Bank of America 1998 Annual Report Download - page 14

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competition, is the development of
information systems that connect all
the different parts of our company.
The centerpiece of these systems is a
banking platform for our consumer
business called Model Banking.
Here’s the advantage of Model
Banking: It helps us provide a consis-
tent banking experience throughout our
company, from office to office and state
to state, no matter how a customer
chooses to do business with us —
at a banking center, by phone, by
PC or ATM.
The computer network at the heart
of Model Banking, now serving more
than half of our retail customers,
gives our bankers a picture of each
customer’s relationship. As we extend
this platform nationwide, the same
information about your accounts with
the bank will appear on a banking
center computer in Los Angeles as on a
call center screen in Wichita. The same
procedures will be in place in Virginia
as in Oregon. The best products will be
available from Seattle to Key West.
Every banker will have the same
extensive sales and service tools at the
touch of a mouse.
1998 Bank of America Summary Annual Report
In 1998, Bank of America provided
more than $60 billion in commercial
real estate financing. This included:
●Homebuilder financing for 50,000
new homes
●Construction financing for 145 million
square feet of new offices, shopping
centers, apartments and industrial
buildings
●Permanent mortgage financing for
678 commercial properties
●Mortgage-backed securities totaling
$2.6 billion
When you sit down with your
banker, Model Banking’s computer
system, named Merlin, provides on-
screen calculators which help you and
your banker make good financial
choices, find the lowest rates and deter-
mine the best deals. Another click and
the PC helps our bankers determine
what product you are likely to want
next. Merlin also lets you apply for a
loan at home or by telephone, then
close that loan at any Bank of America
office in our franchise.
This technology has raised satisfac-
tion levels among our customers by
making their banking faster and more
productive. It makes it easier to get
things done however you want to — in
person, by phone or electronically. It
gives time back to our customers and
makes life a little less complicated. And
we are constantly making the whole
process better.
Customers want the same kind of
service when they bank by telephone.
Well-trained associates and our call
center technology, which we think is
among the best in the world, help us
meet those expectations. The technology,