Bank of America Tellers, Others to Get Pay Increase
December 06 2016 - 3:20PM
Dow Jones News
Bank of America Corp.'s lowest-paid employees are getting a
raise.
Bank CEO Brian Moynihan said at a Goldman Sachs financial
services conference Tuesday that the bank will increase its minimum
wage to $15 an hour starting early next year.
A bank spokeswoman said the bank's current minimum wage is
$13.50. The wage increase will affect employees across the country,
including tellers, customer service representatives and workers in
technology and operations. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per
hour.
Bank of America's announcement follows similar moves by two of
its rivals. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. CEO James Dimon announced
this summer that his bank would raise wages for 18,000 employees to
between $12 and $16.50 per hour. Wells Fargo & Co. in March
raised its minimum wage in certain regions to $12 from $11.50. The
bank pays up to $16.50 an hour for such positions based on location
and experience, a spokeswoman added.
The increases for lower paid workers at big banks have come
against the backdrop of a large-scale push nationally to increase
the minimum wage. Several cities have increased the minimum wage to
$15, although efforts for a similar raise at the federal level have
so far failed.
Big banks have also been working for some time to improve their
public image, which was badly dented during the financial crisis
and housing meltdown.
Bank of America declined to say how many employees will be
affected or how much the bank is spending on the wage increase. A
spokeswoman said the move is part of a long-term plan and that any
costs had already been baked into the bank's cost structure.
Mr. Moynihan has made cost-cutting a key part of his business
strategy, and in July promised to cut another $5 billion in annual
costs by 2018. The Bank of America spokeswoman said the bank's wage
increase was "part of our overall effort and goal to make Bank of
America a great place to work."
The bank this year also expanded paid parental leave to 16 weeks
from 12 weeks. It has also kept medical premiums flat for workers
earning less than $50,000 per year.
Emily Glazer contributed to this article.
Write to Christina Rexrode at christina.rexrode@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 06, 2016 15:05 ET (20:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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