Bank of America's lowest-paid employees are getting their first raises promised by CEO Brian Moynihan last month.
The bank said Wednesday in a release that it hiked its minimum wage to $17 an hour starting May 1, and that move is reflected in workers' paychecks this week. The hourly rate will continue to increase until it hits $20 an hour over the next two years, the bank added.
"We have raised our minimum wage because we believe that to best serve our customers and clients, we need the best teams," Sheri Bronstein, Bank of America's chief human resources officer, said in the release.
Moynihan made headlines last month when he declared that he was moving Bank of America to a $20 minimum hourly wage, which appears to be the highest among the biggest U.S. banks. In early 2018, rival bank J.P. Morgan Chase said it was raising hourly minimum wages for employees in branches and customer service centers to as high as $18.
The move is the latest sign that wage inflation is finally making its way to some of America's lowest-paid workers. According to a 2013 report from the Committee for Better Banks, about one-third of bank tellers were on some form of public assistance, from Medicaid to food stamps. Since that report, lenders like Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America have repeatedly hiked pay for their entry-level workers.
Bank of America is the second-biggest U.S. lender by assets, after J.P. Morgan, and employs 205,000 people.
WATCH: BofA CEO Brian Moynihan's opening remarks to House Financial Services Committee
