Bank of America 2013 Annual Report Download - page 11

Global connections
From the tip of Latin America to
the coast of Australia, clients
across the globe are looking for
new ways to grow businesses and
make a difference in the world.
About Water.org
Twenty years ago, Gary White walked into a Bank of
America banking center to open a checking account —
forging a relationship that would help him bring safe
water to areas in need. Water.org was created in
2009 by White and Matt Damon to raise awareness of
the large and growing global need for safe water.
Through a variety of fi nancial solutions, Bank of America
Merrill Lynch has helped the company connect inter-
national resources to local suppliers and manage
currency, fraud risk and cash fl ow, as well as increase
donation processing. Most importantly, we helped keep
Water.org’s capital working hard on behalf of people in
need worldwide. A relationship that began 20 years
ago with a simple checking account has now grown to
fi nancing international development projects in Africa,
Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. There is no
telling where Water.org will continue to fl ow as they
work to solve the global water crisis, and how Bank of
America Merrill Lynch will help them get there.
Establishing “green bonds”
Connecting our clients and customers to what’s
important to them is our core function, and nowhere
is this more evident than in our experience supporting
the market for “green bonds.” Since 2007, when
Merrill Lynch managed the world’s fi rst “green bond”
for the European Investment Bank, we’ve been an
ardent supporter of this investment theme, where the
proceeds are specifi cally earmarked for projects that
will benefi t the environment. Bank of America Merrill
Lynch has established one of the fi nance industry’s fi rst
global green debt capital markets teams. And in 2013,
we played a leading role in the growth of “green bonds”
with a number of landmark transactions across all time
zones. In November, we issued our own “green bond,”
the fi rst benchmark-size corporate “green bond.”
The proceeds will fund renewable energy and energy
efficiency projects that also contribute toward our
$50 billion, 10-year environmental business initiative.
Global
Connections