Bank of America Business Center, Powered by Biztro, Brings Small Business Into 21st Century With Web-based Tools, Services.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

CHARLOTTE & SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2000

Biztro Operations Platform(TM) Streamlines Small-Business Operations;

Decreases Administrative Expenditures and Time Requirements

Like many top business executives, Mark Thompson fires up his PC in the morning and logs on to his company's intranet. With a few clicks of the mouse, he takes care of some virtual paperwork, checks the status of the latest project for his biggest client and assigns a few new tasks based on another client's changing needs.

But unlike most executives who have access to such powerful Web-based management tools, Thompson is not part of a multibillion-dollar corporation. He owns a small business, ABR Services Inc., a Lorton, Va.-based direct mail company with about 80 employees and $10 million in annual revenues. He just runs it like a big business using the new Bank of America Business Center, powered by Biztro(TM).

Bank of America, the nation's largest online bank, with more than 2.5 million online customers, and Biztro Inc., a leading provider of ASP infrastructure for online services for emerging businesses, recently launched the new Bank of America Business Center, an integrated, online destination site featuring a comprehensive suite of tools and services for the bank's 1.7 million small-business customers -- including Thompson and ABR Services.

"The Bank of America Business Center is a total business solution that will allow me to better manage all aspects of my business," said Thompson. "The easy-to-use online tools will help reduce the time spent on administrative tasks and free me up to do what I do best -- build my business. As my business grows, I'll be able to stay connected with my employees -- even if they're working from different locations."

The Bank of America Business Center (www.bankofamerica.com/businesscenter), featuring the Biztro Operations Platform, gives small-business owners and managers access to online resources that generally are available only to large corporations. The Business Center core offerings include:

-- Self-service tools that help employees manage tasks and projects; get
messages and reminders; complete and submit time sheets, expense reports,
invoices and other requests; and update personal profiles.

-- A customized intranet with company information, announcements, contacts,
organization charts, policies and procedures, and a centralized calendar of
events.

-- Human resources tools for adding new employees, updating personnel records,
and managing benefits and payroll information.

-- An online marketplace offering enhanced purchasing power for a variety of
products -- from pencils and postage to servers and software.

-- Financial products and services, including a wide range of checking, savings
and investment accounts, credit options and other specialized services designed
specifically for small businesses.

Additional functionality includes online sales and marketing tools and access to other resources such as legal, tax and business management advice, market research and online travel services.

"The new Bank of America Business Center will enable our small-business customers to save time and money, and to obtain the tools they need to grow their businesses," said Mark Argosh, Consumer/Small Business eCommerce executive for Bank of America. "Together with our partner, Biztro, we've been able to deliver this innovative new resource to our small-business clients quickly -- only four months after announcing our strategic alliance."

According to Argosh, speed to market is critical because of an increasing demand for such services as Internet adoption among small businesses continues to climb. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), six out of 10 small businesses already have at least some of their employees online, and that number is expected to grow to nearly three-quarters by 2003. IDC projects that the nation's 30.5 million small businesses will spend more than $107 billion annually online by 2002.

"Using the Bank of America Business Center and Biztro technology, small businesses will be able to achieve operating efficiency rivaling that of large corporations," said Navin Chaddha, chairman and chief executive officer of Biztro. "This partnership presents an extremely exciting opportunity for Bank of America and Biztro to offer cutting-edge, technology-based solutions to millions of small-business banking customers nationwide."

Bank of America announced its strategic alliance with Biztro Inc. last May and has been working closely with the company to integrate the robust Biztro Operations Platform into its existing Business Center. This week, the bank launched an aggressive advertising and direct marketing campaign to promote the new Bank of America Business Center in the Mid-Atlantic market. A national campaign to promote the service is slated for 2001.

The launch of the Bank of America Business Center is the latest in a long series of Internet and technology-centric initiatives undertaken by the nation's largest online bank. Bank of America has been offering PC-based banking to its customers since the early 1980s and became the first major bank in the United States to have a presence on the Internet in 1994.

The bank has made a number of enhancements to its online banking site since introducing the service four years ago, and is in the process of building a financial services engine to accelerate business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce. Recently, Bank of America rolled out its new wireless financial services and announced plans to introduce Web-enabled ATMs at more than 20 banking centers in Atlanta and Charlotte.

About Bank of America

Bank of America, with $680 billion in assets, provides online banking and investing services to more consumers, small businesses and corporations than any financial services company in the United States. Bank of America has 2.5 million online banking customers, and a small- business customer base of more than 1.7 million.

The company's Internet and eCommerce capabilities are part of an unparalleled nationwide delivery network that includes banking centers, ATMs and telephone call centers, creating a better, faster, easier banking and investing experience for all the bank's customers and clients. The company's stock (ticker: BAC) is listed on the New York, Pacific and London stock exchanges and certain shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Further information can be found at www.bankofamerica.com.

About Biztro Inc.

Biztro Inc., with headquarters in Santa Clara, was founded in March 1999 to address the fastest-growing segment of the B2B eCommerce and eServices marketplace: small business. Biztro is transforming the way small businesses run their operations by integrating leading service providers into its powerful Business Operations Platform, which dramatically increases small business buying power and improves back-office administration.

Biztro distributes its Business Operations Platform through a network of strategic partners. Biztro's supplier partners, key to Biztro's business model, include best-of-class companies in various industries that service the small-business market. Biztro is funded by leading organizations, including Bank of America, SOFTBANK Venture Capital and Marsh & McLennan Capital. For more information, visit http://www.biztro.com or contact Biztro public relations at [e-mail].

Information in this release may involve expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to Bank of America and Biztro Inc. as of the date of this release, and the companies assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. The statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results could differ materially from current expectations. Numerous factors could cause or contribute to such differences. Some of the factors and risks associated with Bank of America's businesses are discussed in the reports filed by Bank of America Corp. from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.