AMALGAMATED BANK OF NEW YORK
(LOGO)         LONGVIEW COLLECTIVE INVESTMENT FUND

                                        March 16, 2001

Dear Fellow Shareholder:

     RE: Shareholder Resolution at Bank of America, Item # 5

     You will shortly be receiving proxy materials from Bank
of America in connection with the Company's April 25, 2001 annual
meeting.  The Amalgamated Bank of New York LongView Collective
Investment Fund (the "LongView Fund") is sponsoring a shareholder
resolution on the issue of executive compensation.  I urge you to
vote YES on the resolution, which is agenda item 5 on the
Company's proxy materials.

     The LongView Fund is an equity index fund created by the
Amalgamated Bank (the "Bank") that seeks to enhance the long-term
value of the companies in its portfolios by pursuing strategies
that include the filing of shareholder resolutions on corporate
governance practices.  The Fund owns over 500,000 shares of Bank
of America common stock.

     The shareholder resolution urges Bank of America's Board of
Directors to adopt a policy that would make future stock option
grants "performance-based," which the resolution defines as
(1) indexed options, whose exercise price is linked to an
industry index; (2) premium-priced stock options, whose exercise
price is above the market price on the grant date; or (3)
performance-vesting options, which vest when the market price of
the stock exceeds a specific target.

     This resolution is a response to what the LongView Fund
views as the Board's failure to utilize a compensation policy
that property correlates compensation to company performance.  As
a shareholder, the LongView Fund supports compensation policies
for senior executives that provide challenging performance
objectives and motivate executives to achieve long-term value.
The Fund does not believe, however, that current compensation
practices have struck the right balance.

     The disproportionate executive compensation practices at
Bank of America were underscored at the September 2000 meeting of
the Council of Institutional Investors, where Bank of America was
highlighted as one of five corporations engaging in excessive
compensation relative to performance.  CEO and Chairman of the
Board Hugh McColl was named a "Pay Anti-Hero" in compensation
consultant Graef Crystal's annual report to the Council.  "His
total pay of $80 million positioned him 239 percent above the
norm for the CEOs running the 500 largest companies, as judged by
their market caps as of May 31, 2000, and after taking into
account differences in company size, company performance and type
of industry."  (Graef Crystal, "Executive Pay Anti-Heroes and
Heroes for 1999," September 2000, p. 3).

     Meanwhile, stock performance has not kept pace.  Bank of
America has underperformed the S&P Banks Composite since 1996 and
has underperformed the S&P since 1998.  In 1999, shareholder
returns were negative, but CEO McColl received a 50% increase in
base salary, an option on 1.4 million shares worth $31.2 million
and free shares worth $44.7 million.  (Crystal, ibid.)  A
commentary in last month's Business Week urged Mr. McColl to
return a portion of those shares, given the poor performance of
the bank's loan portfolio, its falling market share and missed
earnings.  (Heather Timmons, "Commentary: To Give Back Is Divine,
Hugh," February 19, 2001, p. 87).

     As CEO McColl prepares to retire, there is no clear
assurance that current compensation practices will be revised.
Mr. McColl's heir apparent, Kenneth Lewis, has already accepted
what some regard as disproportionately large compensation
packages in his position of COO and President.  In the April 17,
2000 Business Week "Executive Compensation Scorecard," Mr. Lewis
joined Mr. McColl in ranking within the lowest 20% of bank
executives in terms of corporate profits per pay and the lowest
performing 10% in terms of shareholder returns per pay.

     The LongView Fund is therefore proposing a performance-based
requirement for all future stock option grants to Bank of America
executives, in an effort to tie compensation more closely to
company performance than do standard stock options.  Premium-
priced and performance-vesting options encourage senior
executives to set and meet ambitious but realistic performance
targets.  Indexed options may have the added benefit of
discouraging repricing in the event of an industry downturn.

     I ask you to join the LongView Fund in voting your shares in
favor of the resolution recommending a performance-based
compensation policy.  If you have any questions, please contact
Ron Luraschi at 212-620-8621.

                                        Sincerely,


                                        /s/ Gabe Caprio
                                        Gabe Caprio

     Please note that the cost of this solicitation is being
borne entirely by the Amalgamated Bank, which is communicating to
shareholders through both written and telephonic communication.
Neither the Bank nor the LongView Fund has any knowledge of or
control over solicitation efforts by others.  Please do not send
the Bank or the LongView Fund your proxy card.