Bank of America increases minimum wage to $23

Bank of America, one of the largest corporate employers in Delaware, announced that it is raising its minimum wage to $23 an hour. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS

WILMINGTON – Bank of America, the second largest bank in America and a major employer in Delaware, announced last week that it is increasing its hourly minimum wage to $23.

The hike, effective in October, is just a waypoint on the bank’s path toward a planned $25 minimum wage by 2025. That goal – which will make Bank of America one of the corporate leaders in base wages – would represent a 121% increase from its $11 an hour minimum wage in 2010.

The bank has increased its minimum wage for workers by at least $1 an hour each year since 2019, and this year’s increase marks a minimum annualized salary for full-time employees of nearly $48,000.

“Providing a competitive minimum rate of pay is foundational to being a great place to work,” Sheri Bronstein, chief human resources officer at Bank of America, said in a statement announcing the hike. “By investing in a variety of benefits to attract and develop talented teammates, we are investing in the long-term success of our employees, customers and communities. Our commitment to $25 by 2025 is how we share success with you and lead the way for other companies.”

The new minimum for Delaware’s sixth largest employer per Delaware Business Times records is almost twice the state’s minimum hourly wage ($11.75) and more than three times the federal minimum ($7.25), which has remained unmoved in decades.

Bank of America is just the latest employer to boost its bottom wage, due in no small part to rising inflation that has squeezed home budgets and a labor market that has seen a shortage of millions of workers amid a flood of post-COVID retirements.

Other major Delaware employers have increased their minimum wages in recent years, including rival bank JPMorgan Chase, where starting wages range between $20 and $25 depending on the market. Last year, British banking giant Barclays, which has its U.S. headquarters in Wilmington, moved its minimum wage from $17 an hour to at least $20.50.

Amazon also increased its minimum wage to $15, leapfrogging the state’s goal to get there by 2025, but also keeping pace with distribution rivals like Target and Costco that were making similar moves nationwide.