Bank of America Becomes Nation's #1 Home Equity Lender

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America has become the nation's leading home equity lender, crediting its record growth to the introduction of its no-fee home equity line of credit offering. Bank of America acquired an industry-leading 8.4 percent market share representing a home equity portfolio of more than $70 billion in 2005.

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"This milestone is a reflection of our success in making home equity financing easy to obtain and free of unnecessary fees," said David Rupp Bank of America home equity executive.

The increase in home equity financing is also attributable to Bank of America's unmatched distribution network, including the largest banking center network in the industry, phone and online channels.

Bank of America was the first major bank to offer a no-fee home equity line of credit in September, 2004. With this offering Bank of America has eliminated set up fees, minimum draw prerequisites, prepayment and early closure fees, fixed rate loan conversion fees, annual maintenance fees or inactivity fees. Customers that meet the terms of their agreements do not incur late charges or fees for returned payments or returned convenience checks. Lines of credit carry competitive rates with benefits for existing customers. With rates rising, consumers have taken advantage of the opportunity to lock in the rate on up to three fixed-rate loans within their line of credit - at no cost.

"This offering was developed based on feedback from our customers and associates and we continue to gather and act on their feedback," said Rupp.

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 more than 54 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 5,700 retail banking offices, more than 16,700 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 19 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 175 countries and has relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 79 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

http://www.bankofamerica.com/