Spotlight On: Al McRae, Atlanta President, Bank of America
July 2024 — In an interview with Focus:, Al McRae, Atlanta president for Bank of America, said that despite being a large national institution, Bank of America maintains a local touch. He highlighted initiatives that support small business, especially minority and women-owned businesses, and how it is integrating technological initiatives to enhance customer support.
What have been some major highlights for Bank of America in Atlanta over the past 12 months?
We engage in several partnerships with nonprofit entities to tackle some of Atlanta’s biggest challenges. While these challenges are not unique to us, Atlanta has its own dynamics due to the city’s overall construct and the specific issues its citizens face.
We focus on providing economic opportunities, especially in communities that have been historically underinvested or disinvested. This involves not just development work but also addressing basic needs.
How does Bank of America support small businesses?
We focus on small-business resilience for minority- and women-owned businesses. There are two primary pathways to wealth: business ownership and homeownership. Atlanta faces challenges in both areas. As a board member of the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE), I see data highlighting the lack of business ownership and equity in communities of color and among women-owned businesses.
We also address the issue of affordable and workforce housing, working to provide capital for developers and partnering with local organizations to help people access or remain in their homes. Atlanta’s high corporate home ownership and rising real estate prices have made affordability a significant challenge. The city’s attractiveness to businesses and workers has driven up housing costs, making it difficult for those in working-wage jobs to afford real estate. Our efforts focus on providing access to capital and resources to support small-business owners and ensure housing affordability.
Where do you see migration trends heading in Atlanta and what impact will it have on the city?
You will see more sprawl in all directions of the city. When you look at the metro area, it is different from the city of Atlanta itself, which is relatively small. The actual population of the city just crossed 1 million residents. The Atlanta metro area is much larger, and you continue to see real estate development and people moving farther out due to a supply-demand issue with housing.
Recently, I saw a statistic that rent rates are starting to taper off and decrease slightly because of the significant number of apartments being built. There is a tremendous amount of new supply coming onto the market. So, we are seeing both increased density within the city limits, particularly within the 285 perimeter, and more housing being developed farther out. This reflects the migration trends and the influx of people moving into the city from all directions.
How is Bank of America supporting entrepreneurs and the small-business community in 2024, and do you see a trend of more small businesses forming?
We are deeply committed to supporting small businesses, particularly minority and women-owned enterprises. We define small businesses as those earning less than $55 million annually. Our small-business banking channel offers specific resources, including a $25,000 grant to help business owners purchase commercial property, building equity instead of leasing.
We provide a suite of products and services that empower small-business owners through training in finance, credit, and inventory planning. We also have a dedicated role in Atlanta to engage with low to moderate-income communities directly, often partnering with organizations like the RICE.
Nationally, we support minority deposit institutions (MDIs) and community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to provide needed capital in areas we may not serve directly. Particularly in rural communities or communities where we do not have a presence, or even in situations where we are not able to provide the requested product or service, instead of us just telling a customer “no,” we try to make sure we connect them with alternative sources of funding. This ensures broader access to funding. This also speaks to our strong partnership and work with U.S. Small Business Administration-backed products, which are crucial for newer businesses seeking capital.
Additionally, we invest directly in venture capital funds that focus on minority- and women-owned businesses. To date, we have provided over $500 million in capital to venture capitalists, funding over 2,000 businesses. This has a significant multiplier effect, promoting growth and resilience among small businesses.
Furthermore, Bank of America spends over $1 billion annually with minority- and women-owned businesses, as part of our commitment recognized by the Billion Dollar Roundtable. Our aim is to go beyond our four walls and figure out how we can reach those communities, and how, if not us necessarily, we can connect them to other resources and access points that may help them grow.
How does Bank of America, as a large national bank, maintain a local touch and impact?
Our organization is structured to maintain a local touch despite being one of the world’s leading financial institutions. Bank of America operates in about 100 markets in the United States, each led by a local president who acts as a de facto CEO for their respective market. As the president of the Atlanta market, I drive our responsible growth strategy across three key pillars: clients, teammates, and community.
I oversee the alignment of these pillars to ensure they work in concert. Although we operate across the country, you can think of us as having 100 local chapters, each with a president like myself at the helm. My responsibility is to understand the local economy, identify opportunities and challenges, and grow our market share and influence.
Supporting me is a team dedicated to advancing our goals across these three pillars. This structure is the magic, or the secret sauce, that enables us to deliver as a large organization while maintaining a local feel.
Where do you see the most potential for demand growth among your business segments in Atlanta?
In Atlanta, our business opportunities span across all areas. Bank of America operates essentially as eight businesses in one, with four lines serving individuals and four serving businesses. On the individual side, we have the traditional retail channel for basic banking needs, the Preferred channel for clients requiring loans and investment advice, and our wealth management brands, Merrill and the Private Bank.
Business Banking offers advice and financial solutions to U.S. companies with annual revenues of $5 million to $50 million.. Our middle-market channel serves U.S. businesses with revenues of $50 million to $2 billion. Corporate and Investment banking serves corporate clients with over $2 billion in revenues.
Atlanta benefits from a growing population, with more companies and individuals moving here, increasing levels of personal and business wealth. Georgia’s top rating for business, strong infrastructure like the Atlanta airport, and a robust university system further boost our opportunities. Additionally, Atlanta remains relatively affordable compared to other major regions, attracting continuous migration.
These factors collectively make Atlanta a prime location for all eight of our business lines, driving our market share and influence across the board.
How is Bank of America integrating AI and other technology initiatives into banking for consumers and businesses?
Erica, our virtual financial assistant, has been around for a while and we continue to see increased engagement from our clients, solving more challenges and answering numerous questions. AI, as a broad term, includes functionalities like Erica. Technology is crucial for our business, and we invest significantly in this area, especially in fraud detection, which remains a big issue for many clients.
We aim to make business easier for both our associates and clients. Technology serves as a great leverage point, enhancing our operations’ efficiency. Our clients benefit from our highly ranked mobile app, online banking platform, and tools for entrepreneurs in the commercial banking space, making their businesses run more efficiently.
Looking ahead, expect more iteration and advancement. Erica, for example, will continue to evolve, becoming more predictive and personalized based on user behavior. Our ongoing investment in technology will drive these improvements, enhancing our platform’s capabilities.
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