Bank of America launches credit card especially designed for Hispanic consumers

(I-Newswire) March 20, 2005 - Efectiva Visa rewards customers with 1 percent cash back for every $100 spent on everyday purchases, while helping customers strengthen their credit history in order to achieve their life goals such as purchasing a home or taking out an education loan. Rewards can easily be redeemed either as a check, or as a credit to an existing Bank of America checking or savings account. As with all Bank of America cards, Efectiva Visa also provides customers with the added security features of the Total Security Protection™ package, which offers greater defense against theft, loss, unauthorized use and includes Photo Security®.

"Establishing and managing credit is essential to living a successful life in this country, and this new credit card can help Hispanics enjoy the perks of cash rewards while strengthening their credit background," said Jose Ruiz, senior vice president, Bank of America.

In a time when U.S. Hispanics have a combined buying power of $630 billion, many are still paying for purchases with cash and not establishing a sound credit history. In fact, the gap between U.S. Hispanics who own or use a credit card and non-Hispanics with credit cards in the U.S. is still significant. According to a 2004 study by Simmons, one of the nation's leading research authorities on the behavior of U.S. consumers, only 41.2% of Hispanics currently have and use credit cards, while 74% of non-Hispanics own and use credit cards. Bank of America aims to help bridge this gap and continue its commitment to the Hispanic community by encouraging Hispanics to establish a solid credit background.

"Bank of America understands the broad spectrum of needs of Hispanic customers and is proud to offer a safe in-language credit card that will provide peace of mind and greater financial control," said Ruiz.

The Efectiva Visa card is available nationwide through neighborhood banking centers, direct mail, bankofamerica.com, Consumer Real Estate, Dealer Finance and customer service centers. Efectiva Visa has no annual fee and you can earn up to 600 points in a year. The package includes a Mini Card, a free year-end summary statement to track purchases, travel & emergency assistance, auto rental insurance, purchase replacement and purchase guard. Customers can easily redeem their points by either calling the bilingual, toll-free number 1-800-632-4334 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CST seven days a week, or by visiting the bilingual Web site: www.bankofamerica.com/Efectiva.

To learn more about Efectiva Visa, please visit the bilingual site: www.bankofamerica.com/Efectivavisa.

About Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market 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 more than 5,800 retail banking offices, more than 16,500 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than eleven million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 150 countries and has relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 85 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (ticker: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Bank of America stock (ticker: BAC) is listed on the New York, Pacific and London stock exchanges. The company's Web site is www.bankofamerica.com. News, speeches and other corporate information may be found at www.bankofamerica.com/newsroom.



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Reporters May Contact
Betty Riess, Bank of America, 415.622.6397
betty.riess@bankofamerica.com
Carla Molina, 832.295.2199
carla@lopeznegrete.com

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