BANKING/FINANCE

Corporate executives always hope that the good will their companies foster will someday, somehow, translate into more money.

But Bank of America is looking for a more immediate response with its traveling Henri Matisse exhibit, which is at the Newport Harbor Art Museum until July 2.

While the general public is invited to see the exhibit for a fee of $3 per adult, those who carry the bank’s “gold” MasterCard get in for free. The idea is to nudge art patrons over to a nearby branch office to apply for a premium card.

Putting the bank’s exhibit in places like the Newport Harbor Art Museum “helps reinforce the upscale image” of the premium card, said J. Thomas Chapman, a bank spokesman.

The bank’s gold card “is positioned to support the life style of those customers who seek an extra level of responsiveness and personal service offered by a premium card,” he said.

“This is all part of a special marketing effort by the bank to differentiate its premium bank card in the marketplace and to support the life styles of cardholders whose interests include the arts and cultural activities,” he said.