• Home
• For Investors
• Obtain Financing
• Planning and Policy Analysis
• PolicyMap

• In the News
• Press Releases

Press Releases

Bank of America Brings Higher Standards to Delaware Valley
$500,000 Grant to Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative
Demonstrates Bank’s Continued Commitment to Community’s Leadership

October 29, 2004

Philadelphia, PA – Bank of America, one of the world’s leading financial services companies, is introducing Delaware Valley customers to higher standards in banking as it inaugurates service in Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey today. The bank has completed the transition of its Fleet retail branches in the region to Bank of America banking centers.
 
Pennsylvania State Representative Dwight Evans and other community leaders joined Bank of America executives Anne Finucane, Northeast Market President; Eugene Taylor, President of Commercial Banking; and newly named Pennsylvania Market President Daniel K. Fitzpatrick to unveil new signs at the Four Penn Center location in Center City during kick-off ceremonies this morning.
 
“We are delighted to bring the strength and capability of the Bank of America franchise to this region,” said Taylor. “When we combined Bank of America and Fleet, we not only brought together enormous resources, but also we created a powerhouse of products, services and people who can do even more than our customers can imagine. We are committed to making a significant positive impact on Philadelphia, Southern New Jersey and the surrounding Delaware Valley communities that we serve – and are delighted to have Dan Fitzpatrick here to lead that effort with business, community development and philanthropic leaders.”

“Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey are important markets for Bank of America and our banking center conversions and Customer Day One celebration build on the success we have already generated in upstate and western New York, Manhattan, Long Island and metropolitan New Jersey,” said Finucane. “We are excited to be here and look forward to partnering with community and business leaders to make this region even stronger.”

The bank executives also immediately demonstrated the Bank of America’s pledge to delivering higher standards through strong business and philanthropic partnerships in the community.

“Bank of America is committed both financially and personally to strengthening the communities in which we live and do business,” said Fitzpatrick. “Part of our commitment to the health of the communities where we work, live and invest is in the health of the residents. Today, we take our first step in reaffirming and deepening our roots in the Delaware Valley with a $500,000 community grant to The Reinvestment Fund’s Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative. This initiative helps our urban neighborhoods improve their ability to offer basic nutritional choices for the families who live there.”

“To have Bank of America come in as the first private sector supporter in this new Fresh Food Financing Initiative is a great testament to the value of the program and a sign of how the bank intends to work in Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania,” said Jeremy Nowak, President and CEO, The Reinvestment Fund. “This program addresses basic infrastructure challenges in low-income communities; Bank of America leadership is signaling that they will be there to take on these challenges with us.”
 
“Bank of America’s immediate readiness to join forces with the state in such an important program for our lower-income communities bodes well for a strong future in our region for this national bank. The PA Fresh Food Financing Initiative will give communities in lower-income areas across Pennsylvania the choice of more nutritionally balanced diets at affordable costs and will help create jobs and revitalize these neighborhoods,” said State Representative Dwight Evans. Last month, the state provided the first $10 million for what will become a $40 million financing pool for the initiative.
 
Branches throughout Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey now feature distinctive red-and-blue Bank of America signage. These banking centers join hundreds of others in northern and central New Jersey, and in New York City and upstate and western New York, as the transition to Bank of America banking centers continues.

Fitzpatrick Named Pennsylvania Market President
Daniel K. Fitzpatrick is Market Executive for Middle Market Banking for Bank of America in Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey. Fitzpatrick, a veteran of more than 20 years in commercial banking with major Philadelphia area financial institutions, leads Bank of America’s team of business bankers. He supervises commercial bankers providing comprehensive business solutions to companies in PA, Southern NJ and Delaware with annual revenues between $10 million and $2 billion dollars. Fitzpatrick, working closely with Northeast Market President Anne Finucane and Bank of America’s other market presidents across the region, will be focused on ensuring a smooth integration into Bank of America.

Before joining Fleet, Fitzpatrick was a senior vice president and senior relationship manager with PNC Capital Markets, where he focused on lending in the transportation, pharmaceutical, and computer industries, in addition to other general corporate banking clients. His previous experience also includes lending and auditing positions with CoreStates Bank and Ernst & Young. He holds an MBA from Drexel University, and a BS in Business Administration from LaSalle University. He is a CPA and a Chartered Financial Analyst, and holds Series 7 and 63 licenses from the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). Fitzpatrick lives in Newtown, Bucks County, PA.

Expanded Banking Network and Financial Product Set
Bank of America provides its customers access to one of the most powerful banking networks in the nation. Customers in Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey will now have access to:

• Neighborhood Champions™ – mortgage loans to help police officers, firefighters, teachers and medical workers realize the dream of home ownership
• The largest, most convenient ATM network for customers, with no transaction fees – at home and across the nation
• New checking options that help customers avoid fees
• Expanded mortgage and home-lending choices available at 6,500 banking centers in 2005
• Bank of America debit and credit cards automatically protected by Total Security Protection®

About The Reinvestment Fund
The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) is a $210 million development finance corporation with a wealth-building agenda for low- and moderate-income people and places through the strategic use of capital, knowledge and innovation. 

TRF has a wide array of finance, policy and service programs including affordable housing, community services, small business, private equity, workforce development, public policy and research, and sustainable energy.

With a primary service area that covers the 21 counties centered in the Philadelphia metropolitan area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, some TRF programs extend throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia. For more information, visit the TRF Web site at www.trfund.com. For more information on the PA Fresh Food Financing Initiative contact Lori Glass at lori.glass@trfund.com.

The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative is an innovative new capitalization program that will work to increase the number of supermarkets in underserved communities across Pennsylvania. The initiative was created in response to the rising concern over the lack of access to fresh foods in these communities. By improving access to fresh food retailers with greater variety, the initiative will give these communities the choice of a more nutritionally balanced diet. The lower food costs will also enable underserved persons living on fixed budgets to purchase higher quality foods. Supermarkets and other grocery stores will also make valuable contributions to the community by creating jobs and revitalizing neighborhoods. The Initiative is a partnership of The Reinvestment Fund, The Food Trust, and the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition. The State has appropriated $10 million for this initiative. Bank of America is the first private supporter.  For more information, visit www.trfund.com.

About The Food Trust
The Food Trust is a nationally recognized nonprofit working to ensure that every child has access to affordable nutritious food. The Food Trust manages urban farmers markets, conducts nutrition education classes in public schools and works to improve the connection between local farms and urban communities. For more information, visit The Food Trust Web site at www.thefoodtrust.org.

About Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition
The Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition (GPUAC) works with supermarket developers, operators and other clients to enhance contracting opportunities for disadvantaged, minority and women-owned businesses. GPUAC also helps clients successfully employ females, minorities and community residents.

GPUAC's overall mission is to bring together business and community leaders to solve urban problems, operate programs and support an array of government and private sector-sponsored initiatives to help the disadvantaged and working poor of the Metropolitan Philadelphia region. For more information, visit the GPUAC Web site at www.gpuac.org.

About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small 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 5,800 retail banking offices, more than 16,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 11 million active users. Bank of America is the #1 Small Business Administration lender in the United States. The company serves clients in 150 countries and has relationships with 96 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 82 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (ticker: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.