Bank of America sets $23 minimum hourly wage

Bank of America, which has about two dozen North Bay branches, is setting a new companywide minimum hourly wage come October. The new minimum will be $23, the Charlotte, North Carolina, financial services giant announced Wednesday.

By 2025, that wage threshold will rise to $25, a rate that has gone up by $14 per hour since 2010, the bank said in a news release.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and California’s minimum wage is $15.50 per hour.

The salary adjustments are estimated to affect 3% of the bank’s approximately 200,000 U.S. employees. Most of the affected employees work in the “relationship banker” sector, a position that was once called a teller, bank officials confirmed.

“These increases are spread across the nation, but it’s worth noting that we’re well aware of the Bay Area’s high cost of living,” said Amy Loflin, a North Bay market executive in San Rafael.

The wage increase aims to allow the bank to remain competitive in gaining and keeping talent — with the idea many will make a career out of staying with the bank, Loflin added.