For the fifth year, Fortune has named Bank of America to its “Change the World” list. Bank of America was recognized as the top global bank for its leadership in raising the U.S. minimum wage to $25 per hour by 2025 as well as investing $425 million on temporary, pandemic-era child and adult care reimbursements. Bank of America ranked No. 9 on Fortune’s annual list, up from No. 15 last year, which recognizes companies that have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy.

“Driving responsible growth is at the core of all we do, including serving our clients well and investing in our employees,” said Sheri Bronstein, Chief Human Resources Officer at Bank of America. “We create a great place to work by offering industry-leading wages and competitive benefits. Bank of America will continue to push the envelope by finding new opportunities to improve our own workplace.”

Fortune’s Change the World list showcases companies that have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy — how companies use the creative tools of capitalism to address society’s unmet needs. Fortune noted that the 2021 list is the second compiled in the shadow of COVID-19, which has exposed how sorely our society has neglected some of those needs.

Bank of America’s increase to paying $25 per hour builds on the company’s history of being an industry leader in establishing a minimum rate of pay for its U.S. hourly employees. Since 2010, the company’s minimum hourly wage will have increased by more than 121% (an increase of nearly $14 per hour). In the last four years, Bank of America raised the minimum hourly wage to $15; in 2019 it rose to $17 and in 2020, to $20 — one year ahead of schedule. Just last week, the company announced they’ll raise their U.S. minimum hourly wage to $21 as a next step in plans to increase to $25 by 2025, effective Oct. 11. In May, the company also announced that all of their U.S. vendors are now required to pay their employees dedicated to the bank at or above $15 per hour.

Bank of America’s pay-for-performance philosophy reinforces the company’s core values and culture by inspiring employees to do great work, encouraging and retaining talent, and building trust within teams.

Last year, Fortune recognized Bank of America as the top global bank and fifteenth overall on the “Change the World” list. The company received this honor for its leadership and long-standing support of community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and for the impact of the additional financing it channeled through that network as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Bank of America was also recognized by Fortune for its recent $50 million equity investment in minority depository institutions (MDIs) as part of its $1.25 billion, five-year commitment to advance racial equality and economic opportunity.

Bank of America

At Bank of America, we’re guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We’re delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. It’s demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).

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Reporters May Contact:

John Yiannacopoulos, Bank of America
Phone: 1.646.855.2314
john.yiannacopoulos@bofa.com