Bank of America Hires More Than 30 Small Business Bankers in the Greater Chicago Area

  Bank of America Hires More Than 30 Small Business Bankers in the Greater
  Chicago Area

Business Wire

CHICAGO -- July 24, 2012

Bank of America today announced that it has hired more than 30 small business
bankers across the greater Chicago area to provide guidance to local small
business owners. The additions are part of the company’s previously announced
plan to hire 1,000 small business bankers nationwide.

“We have heard from small business owners that they want more personalized
guidance from their banking relationship,” said Jay Miller, the Chicago-based
Small Business Banking executive for Bank of America’s central region. “Our
bankers will be meeting with small business clients across Chicago to
understand every aspect of their cash flow needs better, which will enable
them to provide small business owners with the products and services most
appropriate for their business, when their business needs it.”

Findings from the recently released Bank of America Small Business Owner
Report, a semi-annual study exploring the concerns, aspirations and
perspectives of small business owners across the country, revealed that only
29 percent of Chicago small business owners consider themselves to be very
financially savvy. The remaining respondents admitted to needing occasional or
ongoing expert help.

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 assess their companies'
deposit, credit and cash management needs.

According to a 2011 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) report, there are
more than one million small businesses in Illinois. These businesses represent
98.3 percent of all employers, and almost half of the private-sector
workforce. Moreover, there are more than 171,000 small businesses in the
Chicago area, with 3.6 million Chicago area residents working for businesses
with fewer than 500 employees.

Bank of America has continued to actively lend to small businesses across the
U.S. and Illinois. In the first half of 2012, Bank of America extended more
than $292.1 million to small businesses across the state. This includes $115.2
million in new originations, which has helped enable Bank of America to meet
its national small business lending pledge to the White House and the SBA.

Bank of America is also a 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 Federal micro-capital for small
businesses, has allowed CDFIs to access more than $102 million, serving over
9,000 local businesses and helping to retain more than 14,000 jobs.

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 56
million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,600
retail banking offices and approximately 16,200 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.

                            www.bankofamerica.com

Contact:

Reporters May Contact:
Diane Wagner, Bank of America, 1.312.992.2370
diane.wagner@bankofamerica.com