Mainebiz sat down with Brian King, president of Bank of America Maine, at the bank’s sprawling Belfast campus, to find out more about the bank’s Maine operations and growth plans.
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As president of Bank of America Maine, Brian King divides his time between Portland and Belfast, where 500 of the bank’s 700 Maine employees are based. Mainebiz visited the sprawling Belfast campus to find out more about the bank’s Maine operations and growth plans.
Mainebiz: What operations are conducted here in Belfast?
Brian King: This site is a legacy site from MBNA, which was acquired by Bank of America 20 years ago. What originated as a site that was primarily focused on supporting our credit card line of business, which is what MBNA was, has now grown over those 20 years. There’s now a variety of different enterprise-wide roles being performed here for the company. We still have a portion of the employees here taking inbound phone calls, making outbound phone calls and servicing not only our credit card clients but our deposit clients. We also have a lot of technology work going on here, where people who started in the business servicing credit cards are now working on the systems behind the scenes that drive the engine of the credit card. You’ll meet folks who work in marketing. You’ll meet folks who work in regulatory control jobs. You’ll meet our support services team, which does great work for the enterprise as well. One of the real blessings for this work group is that it’s opened up a plethora of career opportunities that probably never would have existed had Bank of America not bought MBNA.
MB: What’s your game plan for increasing your market share in Maine [4.8% of Maine deposits as of June 30, FDIC data show]
BK: We’re going to grow the market share by focusing on welcoming new clients as well as growing with our existing client relationships. Many of our wealth management clients are business owners who also need business banking solutions and vice versa, particularly following a liquidity event such as the sale of a company. We’re also going to grow new clients through partnerships, like the one we recently announced with the Hearts of Pine soccer club.
MB: How do you position yourself as part of the community while also being part of a big corporation like Bank of America?
BK: That’s why I have a job, because there are 97 markets at Bank of America, and they all have a person like me. I grew up here, I’ve been here almost 30 years, so this is my place. Each market has somebody like that, and I’m involved with the Maine Bankers Association. I know all of my peers, and we collaborate on issues in Maine, in Augusta, that help the greater good of the banking community. We collaborate in the community with our philanthropy. You’ll probably remember the terrible incident in Lewiston a few years ago and how the Maine banking community came together. We were part of that. It’s very collaborative. Oftentimes, there are situations where clients outgrow what their local bank is able to do, and that’s where they’ll say, “Let’s get Bank of America involved.” Then we’ll have a collaborative effort to serve a Maine client where we’re meeting their needs as they continue to grow, but they still have that foundational relationship with their local bank.
MB: BofA employs many people with disabilities here. How did that program begin?
BK: It originated with MBNA and expanded with Bank of America. The program now operates in Boston, Delaware and Dallas. It’s a wonderful opportunity to provide meaningful employment. They’re employees just like anyone else and are held to the same standards and goals. They have so much appreciation for the opportunity, and we appreciate the chance to work with the team.
MB: What’s your take on the regional economy?
BK: I couldn’t find a place to park on Main Street the other day, which is a good sign of the energy and activity we’re seeing in Belfast. I see tremendous opportunities here because of the incredible people who live and work in this community. By investing in training, career development and competitive wages and benefits, Bank of America is helping people build meaningful, long-term careers right here in Belfast, which creates even more opportunities for the broader community.
