small business credit card accounts, such as no penalty rate increases on existing balances. Additional enhancements have been made to the Advisor Alliance™ retirement plan platform, which serves more than 950,000 people from more than 40,000 businesses. Advisor Alliance combines Merrill Lynch investment and advisory services with a choice of diverse, committed partners to provide competitive recordkeeping and plan administration services for businesses’ retirement plan needs. 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 approximately 5,700 retail banking offices and approximately 17,750 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 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 approximately 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. For more Bank of America news, visit the Bank of America newsroom.