Bank of America is raising its minimum hourly wage to $25 starting in October, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based banking giant announced Wednesday.

All full-time and part-time hourly positions in the U.S. will see changes to their pay, according to the bank.

The minimum starting salary will help employees to build a long-term career at Bank of America, said Sheri Bronstein, chief human resources officer. “Competitive compensation is one of the many ways we are helping to drive American economic growth and opportunity,” she said.

More than 19,000 people are employed by the bank in the Charlotte region, part of 213,000 workers across its company. As of June, it had $2.6 trillion in assets, and is the second-largest bank in the country.

Wage increases at Bank of America

Bank of America has been making annual pay increases to stay competitive in the workforce, which started with $15 an hour in 2018.

With the increase to $25, the final step in the bank’s long-term plan, the starting salary for full-time U.S. employees at the bank will have gone up $10 per hour by more than $20,000 since 2017.

The annual salary for full-time hourly Bank of America workers in the U.S. will now be more than $50,000.

More hiring at Bank of America

Also Wednesday, Bank of America announced three hiring plans focused on skills-based employees, long-term career options and economic opportunity expansion.

The bank will:

•Hire 10,000 employees with military backgrounds over the next five years. The company has hired more than 20,000 veterans and people with military backgrounds since 2015.

•Add 8,000 hires from community colleges over the next five years, doubling its goal.

•Create 700 financial center jobs in new markets. The jobs will support the opening of 26 financial centers over the next 18 months, and 37 financial center openings in 2027 in Alabama, Idaho, Louisiana and Wisconsin.

Other benefits for Bank of America employees

Bank of America awards 97% of its employees beyond regular pay, according to the bank, mostly in the form of restricted common stock.

Nearly $5.8 billion has been awarded since 2017 when the program started.

Other benefits include 16 weeks of paid parental leave, a four- to six-week paid employee sabbatical program, child and adult care programs, and professional development opportunities with The Academy at Bank of America.

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