Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan says he’s ready to meet with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to discuss the city’s future as competing states try to court concerned business owners away from the Big Apple.
“Now that a mayor is in office, whether it’s this city or any other city, we have an obligation as a company to work with him to try to make the city successful,” Moynihan said Tuesday on Fox News.
“I’ve got 16,000 teammates who work just in the neighborhood here, and we’ve got to make it successful.”
The key to that, he said, is how Mamdani approaches “governing all the people in the whole city, and [how] he has to carry the budget and the tax base.”
Moynihan argued that the company’s success is partly tied to the success of elected officials like Mamdani and the cities, towns and states they represent.
He told “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade he plans to request a meeting with the mayor-elect, calling the issue “important” to thousands of Bank of America employees and their families who rely on New York City being “great.”
“As I look forward, I hope that the mayor will engage with us, and we’ll give him some ideas,” he added.
Mamdani’s win has inspired some right-wing voices to entice residents and businesses to flee the Big Apple to come their way.
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, for one, worked to recruit those eyeing a greener pasture by advertising with a large van covered in rotating digital posters, one of which read, “NYC business owners: Mamdani got you down? Come on up to New Hampshire for no Communism, less red tape, and less taxes.”
A Times Square billboard – reportedly funded by a super PAC supporting Vivek Ramaswamy’s Ohio gubernatorial campaign – invited New Yorkers to flee “radical socialist” Mamdani for the “freedom” promised in the Buckeye State.
Moynihan’s comments come after he announced a major initiative to hire 10,000 veterans over the next five years, a pledge he outlined during his appearance.
“We believe our company is a great company for veterans, and we believe we owe it to make sure we’re bringing those veterans into our company. Even if they come to work for us for five years and get a job somewhere else, we’ve given them a great start and helped them make that transition,” he said.
