Bank of America 2007 Annual Report Download - page 12

These include our acquisitions of FleetBoston (2004), MBNA (2006), U.S. Trust (2007), LaSalle (2007)
and, later this year, Countrywide.
Countrywide Financial Corporation
In January, we agreed to acquire Countrywide Financial Corporation, a transaction we anticipate will
close early in the third quarter of this year. This transaction will make Bank of America the nation’s
leading mortgage lender and loan servicer, adding another key asset to what has become a long list of
financial products and services in which we hold a lead market position.
I’ve had a lot of people ask me why we chose to do this now. My answer is that now is the time — the
price is right, and the deep due diligence we performed confirmed our belief that there is great long-term
value embedded in Countrywide’s business. Countrywide has excellent technology, a huge distribution
network and extremely talented associates who will help us build the best mortgage business in the
country. The mortgage sector is weak today, but I’m confident that home ownership in America is a
market we’ll be happy to lead over the long term.
Financing the “green economy”
Earlier this year, our company announced a 10-year, $20 billion initiative to support the growth of
environmentally sustainable business activity. Much of this initiative involves efforts to reduce
the environmental impact of our own operations and to build “green partnerships” with
environmental groups, government agencies and our friends in the business community.
What I am most excited about, though, is that the emerging and fast-growing green economy
has the potential to drive future growth for our company. Fifty years from now, it’s likely that
many of our current technologies will be obsolete, replaced by innovations that provide for greater
sustainability. We are working with clients in existing and emerging industries to finance these
new technologies, and the vast majority of our $20 billion goal is dedicated to this activity.
We believe the United States should be at the forefront of this economic change, building the
new industries that will lead the world to a cleaner, greener and more prosperous future. There
is huge economic opportunity embedded in this shift, and Bank of America will benefit greatly from our
decision to lead.
Strong communities, strong markets
One of the most important ways we apply knowledge, insight and innovation to grow the company is
through the work we do to strengthen our communities.
Through our Neighborhood Excellence Initiative™ (NEI), part of the Bank of America Charitable
Foundation’s 10-year, $1.5 billion goal for giving, we are creating a new approach to corporate philanthropy,
including a focus on local priorities, funding flexibility and leadership development. Our associates also
showed their leadership in community support, as the bank matched more than $20 million in 2007 in
volunteer grants and associate gifts. The Foundation in 2007 again donated more than $200 million overall.
We are excited about opportunities in 2008 to extend our philanthropic model into new markets in
Illinois and Michigan, to sustain LaSalle’s generous level of giving, and to expand our community develop-
ment work as we continue ahead of schedule on our 10-year, $750 billion community development goal. We
10 Bank of America 2007
“One of the most important
ways we apply knowledge,
insight and innovation is
through the work we do to
strengthen our communities.”
A LEADING
GREEN BANK,
with a $20 billion
initiative to promote
sustainable
development.
Insights Innovations Opportunities
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