Bank of America issues $2 billion bond to promote racial equality

(Reuters) – Bank of America Corp said on Friday it was issuing a $2-billion bond, where a portion of the proceeds will be used for the financial empowerment of Black and Hispanic-Latino communities.

This is the bank’s eighth environment, social and governance factors (ESG) themed corporate bond and the first of its kind aimed at advancing racial equality, the bank said http://pdf.reuters.com/htmlnews/htmlnews.asp?i=43059c3bf0e37541&u=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20200925:nBw22Gzzfa.

An amount equal to the net proceeds from the offering will be set aside for social and environmental purposes, and projects include financing, leasing and investments that support the transition to a low-carbon economy, the bank said.

In June, the investment bank had pledged $1 billion to help communities across the United States address economic and racial inequality.

Earlier this week, Citigroup Inc allocated $1 billion to support initiatives that help close the racial wealth gap and increase economic mobility for people of color.

(Reporting by C Nivedita in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)