[US] PNC latest bank to raise base wage to $18 an hour

[US] PNC latest bank to raise base wage to $18 an hour
31 Aug 2021

PNC Bank is the latest large US financial services company to increase its wages in a move to retain and attract employees. PNC will raise its minimum wage to $18 an hour while also giving higher-paid workers a bump in pay, ABC News reports.

On August 30 the bank announced that the wage increase will apply to both PNC employees as well as those working for BBVA USA, which PNC acquired last year. Base-level PNC employees will see their wages increase from $15 an hour to $18, a 20 per cent pay rise. The increase is more substantial at BBVA, which had an $11 minimum wage before PNC bought the bank.

About 20,000 PNC and BBVA employees will see their base pay rise to $18 an hour, the bank said.

“We want the best we can find, and we can afford to do so," Bill Demchak, chairman and CEO of PNC Financial Services Group Inc., said in an interview. "We need to show that we can provide both a career path as well as compensation that makes it us a lifetime opportunity.”

In addition to the higher base pay, PNC and BBVA employees making more than minimum wage will also receive a bump up in pay, in what Mr Demchak described as an “accordion effect” across its branches.

Pittsburgh-based PNC is now one of America's largest banks after acquiring BBVA, giving it a nationwide footprint and making it able to compete more effectively with the large money-centre banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.

When the acquisition is completed, PNC will have about 60,000 employees nationwide.

Bank of America announced in May that it would increase its minimum wage to $25 by 2025, and announced last year it would pay all employees $20 an hour. Other banks like JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are paying up to $20 an hour, depending on the geography of where the employee is based.

Mr Demchak said the wage increase was necessary to compete with other banks but was also a moral decision. Along with the fact that many bank branch employees had to work physically at their locations throughout the pandemic, the economic impact of the pandemic made many of their jobs more complex and more important than ever, he said.

“There was a lot of discussion in the past couple years about what entails a living wage, and it resonated with me. I thought ‘how can I offer a person a lifetime career if I cannot offer them a living wage?’," he said.


Source: ABC News

PNC Bank is the latest large US financial services company to increase its wages in a move to retain and attract employees. PNC will raise its minimum wage to $18 an hour while also giving higher-paid workers a bump in pay, ABC News reports.

On August 30 the bank announced that the wage increase will apply to both PNC employees as well as those working for BBVA USA, which PNC acquired last year. Base-level PNC employees will see their wages increase from $15 an hour to $18, a 20 per cent pay rise. The increase is more substantial at BBVA, which had an $11 minimum wage before PNC bought the bank.

About 20,000 PNC and BBVA employees will see their base pay rise to $18 an hour, the bank said.

“We want the best we can find, and we can afford to do so," Bill Demchak, chairman and CEO of PNC Financial Services Group Inc., said in an interview. "We need to show that we can provide both a career path as well as compensation that makes it us a lifetime opportunity.”

In addition to the higher base pay, PNC and BBVA employees making more than minimum wage will also receive a bump up in pay, in what Mr Demchak described as an “accordion effect” across its branches.

Pittsburgh-based PNC is now one of America's largest banks after acquiring BBVA, giving it a nationwide footprint and making it able to compete more effectively with the large money-centre banks like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.

When the acquisition is completed, PNC will have about 60,000 employees nationwide.

Bank of America announced in May that it would increase its minimum wage to $25 by 2025, and announced last year it would pay all employees $20 an hour. Other banks like JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are paying up to $20 an hour, depending on the geography of where the employee is based.

Mr Demchak said the wage increase was necessary to compete with other banks but was also a moral decision. Along with the fact that many bank branch employees had to work physically at their locations throughout the pandemic, the economic impact of the pandemic made many of their jobs more complex and more important than ever, he said.

“There was a lot of discussion in the past couple years about what entails a living wage, and it resonated with me. I thought ‘how can I offer a person a lifetime career if I cannot offer them a living wage?’," he said.


Source: ABC News