Bank of America Plans to Hire 1,000 Small Business Bankers

Bank of America is bulking up in its small business banking unit. BOA announced today that It plans to hire over 1,000 new small business bankers across the nation. In fact, to continue its hiring spree, the bank announced that it has already hired more than 75 small business bankers in the mid-Atlantic area, including Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and southern New Jersey.

According to BOA, the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area was among the first three markets to begin hiring, along with Dallas and the greater Los Angeles area.

"Our small business customers have told us they want access to more expertise so they can better address the complex financial demands that often arise while running their companies," said Raj Kochhar, head of the bank's small business initiative for the Northeast.

Kochhar has been with Bank of America for 16 years, most recently serving as the senior vice president and consumer market executive for the south beltway part of the mid-Atlantic region, where he was responsible for 39 banking centers in northern Virginia and Maryland.

As a part of its ongoing commitment to small business, Bank of America extended $18 billion of credit to small businesses in 2010, up from $16.5 billion in 2009.