Bank of America Corp. said on Wednesday it had raised its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $21, as it works to keep its promise of increasing the pay to $25 an hour by 2025. Bank of America in May disclosed plans to raise its minimum wages for its U.S. employees, joining a clutch of firms that have pledged to pay employees more after a year of pandemic risks and government subsidies fueled conversations on whether companies pay their workers enough. The $25 figure is higher than at competitors, and the second-largest U.S. bank has also asked its vendors to set a minimum wage of $15 an hour. In the last four years, Bank of America raised the minimum hourly wage to $20 from $15. Companies have sometimes been prodded to boost wages by employee complaints that spill into the public sphere. But there are also political pressures and a competitive …