A Brief History
The Bank of America is a financial institution that has its tentacles spread across different nations on four continents- Europe, North America, Asia and Africa and has a worldwide staff strength of about 70,000. The bank has its headquarter in North Carolina, U.S.A. According to the Report on Wikipedia; the bank, which was founded on the 17th of October, 1904, was initially called 'Bank of Italy' but later renamed 'Bank of America' in 1930. With a total asset of over $2 trillion, the bank ranks as the second largest holding company in the United States of America- second only to J.P Morgan Chase & Co.
The Bank operates under two divisions: Bank of America Home Loans and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The latter came about with the acquisition of Merrill Lynch [a financial advisory and brokerage firm] at the onset of the financial crisis- one that shook the institution's foundation- which occurred nine (9) years ago.
Bank of America Mission in Nigeria
Though without any established branch/office in Nigeria, the bank [through its investment banking division, Bank of America Merrill Lynch] made its first major foray into the 'Nigerian space' in September, 2013 and has since continued in this stead annually- every September. The objective is to recruit talented undergraduates [who are in the final lap of their tertiary education] in any discipline- but with a passion to crave a niche for themselves in the financial markets.
The programme which is under the auspices of the bank's campus recruiting team [and is being supervised by a Nigerian resource firm, TalentMine Nigeria] is set up as an exposition whereby applicants who must have been successful in an assessment test are invited for an interactive corporate presentation at a chosen venue in Lagos. It is at this presentation that the prospective employees get to meet with the company's representatives who intimate them on the some of the bank's operations and also take them through a brief skill enlightenment session tailored towards preparing the mind of the prospects on the way things work in the financial markets at large. Thereafter, successful candidates are contacted and probably employed as financial analyst on internship or full time basis at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, London.
On a final and personal note; it is quite commendable that one of the world's leading financial institution casts its 'dragnet' towards the ever bulging reservoir of great talents the nation has got to offer. However, it remains to be seen if the firm will go beyond the restriction of solely considering undergraduates- and give an opportunity to other prospects who are viable for the labour market. Furthermore, it is hoped that the Bank of America will also follow in the footsteps of renowned financial institutions like J.P Morgan Chase in having a foreign representative in Nigeria and/or establishing an operational base in the nation: this would definitely create more employment opportunities for Nigerians and eventually boost the nation's economy.
In my wishfulness; I just hope someone, in the appropriate quota, sees the need to use this avenue- the bank's interest in Nigerian graduates- to woo the bank into the Nigerian financial market...this could serve as a measure of economic sustainability through the creation of job opportunities- although it should not be viewed as an means to an end in itself.