BofA named world's second-greenest bank

Bank of America Corp. has placed second on Bloomberg Markets magazine's ranking of the world's greenest banks.

Support for solar power earned the Charlotte lender the No. 2 spot this year, behind Madrid-based Banco Santander SA, Bloomberg said. The study of 48 big banks, published in the magazine's May issue, examines how much the companies invest and lend to clean energy efforts and their own steps to reduce environmental impact and energy consumption.

Bloomberg bases its results on data from public documents, company filings and websites.

Two landmark solar projects helped seal the deal for Bank of America, Bloomberg reported. The nation's second-largest bank stepped up to help finance a $1 billion effort to install solar panels on 160,000 U.S. military base homes after a government loan guarantee fell through.

The bank also provided a $1.4 billion loan to San Francisco's Prologis Inc. for solar systems on warehouse roofs, Bloomberg said.

Beyond those deals, Bank of America advanced its ongoing environmental business initiative last year, delivering nearly $3.7 billion in lending, investing and advisory services, it said in a news release today. The company also announced a new goal to cut global greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent by 2015 - a move that, combined with previous reductions, will slash those emissions by more than 30 percent from their 2004 levels.

"Our clients operate globally, and rewarding business opportunities are abundant in the new energy economy," chief executive Brian Moynihan said in the news release. "Because we have set ambitious business objectives and strong sustainability goals of our own, we can help deliver value to clients."

Bank of America was one of just three U.S. banks to crack Bloomberg Markets' top 20 greenest banks. New York-based Citigroup Inc. ranked fourth, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. placed 18th.