Bank of America 2006 Annual Report Download - page 21

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T
For years, 25-year-old Diana Soto of Phoenix yearned to get off the rental
treadmill. And then she had a reason to do so quickly: She and her two
young children outgrew their one-bedroom apartment. But she
calculated that she would not be able to afford her own home for years.
“I had to stop renting,” Soto recalled. “I thought that maybe, just maybe,
I could qualify to buy my place, but all people would tell me is, ‘No, you
can’t do that.’ ”
Then Soto met Bank of America Mortgage Loan Officer Herlinda Lopez,
who moved Soto off the home-ownership sidelines and into the game.
“My first thought was, ‘I’ve got to help make her dream come true,’ ”
said Lopez.
Lopez knew that help — the Community CommitmentTM mortgage —
was available to Soto and thousands of others looking to buy their first
homes, even people with low or moderate incomes and limited credit his-
tory. Besides having a reduced application fee, a Community Commitment
mortgage requires no traditional credit history, and owners can put down
as little as 1 percent of the purchase price for a down payment.
These loans have leveled the playing field in the real estate market, help-
ing lower-income customers afford homes. And by removing the hurdles to
home ownership for first-time buyers, Community Commitment mortgages
have created greater stability for the community as a whole.
To Soto, what mattered most was not only finding a loan program that
suited her financial circumstances, but also meeting a mortgage loan
officer who could help her learn the ropes in the mortgage market. “All the
time that I’m with Herlinda, I’m relaxed,” said Soto. “She kept telling me,
‘We can get this done.’ ” And they did.
Soto remembers walking into her new home for the first time. “I’m
thinking, I can’t believe I’m in my new house and that it’s mine,” she said.
“I worked hard all my life, and now I have my house. It’s incredible.”
Bank of America 2006 19
■ Mortgage Rewards™ saves a typical customer up to $2,000 in fees.
■ Community Commitment™ helps those with limited income or credit.
■ We guarantee the best value to our customers, or we pay them $250.
Our
Innovations
■ $2.8 trillion in U.S. mortgages to be originated
in 2007 industrywide
■ 10,000 associates in our banking centers
coast-to-coast are enabled to originate mortgages
■ $1.2 trillion domestic market for structured
mortgage products
The
Opportunity FLOYD S. ROBINSON,
LEFT, PRESIDENT,
CONSUMER REAL ESTATE;
IAN BANWELL, CHIEF
INVESTMENT OFFICER
Opportunities in the
Mortgage Market
The mortgage business is one of Bank of
America’s clearest organic growth opportunities.
In 2006, only 9.7 percent of our deposit
customers who got a mortgage got it with us.
By expanding products and eligibility,
eliminating fees and simplifying the mortgage
process, we are building understanding among
our 53 million customers that there are clear
advantages to getting a mortgage with us.
In 2006, Bank of America expanded
Mortgage RewardsTM to save home buyers on
average $2,000 in closing costs. With
Community CommitmentTM, w e h e lp mor e
low- and moderate-income customers achieve
home ownership. Through the innovative Best
Value Guarantee, if we approve a customer for
a mortgage and the customer chooses another
lender — for any reason — we pay the customer
$250. We are this confident in the quality of our
mortgage products and services.
“Home ownership is central to the Ameri-
can dream. Mortgage financing must be a key
strength for Bank of America to effectively serve
all the financial needs of our customers,” said
Floyd Robinson, president of Consumer Real
Estate. “We will take advantage of the strengths
we have across the bank to bring the best mort-
gage solutions to our customers.”
Over time, we will be able to distribute these
mortgages to the fixed-income market, too.
“It’s important for the balance sheet to have
self-originated assets,” said Chief Invest-
ment Officer Ian Banwell. “It takes maximum
advantage of our company’s significant ability
to gather deposits, and it facilitates greater
financial innovation for customers.”