BankAmerica Corp. formed an alliance with Women Incorporated to provide small business loans to the nonprofit association's 25,000 members.
BankAmerica will offer group members a 50% discount on initial fees for unsecured loans or lines of credit between $2,500 and $100,000.
Women Incorporated members who have been approved for a loan or credit line will also receive a business Visa card with no annual fee for the first year and a 9.9% interest rate for the first six months.
Last year, BankAmerica promised to lend $10.6 billion to small-business owners between 1996 and 1999. The bank estimates one-third of the loans will be made to women business owners.