In an effort to stabilize its executive team after experiencing a slump caused by the recession, Bank of America Corp.’s (BAC) new CEO Brian Moynihan announced a management shake-up on Tuesday, less than two weeks after succeeding former CEO Kenneth Lewis. BofA last made senior management changes in Aug 2009, when the previous CEO Kenneth Lewis announced his intention to retire on Dec 31.
The new arrangement will see BofA’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Joe Price become President of Consumer, Small Business and Card Banking, which includes the deposit, small business and card operations.
The company intends to appoint an outside candidate to replace Price. Starting Feb 1, Neil Cotty, the Chief Accounting Officer, will become interim CFO until a replacement is found. Cathy Bessant will become BofA’s Global Technology and Operations Executive, moving from her current role as President of Global Product Solutions.
Greg Curl, the current Chief Risk Officer and once a candidate to succeed retiring Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis, was moved out of his role. It is speculated that he might eventually leave BofA. Curl will now focus on key strategic partnerships critical to BofA’s global capabilities.
Curl will be replaced by Bruce Thompson, who had been a Managing Director of Global Capital Markets, working under Tom Montag, who will retain his role of President of that division.
Several other BofA executives who retained their current positions and will report to Moynihan include Chief Administrative Officer Steele Alphin, Sallie Krawcheck, President of Global Wealth and Investment Management; Barbara Desoer, President of Home Loans and Insurance; David Darnell, President of Global Commercial Banking; General Counsel Ed O’Keefe; Anne Finucane, Global Strategy and Marketing Officer and Tom Montag, President of Global Banking and Markets.
On the same day, for the second time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued BofA accusing it of failing to disclose enormous financial losses at Merrill Lynch before shareholders approved the merger.
Since the end of 2009, BofA is absolutely free from pay restrictions as it has repaid in full the $45 billion government bailout money. We anticipate continued synergies from the company’s large scale operation and balance sheet restructuring. We are also optimistic about the effectiveness of the new management team.
On Tuesday, the shares of BofA were down by about 3.4%, closing at $16.36 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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