Company Bank of America

DEAL TERMINATED IN 1998 DUE TO LAYOFFS

See second deal (February 2004)

Date Announced 4/22/1993 (deal closed 9/4/94)
Project Site World Trade Center - Tower One
Competing Sites Pheonix, AZ; N.J.; C.A.
Type of transaction/ Company type Commercial Retention / Financial
Maximum City Subsidy At least $18 million

City Amount Tied to Job Retention

 Benefits tied to retention of 1,700 workers and maintenance of lease at WTC

City Amount Tied to Job Growth

 ?
Type(s) of City benefits Sales Tax Abatement - Up to $12 million

"WTC Lease Rental Credits" - Up to $6 million

As part of the package, the Port Authority of NY & NJ, which owned the WTC, granted BankAmerica two years of free rent and the city agreed to purchase equipment and machinery to be used by the corporation.

Benefits from New York State ?
Total Benefits Allowed ?
Benefits Distributed to Date (according to Local Law 69 Report FY 2002) 0
 
Promised Job Retention 1,700
Projected job growth ?
Total Promised Jobs 1,700
Jobs Reported in LL69 Report FY 2002 346
Layoffs At least 800 people were laid off in 1997 as a result of eliminating its trust operations following a merger with Security Pacific National Bank. The layoffs put the Bank of America below its required job threshold and led to the termination of the deal in 1998.
Length of Contract 15 years
 
Project Purpose This deal follows an aggressive nine month campaign by the Port Authority ( which owns the World Trade Center), the city and the state.  The campaign intensified after the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Mayor David N. Dinkins and Governor Mario M. Cuomo described the BankAmerica deal as a "major expression of confidence in the troubled complex." "BankAmerica is sending an important message that the World Trade Center is back," Governor Cuomo said. (Thomas J. Lueck, The New York Times, 4/23/93)  With BankAmerica occupying eight floors of Tower One, the complex became 92 percent occupied, as opposed to 88 percent occupied prior to the bombing.
Clawbacks No clawback payments were required or made even though the deal was terminated due to excessive layoffs. The project agreement only required that future benefits be forfeited if employees were "only" fired, as opposed to transferred out of the city.
Background/Since then . . . The Bank of America still had to report its job numbers to the IDA even after the deal was terminated, and pay a small administrative fee to the city. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the employees in Tower One were relocated to other Bank of America offices.  
Corporate Notes Bank of America is the second largest bank holding company in the U.S., behind Citicorp.
A note on sources -- Information in this deal comes from GJNY's examination of project agreements obtained through Freedom of Information Law requests, as well as news reports, minutes and notes taken at board meetings, and communication with our allies. The entries are a work in progress. For more information about the documentation behind GJNY's database, or to let us know about any developments that are not yet reflected here, please contact us at gjny@ctj.org or (212) 414-9394.
Date last updated: 07/03 /03