Breaking barriers in banking

BANK ON IT: Bank of America Senior Vice President Yahaira
BANK ON IT: Bank of America Senior Vice President Yahaira "Jay" Placencia has moved up the bank's corporate ladder quickly, earning three promotions thanks to a "crazy work ethic" and winning demeanor. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

The nominator for Yahaira “Jay” Placencia, a Providence Business News 2015 Woman to Watch, has known her for less than a year. But that was enough time for her to make a big impact.

“She has an overflowing personality,” U.S Trust, Bank of America Vice President Nicole Rainville said of Placencia. “People feel her warmth. There’s an excitement about her when she walks into a room. She makes people comfortable. She is always so happy and upbeat.”

These are among the reasons Placencia has become senior vice president and client adviser for Bank of America’s Private Wealth Management Division after a 14-year career with the bank.

“It is hard for a woman to achieve the position she has in the banking industry,” Rainville said. “Her two predecessors were male. She crushed the feeling that that mattered.”

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Placencia moved quickly and dramatically up the corporate ladder, earning three promotions. She worked full time in financial services while a full-time student, simultaneously earning her bachelor of business administration degree from University of Rhode Island. She distinguished herself as senior client manager in Bank of America’s business banking division, securing key commercial clients.

“She’s gotten where she is today also through a unique level of hard work,” Rainville said of Placencia. “It’s her demeanor, and it’s her crazy work ethic, always seeing things through to the end.”

That includes philanthropic and volunteer work with the Progreso Latino board, the Rhode Island Building Owners Association, the Providence Redevelopment Agency, the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce and the Center for Women & Enterprise Advisory Board.

Placencia credits business mentors and colleagues who believed in her and gave her the chance to succeed.

But she also draws motivation from her family, including her two children. “I want to be a role model,” Placencia said. “You do it for your community and the people that watch you every day. You want to be an inspirational person to lift people up.”•

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