Making good on a pledge for 2025, Bank of America (BofA) announced last week that it raised its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $25 per hour.
The increase, which goes into effect in early October, applies to all full-time and part-time hourly positions in the U.S., according to a Bank of America news release. With the increase, the company’s minimum annualized salary for full-time employees in the U.S. will rise to more than $50,000.
This is BofA’s latest competitive wage action after steadily increasing its hourly wage over the last several years from under $15 to now $25 per hour. With the increase, the starting salary for full-time U.S. employees at the bank will have gone up by more than $20,000 since 2017.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions. Its Quad Cities’ footprint includes a Merrill office (a Bank of America company) in Davenport.
“This increased starting salary, combined with our skills-based professional development programs and career mobility, reflect our commitment to creating a workplace where every teammate has the opportunity to start and grow a career,” Bank of America Iowa Market President Heidi Parkhurst told the QCBJ.
“This along with industry-leading benefits ranging from 16-weeks of parental leave and caregiver support to tuition reimbursement make BofA a leading employer in Iowa,” Ms. Parkhurst added in the email.
In its release Wednesday, Sept. 17, BofA said the move impacts thousands of employees and will help fuel the growth of the American economy as well as create job opportunities in the communities it serves.
Industry-leading benefits
“Our strong and rising minimum starting salary provides opportunities for our teammates to build a long-term career at Bank of America,” Sheri Bronstein, BofA’s chief people officer, said in the release. “Competitive compensation is one of the many ways we are helping to drive American economic growth and opportunity.”
In addition, BofA said 97% of its employees have received awards beyond regular compensation, mostly in the form of Bank of America restricted common stock. Nearly $5.8 billion has been awarded since the program’s inception in 2017.
Bank of America’s leadership as a global employer of choice has been recognized by many external organizations, including LinkedIn’s Top Companies in the U.S., Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list for seven consecutive years, and People Magazine’s 100 Companies That Care.
By the Numbers
- Bank of America will raise its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $25.
- This increases the minimum full-time starting salary to more than $50,000 a year.
- Since 2017, the starting salary for full-time U.S. employees will have gone up by more than $20,000. It has steadily been increasing the rate over the last several years, from under $15 per hour to now $25.
- BofA currently has 100 employees and four local financial centers in Iowa, where many new starting pay positions are based.
- For comparison, BoA said ZipRecruiter reports the average starting hourly pay rate in Iowa is around $15 an hour.
- Bank of America serves approximately 69 million consumer and small business clients with nearly 3,700 retail financial centers, 15,000 ATMs and award-winning digital banking with approximately 59 million users.
- It also supports about 4 million small business households across the U.S., its territories and more than 35 countries.
