We've long suggested that banks could burnish their brand--something they have been sorely in need of for years--by focusing more on small businesses. To its credit, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is making much of its plans in this area. It generated lots of media for announcing it will hire 1,000 bankers to specialize in developing relationships and products for small businesses, starting in Washington, Baltimore, Dallas and Los Angeles.

This may be the perfect time to plough forward with such initiatives. The economy is starting to ever so slowly recover, and the mom-and-pop credit risk may be starting to abate just a little. (You can't just lend willly-nilly.) Bank of America, however, says it will "blow away" its goal of boosting lending to small businesses by $5 billion this year, a pledge it made last year.

It's program is built on more than just loans. Bank of America is also bent on offering more accounting, cash management and retirement planning services. This is a great way to earn some media, and balance the negative news in other areas. We may see other banks follow suit.

For more:
- here's a Washington Post article

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