Head of Global Corporate Banking and Global Leasing, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Anne Clarke Wolff wants to open banking’s doors to more Hispanic and African-American college students.
The head of global corporate banking and global leasing at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Wolff earlier this year personally recruited two young men of color to participate in the bank’s summer internship program with a simple goal of exposing them to banking and all it has to offer.
Wolff, who sits on board of Colby College, said that from what she has observed, many Hispanic and African-American students are simply not considering financial services as a career. By sponsoring the two young men, Wolff is sending a message that banks need to be a bit more intentional about bringing more people of color into their training programs if they ultimately hope to diversify their leadership ranks.
Wolff has been head of global corporate banking and leasing since 2011. The corporate bank provides credit, cash management and other services to roughly 2,100 of the world’s largest companies and the equipment leasing business serves more than 64,000 clients worldwide. Last year, corporate banking revenue increased 1% despite tightening loan spreads, while leasing revenue climbed 6% from a year earlier, to a record $2.2 billion.
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Wolff and her team are also working closely with the investment bank to strengthen Bank of America’s capabilities around environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
Last year, the bank participated as a lender on six of the largest ESG loans globally, totaling $22.6 billion, and this year it committed to deploying some $300 billion in green bond issuances and other low-carbon initiatives by 2030, more than doubling its previous commitment.
The corporate and investment banks are also parlaying that ESG expertise into an a new advisory service that helps companies define and set their ESG agendas and counsels them on how to best present their ESG programs to investors and other stakeholders.
