Bank of America 2000 Annual Report Download - page 21

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That’s what we delivered. We
believe the Business Center is by far
the most robust online offering for
small businesses today. It gives our
customers professional capabilities
that were once available only to much
larger corporations. An interactive
and customer-friendly portal, the
Business Center enables users to save
money and operate more efficiently
and effectively with applications
such as:
Banc of America Marketplace,™
product of a powerful alliance with
Ariba, Inc. to benefit all of the bank’s
2 million-plus business customers,
is key to our small business rela-
tionship strategy. Customers with a
business checking account or Business
Check Card use it for convenient
access to online suppliers. It auto-
mates the purchasing and procure-
ment process, giving users access to
competitive pricing on a range of
business goods.
My Desk, the Business Center’s
hub, gives managers and employees
desktop help in communicating
internally and managing projects.
Financial Services offers cus-
tomers one-stop financial shopping,
with descriptions of the breadth of
products and services available from
Bank of America to help small
companies succeed.
Resources is an online business
partner, providing customers with
access to business forms, templates,
tools and more.
Administration houses payroll
and other personnel tools.
We also have completed rollout
of our Business Check Card across
the franchise. The card enables cus-
tomers to make purchases directly
from their business checking accounts.
It has proven popular with small
business customers seeking the
financial discipline that it offers.
Nationwide, Bank of America is the
largest issuer of these cards, with
more than 400,000 issued.
A leader in cash management for
corporate clients, Bank of America is
broadening the reach of its expertise
to small and mid-sized companies.
We offer solutions that enable cus-
tomers to maximize their cashflows
by collecting payments more expe-
diently, making payments more pre-
cisely and managing information
and account balances more effec-
tively. The teamwork between small
business bankers and Global Treasury
Services has resulted in higher cus-
tomer satisfaction and retention rates
and an opportunity to make new sales.
By including equipment leasing
and financing expertise in its suite of
small business services, the bank is
able to help customers understand and
compare the relative benefits of lease
and loan options as they consider
their financing needs. The market for
equipment and vehicle leasing is large
and growing. Small business client
managers partner with the bank’s
leasing specialists to aggressively
expand our presence in this market.
In addition to serving companies,
our Small Business Banking group
seeks to build more and broader
relationships with individual business
owners by helping them pursue their
personal financial goals. Our client
managers are increasingly teaming
up with Banc of America Investment
Services, Inc. to assist clients with
their investment needs.
The combination of superior
client management and cross-selling
will continue to keep Small Business
Banking centered on its most impor-
tant goal – offering customers the
convenience and the power of one-
stop financial shopping.
Wilson Alers (page 17) had a dream.
After building his audiovisual skills first
in Puerto Rico, then in Miami, the
Bronx native teamed up in 1990 with
two lifelong friends, Oscar Colom and
James Pabon, to launch a state-of-the-
art audio, video, lighting and computer
graphics staging company. Today,
Media Stage claims many Fortune 500
corporations as clients. Its teams
travel to such diverse locations as Rio
de Janeiro, Rome and Singapore to
stage events. Media Stage recently
built an 18,500-square-foot building
near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with a real
estate and construction financing pack-
age Bank of America arranged with
the Small Business Administration.
The company also opened a second
office in Puerto Rico to better serve
clients in South and Central America
and the Caribbean. Media Stage was
recently named one of the top 100
Hispanic businesses in Florida. “We’ve
been with the bank from the begin-
ning,” Alers said. “As our needs have
grown, so has our relationship. It’s
been smooth from the start.”