Bank of America III 1

Running Head: BANK OF AMERICA III

The Bank of America

Wassim Zhani

David Robinson
 Bank of America III 2

The Bank of America

Introduction of the Bank

The history of Bank of America dates back to 1904, when Giannini established Bank of

Italy in San Francisco to provide services to the immigrants who refused to avail services from

their banks. After the San Francisco earthquake, Giannini got all the deposits of the bank out and

away from fires. Later through various transitions and progress it turned into one of the leading

banks of the world. Bank of America provides a wide range of financial and banking services in

about 28 million households. It is an American global financial services company and the largest

bank by market capitalization, and by assets. It serves clients in 150 countries and has a

relationship with 99% of U.S fortune 500 companies. The main areas it covers are the United

States. After it merged with the Boston Financial Corporation, the portfolio increased. The

banking segments are divided into commercial and consumer banking.

The current customers and services of Bank of America

The main two areas where the bank operates are:

1. Asset based lending

2. Loan syndication

The bank’s operations are divided into commercial and consumer markets. It provides a

broad range of services to the small and midsize businesses and individuals through the banking

channels and branches. Currently there are about 4,277 banking branches in 21 states and the

Columbia district. The specialized services include the issuance of student loans, insurance

services, and maintenance of mortgage, commercial loans, and cash management. Private

banking i.e. the financial solution for rather wealthy clients is one of the private banking
 Bank of America III 3

services. Other services include the management of capital that is stock, cash, and bonds,

investment services which includes (Moscow, 2006).

The latest venture/diversification

Services and customers

The new venture will be the real estate services. The bank will diversify into this segment

to increase its customer base and capital acquisition. It will provide a sufficient amount of access

to the capital and help it build its capabilities into this area (Johnston, 2000). The service

provided will be the advice on issues including the analysis of the determination of a property’s

highest and best use, ways to maximize the real estate assets, suggestion on how to improve

property for sale or lease, and an evaluation of property’s potential of development. Other

services include,

1. Pre-development analysis

2. Property repositioning

3. Portfolio evaluations

4. Portfolio rationalization

5. Expert opinions

6. Special situation implementation and analysis

7. Lease audits

8. Financing and market analyses (Johnston, 2000).

It will provide this service for both the commercial and residential customers.
 Bank of America III 4

Supports to the company's competitive strategy

The major competitive advantage of the bank is its direct and personal approach to the

clients. It remains in the first priority list if customers because they trust its competitiveness. Te

word of mouth and reliability of the bank is also prominent due to a large customer base. In the

banking industry, reliability is the most significant factor (Banks, 2010). This is the reason why

the new venture will combine the competitive advantage with its core business operation that is

banking. The bank will earn due to its name and business processes it currently operates in. the

existing market base will be proficient in attracting the initial customer base for bank of America

because the bank has a long term partnership with clients. Their views and perceptions about the

services will give the bank a competitive edge. This reason alone is enough to carry forward with

the new venture strategy. Beside, the financial strength of the bank is sound to pool in the initial

capital into the latest business. The bank has expertise in the financial solutions and

management, which encourages the new venture strategy. The staff’s experience and expertise

will combine with the new venture besides the hiring of new staff. All these aspects together will

make the venture strategically sound and aligned with the core business strategy and

competitiveness. Beside the new venture will help the bank raise capital and strengthen its

customer base. A diversification into this area will make the staff capable of handling the various

real estate operations. This is a major benefit for the bank in the long run because the profits in

the real estate may help in pooling into alternative investment, thus increasing the operational

portfolio (Moscow, 2006).

 Bank of America III 5

Managerial positions and staffing

It is obvious that with the new venture, the new managerial positions will be required.

There will be the need of the chief executive officer, chief facility manager, chief financial

officer, legal advisor, and chief risk officer. These will be headed by the chief executive officer

in a direct hierarchical structure. On the very upper end, the managing director will oversee the

operations. The staffing needs will be solved by the job ads in the newspapers and the websites.

The recent graduate will be preferable for the executive positions since the new generation is

motivated and prone to learn. Whereas, the top positions will be filled by the transfer of several

key people from Bank of America. It will help gain from their experience and learning (Banks,

2010).
 Bank of America III 6

The organizational structure

Managing Director

Chief Executive
officer

Chief facility Chief financial Legal advisor Chief risk

manager officer officer

Executive Positions
 Bank of America III 7

References

Banks Russell, (2010) Dreaming Up America, Seven Stories Press.

Johnston Moira, (2000)The Tumultuous History of the Bank of America,Beard Press.

Moscow Alvin, (2006) Building a Business: The Jim Walter Story, Pineapple Press.