Bank of America Accepting Donations for American Red Cross' Haitian Relief Efforts at All U.S. Banking Centers

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Bank of America announced it will accept donations to support the American Red Cross' Haitian Relief and Development Fund at its more than 6,000 banking centers across the United States. All contributions will be transferred to the fund established by the American Red Cross.

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In addition, Bank of America announced it will, at a customer's request, waive associated foreign transaction fees for customers making a donation with a Bank of America debit or credit card to charitable organizations supporting Haitian relief efforts. 

This follows an announcement made yesterday by Visa, Mastercard and American Express to waive fees to select charities providing relief.

"As news continues to pour in from Haiti, our customers and associates continue to ask how they can help the survivors of this tragedy," said Anne Finucane, Global Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America. "Bank of America is privileged to help by making it as easy as possible for customers who want to provide financial support."

Earlier this week, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation announced a $1 million commitment to aid the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The commitment includes a $500,000 grant to the American Red Cross for the Haitian Relief and Development Fund.  

As relief efforts evolve in the coming weeks, the remaining $500,000 contribution will be directed towards the long-term recovery efforts to restore basic medical services and fund the rebuilding of homes, schools and other structures critical to the affected communities.  

In addition, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation will match associate pledges through the bank's Matching Gifts program and will not limit its overall relief donation.  

For more information about Bank of America's response to the Haitian earthquake, please visit ahead.bankofamerica.com.

Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy

Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, last year Bank of America embarked on a new, ten-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave more than $200 million in 2008, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world and the second largest donor of all U.S. corporations in cash contributions. Bank of America approaches investing through a national strategy called "neighborhood excellence" under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Bank associate volunteers contributed more than 900,000 hours in 2008 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.

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 approximately 53 million consumer and small business relationships with 6,000 retail banking offices, more than 18,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 29 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to more than 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients in more than 150 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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SOURCE Bank of America