Bank of America 2008 Annual Report Download - page 9

of rising credit costs. The opportunity
we have in 2009 is to increase cus-
tomer loyalty for the future as we help
customers work through hard economic
times. In 2008, we modified nearly
850,000 credit card loans, whether
by lowering interest rates, reducing
monthly payments or eliminating fees.
We also continue to refer customers
to debt management programs. We
believe our approach to helping our
customers manage through hard times
will pay off in retention and growth
when the economy improves.
Last year, I wrote here for the first
time about our $20 billion environ-
mental initiative. We believe there
is tremendous growth potential for
companies that stake out a leadership
position in alternative energy produc-
tion and conservation. To that point,
we signed an agreement with a green-
technology company that is helping us
reduce our energy consumption in all
our banking centers across the country
by as much as 50 percent. And we’re
supporting ventures that we believe will
lead to abundant and renewable energy
sources in the future. For example,
we co-led an initial public offering for
Ocean Power Technologies, a company
that is engineering new technologies
that will enable utilities to harvest and
transport energy from ocean waves.
We also are continuing to support our
local communities through both commu-
nity development lending and investing,
and philanthropic programs like our
Neighborhood Excellence Initiative (NEI).
Through NEI, now in its sixth year, we
have provided support to hundreds of
neighborhood nonprofits, anchor institu-
tions and community leaders through
unrestricted operating grants and lead-
ership development programs.
Given the economic environment
and the impact that the recession is
having in neighborhoods across the
country, we are working more closely
than ever with community leaders to
identify the most critical needs and
gaps in local assistance programs and
ensure that resources are flowing to
individuals and families that have been
especially hard-hit. For example, in
2008 we announced a Neighborhood
Preservation Initiative offering grants
and low-interest loans to nonprofit
community organizations that will help
borrowers stay in their homes through
financial education programs and other
outreach activities.
Most important, we are not backing
down from the goals we put in place last
year to lend and invest $1.5 trillion over
10 years in low- and moderate-income
and minority neighborhoods, and to give
at least $2 billion over 10 years through
the Bank of America Charitable Founda-
tion. We believe it is critically important
Many paths to growth
One of the most important ideas on
which we’ve built this company is that
diversity creates strength. Diversity of
businesses, revenue streams, risks,
ideas, perspectives and people brings
strength to an organization that is hard
to come by any other way. The same is
true about growth opportunities. The
more paths to growth we can pursue
simultaneously and in coordination with
one another, the more likely we’ll be to
reach our goals.
Earlier, I discussed our prospects
in home lending, wealth management
and corporate and investment banking.
We also are well-positioned to generate
growth in our other two main business
lines, Deposits & Student Lending and
Card Services.
We already serve half of all Ameri-
can households, and we’re benefitting
from a flight to safety, a powerful brand
and rising customer satisfaction. In
2008, average retail core deposits
(excluding Countrywide) grew by nearly
$54 billion or 11.2 percent. Custom-
ers opened nearly 5 million net new
checking and savings accounts. For
the year, average balances in CDs and
IRAs were up nearly 16 percent, and
balances in money market savings
accounts were up more than 18 percent.
In Card Services, we are facing
incredibly stiff headwinds in the form
We are well-capitalized, deposit-funded
and extremely liquid. We have one of the largest,
broadest customer bases in the industry.
Bank of America 2008 7