Bank of America and Visa Create Prepaid Card for 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Athletes; Prepaid Card Featuring U.S. Olympic Rings Offers Speed, Convenience and Zero Liability Protection

CHARLOTTE, N.C. & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 2006--Bank of America, the Official Bank Sponsor of the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team, and Visa, proud sponsor of the United States Olympic Team, today announced the creation of a prepaid card that will enhance the Olympic experience of all U.S. athletes and USOC staff members participating in the 2006 Torino Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The prepaid card, featuring the image of a flag bearing the U.S. Olympic Rings, will be used by each athlete and staff member for their daily per diem at the Games.

As a better alternative to cash and checks, the U.S. Olympic Team prepaid card will offer America's athletes immediate access to their funds throughout Torino and at tens of millions of locations worldwide. And unlike cash, they are protected by Visa's Zero Liability policy in the event of loss or theft.

“We're thrilled to offer this card to the U.S. Olympic Team”

"Visa prepaid cards continue to gain in popularity as cardholders demand more choice and flexibility in how they pay and want to be paid," said Susanne Lyons, chief marketing officer, Visa. "By providing a more convenient and secure way to pay, Visa prepaid cards will help simplify one critical aspect of the U.S. Olympic Team's journey, so they can focus on what's most important."

Bank of America, a U.S. Olympic Team sponsor since 1992, is the exclusive issuer of the Visa prepaid card which is being offered to America's entire field of athletes and USOC delegates for the first time.

"We're thrilled to offer this card to the U.S. Olympic Team," said Rick Parsons, executive vice president of brand marketing, Bank of America. "The athletes now have the flexibility to purchase what they want, where they want. The US Olympic Team prepaid card will allow them to dine, purchase souvenirs and enjoy the Olympic experience with one, easy-to-use funds access solution."

The cards will help reduce administrative and processing expenses for the USOC as they equip America's Team to compete on the world's biggest stage.

"The United States Olympic Committee is pleased to work with Visa to provide the U.S. delegation of athletes, coaches and staff with a tool that will simplify all their financial transactions and needs during the Olympic Winter Games," said Jim Scherr, USOC chief executive. "These easy-to-use cards provide tremendous advantages. We are thrilled U.S. Team Olympic sponsors, Visa and Bank of America, have come together to provide these cards to athletes and operational staff during a busy time."

Bank of America has been issuing prepaid cards for the past 7 years, and today offers three types of prepaid cards: corporate gift/incentives, payroll cards and commercial prepaid cards. For more information on these prepaid card products, please visit http://corp.bankofamerica.com/public/products/card/index.jsp

About Visa USA

Visa USA is the nation's leading payment brand and largest payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumers and business customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives tailored to meet their evolving needs. Visa USA is committed to increasing the choice, convenience, acceptance, and security of Visa payments for all stakeholders in the payment system - members, cardholders and merchants. Through its 13,500 member financial institutions, more than 488 million Visa-branded cards have been issued to cardholders in the United States. Last year, U.S.-based financial institutions relied on Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate $1.3 trillion in transactions with unparalleled reliability. Worldwide, cardholders in over 150 countries carry more than 1 billion Visa-branded cards, accounting for more than $3 trillion in annual transaction volume. Visa offers a trusted, reliable and convenient way to access and mobilize financial resources - anytime, anywhere, anyway.

About 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 more than 38 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 5,800 retail banking offices, more than 16,700 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 14 million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 150 countries and has relationships with 97 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 79 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

www.bankofamerica.com

Note: Images of the prepaid card are available upon request.