Bank of America makes local inroads
7 branches open, with 5 more by year’s end
When Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan looks at Pittsburgh, he doesn’t see the hordes of other banks in town. All he sees is opportunity.
The nation’s second- biggest bank is finally bringing its branch banking operations to Pittsburgh — going head- to- head with Pittsburgh’s hometown bank PNC, which is king of the hills here with a 44% share of the market.
Bank of America opened its first retail branch with its red, white and blue logo here in September 2018 in Upper St. Clair.
Since then, six more have popped up — a mix of full- size branches and so- called advanced centers that are smaller and more reliant on technology. The bank has plans to open five more offices here by the end of this year and at least one more in 2020. It also has 42 ATMs in the region.
For some, the market already appears crowded, with PNC, Citizens Bank, FNB and 43 other financial institutions already serving the area.
And Bank of America’s biggest rival — JP Morgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank — announced earlier this year that it would be breaking into the Pittsburgh retail market, too.
Mr. Moynihan isn’t fazed. “We compete against all these firms across the country and are pretty comfortable” that the bank will be successful, he said.
“Across our platform, we open about 1 million plus new checking accounts every quarter. I think people like our products and services.”
It’s an “historical accident” that the Charlotte, N. C.- based bank, whose roots date back some 240 years, hasn’t been in Pittsburgh before now, said Mr. Moynihan, 59, who’s been running the financial services giant since 2010.
“We never acquired a company that had operations in Western Pennsylvania,” he said. The bank already has branches in the eastern and central parts of the state.
One big reason Mr. Moynihan is so optimistic about Pittsburgh is that the $ 2.35 trillion firm isn’t
starting from ground zero. The Bank of America name is familiar to Pittsburghers who have mortgages through the bank or carry Bank of America- branded credit cards.
In addition, the bank has had commercial lending operations in this region for about 20 years, and offers wealth management services through its Merrill Lynch unit.
Bank of American employs about 150 people here, and has plans to hire about 30 more this year. Still, the bank has a way to go to catch up to market leader PNC, with some 13,000 employees in the region.
“We already have a bunch of customers,” Mr. Moynihan said. “This is not something we haven’t done successfully in other markets. So I’m confident. It will work.”
Mr. Moynihan will be in East Liberty Wednesday to dedicate Bank of America’s branch on Baum Boulevard to his friend and colleague, the late vice chairman of the bank’s wealth management business and Pittsburgh native Terry Laughlin, who died in October.