Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Lead Rebound in Hiring

Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are among financial firms that added employees last year as the industry adjusted to an expanding economy and demands imposed by new U.S. regulations.

Bank of America, the biggest U.S. lender, counted 288,000 employees in its annual report for 2010 to securities regulators, an increase of 4,000, or 1.4 percent. Wells Fargo, the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, increased headcount by 4,900, or 1.8 percent, to 272,200, according to its annual report. Bank of America’s workforce increased 17 percent in 2009, the year when Merrill Lynch & Co. was added, while San Francisco-based Wells Fargo dropped almost 5 percent that year.