Bank’s Ohio expansion includes Columbus

Bank of America plans to open its first banking office in Columbus as part of its expansion into Ohio.

The bank, one of the largest in the U.S., said Monday it will open 30 banking centers in Cincinnati and Columbus over the next two years, with plans to extend the expansion to Cleveland and other parts of Ohio.

“Ohio is a great opportunity. We just haven’t had that retail center presence,” said Jeneen Marziani, the bank’s Ohio president.

The bank opened its first center in Cincinnati on Monday. The first office in Columbus will open in the coming weeks at Morse Plaza, 1650 Morse Rd.

It also has a credit-card operation in Westerville.

The expansion into Ohio brings retail banking, investing, lending and small-business services to new and current customers, in addition to the current services the bank already provides in Ohio. The bank says it has 750,000 clients in the state.

The Charlotte-based bank announced more than a year ago its plans to expand its retail presence in the state.

The Morse Plaza location is one of 650 locations across the U.S. that the bank has designated as a community financial center geared toward helping low- and moderate-income customers with customized

products and services.

As part of the expansion in the state, the bank has opened 65 ATMS in Cincinnati and Columbus over the past year and now has nearly 100 ATMS in Ohio. The bank said it has invested $468 million in home and small-business loans through 2018.

The move into Ohio is part of the bank’s expansion in new and existing markets, including Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, Denver, Minneapolis, Indianapolis and Lexington, Kentucky.

Bank of America’s private bank also is expanding its business in Ohio to offer services to wealthy families, individuals and institutions.

The bank will create at least 150 jobs in Ohio as part of the expansion, adding to the more than 1,500 people currently employed by the bank in the state.