Bank of America introduced a 10-point plan to provide more transparency in 10 areas of its business seen as crucial to reviving the economy.
The Lending & Investing Initiative will track and report on Bank of America’s activities to display the company’s lending and investing efforts.
Bank of America chairman and CEO Kenneth Lewis said, “As America’s largest bank, Bank of America must play a leading role in providing the capital and liquidity that will help revitalize the U.S. economy. That’s why we’re pulling together our lending and investing initiatives under this umbrella to provide greater clarity into the support we’re providing to families, businesses and communities across the country.”
Bank of America said it extended $115 billion in new lines of credit to consumers, large and small businesses, governments and other entities.
As part of the program, Lewis said Bank of America will receive regular reports on economic trends and implications for each of the segments in the program, and those reports will be released to the public quarterly.

The Bank of America Lending & Investing Initiative includes: – Loss mitigation: The bank said it will modify 630,000 mortgages to keep borrowers in their homes. Last year it modified 230,000 loans, more than $44 billion in mortgage financing. – Real Estate Owned Properties: Will work with municipalities that receive funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to re-purpose REO properties, and fight declining property values and neighborhood blight. – Mortgage-backed securities: Purchase billions of dollars in residential mortgage-backed securities. – Consumer lending: Bank of America said it has lent $45 billion for mortgages to more than 200,000 homeowners in the fourth quarter of 2008. – Small business lending: Continue lending to small businesses. Last year, Bank of America loaned $4.8 billion in new credit to 250,000 small business customers. – Commercial lending: Provide loans for large companies, and non-profit organizations, as well as low income housing projects. – Green building: Finance the construction and retrofitting of commercial properties to meet or exceed green-certified building standards. – Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): Provide credit to families, small businesses, multi- cultural organizations, community facilities and nonprofits serving low-to- moderate income communities that have trouble obtaining traditional sources of credit. – Socially Responsible Private Equity: Provide credit to women- and minority-owned businesses, and those in low- to moderate-income areas and underserved urban and rural markets. – Nonprofit support: The Bank of America Charitable Foundation initiated a 10-year, $2 billion philanthropic giving goal, and extended $200 million in grants in 2008.