BankAmerica Corp. took aim last week at one of Wells Fargo & Co.'s strongholds by promising to make $10.6 billion of small-business loans during the next three years.
To drive the point home, thousands of Bank of America employees in California - from senior management down to processing center workers - are in the midst of a two-week campaign to call on 100,000 prospects.
"The message we want to send to the marketplace is that we are interested in small business," said Jerry L. Bowman, executive vice president and head of the business banking division. "And we want to get the message to the employees that small business is a very important market."
BankAmerica, still the larger company after the completion of Wells Fargo's merger with First Interstate Bancorp, has long trailed Wells in the California small-business market and has few such loans in several other states where the San Francisco-based banks will be competing head-to-head.
For example, BankAmerica sees Texas, where it has a meager $70 million small-business portfolio, as a "tremendous opportunity," Mr. Bowman said.
The bank lags in Texas because it entered the state by acquiring thrift institutions, said David Hanna, the company's southwest region manager and chief executive of Bank of America Arizona.
The Texas bank has hired 30 business-development officers and plans to lend $545 million to entrepreneurs during the next three years.
"We're working on changing from a thrift focus to that of a commercial bank," Mr. Hanna said. "This will be a chance for them to really shine."
While BankAmerica has made $5.2 billion of small-business loans in 10 states, it is contending with the $116 billion-asset Wells' recent commitment - in conjunction with its merger - to lend $25 billion over 10 years across its 13-state territory.
The $232 billion-asset BankAmerica is particularly focused on California, where it expects to make $4.5 billion of small-business loans over three years.
At midyear 1995 it had, by its definition, $2.5 billion of small- business loans in the state, including commercial real estate, for a 10.2% market share. That trailed 17% for Wells and First Interstate combined, according to Sheshunoff Information Services.
Through the end of this week, BankAmerica is offering an array of discounts on checking accounts, home-banking products, and payroll and other services.
Bank officials said they probably will follow up on the field calls with direct-mail campaigns and other marketing tactics, possibly including preapproved credit offers. They also expect to replicate the California campaign in other states, including product specials and the customer- calling army.
"We've been talking since last year about doing something real special in 1996," Mr. Bowman said. "We've been in small business for a long time, but we wanted to send a message that we're getting more aggressive."
Recent improvements in BankAmerica's business product line are a key weapon in the drive, Mr. Bowman said. For instance, the bank has streamlined its loan applications, introduced relationship-based pricing, and started using credit scoring for most business loans up to $50,000.
BankAmerica began its blitz on April 1, the day Wells and First Interstate merged, and the in-person sales campaign continues this week. The timing was said to be coincidental, but like other California institutions, BankAmerica expected to attract some of the accounts that inevitably seek new banking relationships in the wake of a big merger.
"If we get Wells customers - which I think we will - because of uncertainty in the marketplace, so much the better," said Liam McGee, executive vice president of the Bank of America in California, who helped plan the business marketing effort.
One California competitor said the effort seemed like a publicity stunt and wondered how effective BankAmerica will be in following up its initial push.
There is other competition, as well. Through this quarter, Union Bank is offering discounts on business checking accounts, lines of credit, and other services.
