BofA to hire over 1,000

Financial services major Bank of America will hire more than 1,000 people in the US, to boost its presence in the small businesses segment.

The entity would expand its small business presence by hiring bankers in areas, including Los Angeles and Dallas.

Bank of America would hire over 1,000 small business bankers by early 2012, it said in a statement on Thursday.

"Small businesses play a critical role in driving innovation and growth in our economy...," the bank's President and Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said.

The company would recruit small business bankers in select banking centres in Dallas, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Washington DC. "Hiring will continue in select locations across the country throughout 2011," it added.

In the first half of 2010, Bank of America provided $45.4 billion in credit to small and medium-sized companies. It expects to raise such lending by $5 billion this year.

The financial meltdown in 2008-09 had adversely impacted small American businesses, mainly on account of credit squeeze. The US government continues to support measures aimed at bolstering the national economy, which continues to grapple with sluggish recovery.