Bank of America has raised its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $21 and plans to increase that rate to $25 an hour by 2025.
In a statement, bank officials said the boost is another step in a multiyear plan to increase pay across the organization. Bank of America raised its minimum wage to $15 in 2017, $17 in 2019 and $20 last year.
“We make broad-ranging investments to attract and develop talented teammates who serve our clients and local communities every day, and who can build long, successful careers with our company,” said Sheri Bronstein, the bank’s chief human resources officer. “Today, we are taking another step forward, again increasing our minimum rate of pay for U.S. employees, demonstrating our commitment to sharing our success with teammates, and inspiring others to do the same.”
In May, Bank of America said it would require all of its U.S. vendors to pay all employees dedicated to the bank $15 an hour or more.
Bank officials did not say if the latest increase comes in response to a much-publicized worker shortage, which had kept some businesses operating below their normal capacity even as much of the economy reopens after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some employers, especially in the food service, retail and manufacturing sectors, have raised pay and offered other incentives, such as sign-on bonuses, to draw in job-seekers.
