Bank of America today announced a
$100 million Community Development Banking goal to rebuild affordable housing
and revitalize neighborhoods in Gulf Coast areas devastated by Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita. The bank will target loans and investments to address the
need for affordable housing in the areas affected by the storm.
In addition, through its community development corporation, Bank of
America has made more than 200 apartments it owns available to house displaced
families in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Texas. The bank is providing the
units to make it easier for families in transition and is working to make
additional units available as housing needs continue.
"As a leader in community development, Bank of America understands the
far-reaching impact of the loss of so many homes in low- and moderate-income
neighborhoods," said Phyllis Caldwell, president, Bank of America Community
Development Banking. "For those displaced by the hurricanes, now more than
ever, an affordable home will be a key step to reaching financial
self-sufficiency and rebuilding their lives."
Under the $100 million Community Development Banking initiative, Bank of
America expects to make available $60 million in loans for new construction
and redevelopment of affordable housing in the region. The bank also has set
a goal of at least $40 million for affordable housing development and
community revitalization through tax credit investments, and will look for
further opportunities through partnerships with strategic nonprofit funds such
as the Enterprise Social Investment Corporation and the National Equity Fund.
The announcements are part of Bank of America's strategy to meet near-term
needs for immediate relief, interim needs for transitional housing and long-
term needs for rebuilding communities.
More long term, and in addition to the $100 million community development
initiative announced today, the bank will work with public housing authorities
and state and local agencies to develop innovative financing programs to help
rebuild communities in the affected areas.
"Leadership in community development often means organizations and people
must do things in different ways or rise to meet unexpected challenges,"
Caldwell said. "Although historically we have not targeted our community
development efforts outside our 29-state retail footprint, we are glad we can
bring our community development lending and investment tools to the hurricane-
stricken region."
A national leader in community development among financial institutions,
Bank of America last year provided more than $57 billion in loans and
investments for affordable housing and affordable home ownership, small
business development, consumer loans for low- and moderate-income borrowers
and economic development.

Hurricane Relief Charitable Donation Update
Bank of America also announced that donations from the company and its
associates to aid victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have now exceeded
$4.8 million.
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has given more than $1.4 million
in corporate donations to aid the American Red Cross and other organizations
providing relief to survivors. In addition, Bank of America associates have
donated more than $1.7 million that is being matched dollar-for-dollar by the
Charitable Foundation.
For more information on Bank of America's response to Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita, please visit http://www.bankofamerica.com/newsroom.

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions,
serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large
corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and
other financial and risk-management products and services. The company
provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving 33 million
consumer relationships with more than 5,800 retail banking offices, more than
16,600 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 13 million active
users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration
(SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned
small businesses. The company serves clients in 150 countries and has
relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 85 percent
of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is
listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

http://www.bankofamerica.com