Bank America(Archive)

Bank of America was formed in 1998 with the merger of NationsBank and BankAmerica. The company provides a diverse range of financial services. The “new BankAmerica” has thus far largely maintained BankAmerica’s progressive social policies in community development and philanthropy, and has continued its pioneering work on environmental issues. BankAmerica made a ten-year, $350 billion pledge to community development as part of the merger announcement. While the lump sum is the largest commitment to community development finance in history, CANNICOR, a church-supported group that analyzes data on bank mortgages, calculated that the commitment is roughly $15 billion short of its expectations. Bank of America offers strong work-life policies, including extensive childcare options and domestic partnership benefits. Trillium Asset Management, with other concerned investors, recently withdrew a shareholder proposal requesting that BankAmerica prepare a report on its equal employment programs after the company agreed to disclose detailed workforce diversity data.
As a CERES endorser, the bank issues a thorough annual environmental report. The bank incorporates environmental factors into loan criteria, imposes environmental requirements on vendors, and supports a broad range of environmental initiatives. Trillium Asset Management is involved in discussions with Bank of America and other major banks on finding ways to ensure that projects with negative environmental and human rights impacts are not underwritten. In 1997, Bank of America was one of the underwriters of bonds floated by the State Development Bank of China, the developer of the controversial Three Gorges Dam.
CEO Hugh McColl’s 1999 pay package included over $50 million in stock and options during a period in which the bank cut its workforce 10.8%-roughly 19,000 jobs.