CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
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