Bank of America 1999 Annual Report Download - page 18

Bank of America has a long and rich
history serving middle-market businesses,
through our Commercial Banking unit,
and we continue to emphasize the
fundamental credit and treasury
management services these clients
require. We are also placing increased
emphasis on fee-based solutions
which our clients demand to keep
them competitive.
Important steps in this direction
include the successful introduction of an
investment banking unit dedicated exclu-
sively to the middle market and increased
emphasis on the treasury management
services so highly valued by clients.
These courses of action benefit both
our clients and your company. They give
middle-market companies the products
they want and help us better manage
credit risk by further diversifying our
revenue stream.
Although lending continues to rise,
Investment Banking and Treasury
Management fees are an increasingly
larger part of Commercial Banking total
revenue. Investment Banking fees rose
to 15 percent of total revenue in 1999,
up from just 3 percent in 1998. Treasury
Management fees increased to 45 percent
of total revenue in 1999 from 38 percent
in 1998.
The new Middle Market Investment
Banking team is a perfect example of the
product and service integration taking
place throughout Bank of America.
Doug Bowers, Commercial Banking
champion, says “there are a multitude of
untapped opportunities” for investment
banking expansion because all forms of
public and private capital raising, as
well as advisory services, have become
key financial strategies for many
middle-market businesses.
Middle Market Investment Banking
was launched in 1998. In December
1999, further steps were taken to
strengthen and integrate this business
and two others that support middle-
market clients: Treasury Management
and Commercial Finance.
Graham Denton, responsible for
integrating these businesses, says the goal
is “to make our delivery of products and
services more uniform and consistent
throughout our market. The changes
we’ve made will reward our clients
with a higher level of service and
align our associates to create greater
client solutions.
“We have long-standing relationships
with our 32,000 Commercial Banking
clients and we want them coming
to Bank of America for investment
banking, treasury management, credit
and other key services. Establishing the
Middle Market Investment Banking unit
and strengthening these other businesses
is a logical extension of our relationship
with them,” Denton says.
The Investment Banking team is
composed of more than 60 Corporate
Finance generalists and 145 product
specialists dedicated solely to the middle
market. In 1999, they completed about
$2.5 billion in mergers and acquisitions,
which makes Bank of America the
nation’s leading M&A provider for this
market. The Investment Banking team
One-stop
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U.S. Cotton, LLC, a fast-growing manufac-
turer of cotton health and beauty products,
relies on Bank of America to support its
growth strategy as well as its operating
requirements. Bank of America has
provided financing to U.S. Cotton for plant
expansion, equipment purchases, acquisi-
tions and working capital. U.S. Cotton and
its president and chief executive officer,
Anthony Thomas (previous page and
above), also look to Bank of America for
foreign exchange, interest rate swaps,
treasury management, desktop banking
services and personal banking for