Here's how people in the Bay Area are spreading the word about the entire
range of accessible banking services available.  it should be noted that
in the Bay area there are several financial institutions providing
talking ATM's and accessible formats.  In addition to the Bank of
America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Union Bank, and San Francisco city Credit
union all have talking ATM's within a few blocks of the San Francisco
lighthouse and also offer info in alternative formats.  It is unusual
though for a company to appear at an event like this with its competitors
present.

Kelly


Business Wire January 17, 2002

BANK OF AMERICA, LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND HOST ACCESSIBLE BANKING EXPO;
TALKING ATMS, OTHER SERVICES OFFER OPTIONS, EASE TO VISUALLY-IMPAIRED
COMMUNITY

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2002--Bank of America
(NYSE:BAC) and the Rose Resnick LightHouse for the Blind today joined
forces to host the Accessible Banking Expo, an interactive event that
highlighted banking features and services developed for people who are
blind or visually impaired.

"Bank of America is committed to innovative programs to serve our
customers with vision impairments," said Robert Menicucci, executive
vice president, Consumer Banking, Bank of America. "Our goal is to
provide banking experiences that are reliable, convenient and secure for
all customers."

Held at the LightHouse on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, the Expo
featured a range of banking services, including new developments in
"Talking ATMs" - machines that enable visually impaired customers to
conduct self-service transactions with state of the art voice guidance
technology. "Breakthroughs in technology allow us to continue to make
enormous strides in creating ATMs and banking services that are
universally accessible for our customers," said Menicucci. "The
LightHouse is excited to partner with Bank of America to highlight new
standards of accessibility in the banking industry," said Anita Aaron,
LightHouse Executive Director/CEO. "For the past one hundred years, our
mission at the LightHouse has been to promote independence and equality
for the blind and visually impaired. The ability to access and control
our money with the same convenience and confidentiality sighted people
take for granted is a true milestone. Today we honor the commitment Bank
of America has made to level the playing field."

Talking ATMs are secure and easy to use. Customers who are blind or
visually impaired plug a standard headset into an audio jack to receive
instructions and information. With the headset, information is audible
only to the customer. Recent advances have increased usability by
providing voice synthesis, spoken balances and verification of customer
input. These changes make it easier for customers with vision
impairments to withdraw cash, deposit money and perform other
self-service ATM transactions independently, at any time, day or night.

As part of its commitment to the visually impaired community, Bank of
America earlier this year announced its pledge to install more than
3,000 Talking ATMs by the end of 2002 and 7,000 by the end of 2005. In
May 2000, San Francisco became one of the first cities in which Bank of
America installed Talking ATMs. Today 135 Bank of America Talking ATMs
are available throughout the Bay area.

Also showcased at the Accessible Banking Expo were other Bank of America
products and services for customers who are visually impaired, including
Braille and large print statements, special tactile checks with raised
lines, and an accessible web page outlining Auxiliary Aids and Services
offered by the Bank.

The services presented at today's Expo are part of a broader initiative
at Bank of America to make banking work in ways it never has before. The
bank is also taking further steps to ensure that its Web site and online
banking services are W3C compliant, increasing usability and
accessibility for people with vision impairments and other disabilities.

About Bank of America:

One of the world's leading financial services companies, Bank of America
is committed to making banking work for customers like it never has
before. Through innovative technologies and the ingenuity of its people,
Bank of America provides individuals, small businesses and commercial,
corporate and institutional clients across the United States and around
the world new and better ways to manage their financial lives. The
company enables customers to do their banking and investing whenever,
wherever and however they choose through the nation's largest financial
services network, including approximately 4,400 domestic offices and
13,000 ATMs, as well as 38 international offices servicing clients in
190 countries, and an Internet Web site that provides online access for
more than 3 million customers, more than any other bank.

--30--ik/sf*

CONTACT: Bank of America

Brad Russell, 1.704.756.6321

<A HREF="
brad.russell@bankofameric'>mailto:[log in to unmask]"
mailto:[log in to unmask]> > brad.russell@bankofameric a.com

Harvey Radin, 415.622.6320

<A HREF="
harvey.radin@bankofameric'>mailto:[log in to unmask]"
mailto:[log in to unmask]> > harvey.radin@bankofameric a.com

or

Rose Resnick LightHouse for the Blind

Damian Pickering, 1.415.431.1481

<A HREF="
[log in to unmask]>mailto:[log in to unmask]"
mailto:[log in to unmask]> > [log in to unmask] g

Web site is www.bankofamerica.com < http://www.bankofamerica.com> .
News, speeches and other corporate information may be found at
www.bankofamerica.com/newsroom < http://www.bankofamerica.com/newsroom>

About the Rose Resnick LightHouse for the Blind:

Established in 1902, the Rose Resnick LightHouse celebrates its 100th
year of serving the blind and visually impaired. The LightHouse, a
private non-profit organization, is the largest provider of direct
services and advocacy for the blind and visually impaired in Northern
California. The mission of the LightHouse is to promote independence and
equality for the members of the community it serves. For more
information, call 415.431.1481 or visit the website at
www.lighthouse-sf.org < http://www.lighthouse-sf.org>


VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
 VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html