Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to Expand Corporate Banking Operations in Japan

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) will be adding 30 new employees to its corporate-banking services unit in Japan before the end of the year, according to a new WSJ report.

The hiring is part of an ongoing push by Bank of America to expand its corporate-banking services in Japan, where it believes there’s an opportunity to help Japanese countries expand, especially overseas.

The new hires at the company will include salesman for its corporate banking services, sales support and credit specialist, bringing its total headcount to about 100.

The Charlotte, NC-based bank is hoping to leverage the relationships created by its Merrill Lynch subsidiary with Japanese businesses. Bank of America has about 200 people in Japan and  Merrill Lynch has about 1,200.

Japanese companies are seeking to expand their influence outside of the highly-competitive and sluggish domestic growth and hope to tap into higher-growth economies, especially in other parts of Asia.

A Bank of America spokeswoman confirmed the plan to WSJ to expand corporate-banking business in Japan, saying “We are patient and intend to build our presence carefully and in a balanced way.”