Bank of America is calling recent reports that it is cutting orclosing the credit lines for all of its small business clients“speculation.”

The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank said it has put in a maturitydate and annual renewal process in lines of credit, which areconsidered standard practices.

“These changes were explained in letters to affected customersat least one year in advance of the new maturity date,” saidJefferson George, a BofA spokesperson. “This allowed time for us to work with allaffected clients to explore other products available to best meettheir business needs.”

George told Credit Union Times the bank has been ableto work with 98% of the clients in the affected group “and at thispoint the overwhelming majority of those solutions involve the sameinterest rate as before.”

The number of customers who have not renewed their lines ofcredit or agreed to another credit solution was about 0.1% ofBofA's nearly 1.5 million total small business creditcustomers, George said.

“The reality is that nearly all of the customers who were sentthese notifications remain with Bank of America, and the number ofcustomers with whom we're still working to find a solution is verysmall,” George said. “…contrary to any speculation, we are notcutting or closing credit lines for our small business clientsacross the board.”

Some small business owners complained the alternatives BofA has offered have not been helpful.