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The hunt for a new Bank of America Corp. chief executive could be completed by Thanksgiving, a bank spokesman said Monday, as the company's search for Ken Lewis' replacement enters its seventh week.
The Charlotte bank's 15-member board continues to consider insiders Greg Curl and Brian Moynihan, as well as least two outside candidates, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bank of New York Mellon Corp. CEO Bob Kelly remains in consideration, the paper said, although he has repeatedly expressed his lack of interest.
Curl, the bank's 61-year-old chief risk officer, and Moynihan, its 50-year-old consumer bank head, have been considered the top internal candidates since early in the search. Moynihan, who joined the bank in its 2004 FleetBoston Financial Corp. acquisition, is considered a favorite of the board's former Fleet directors, while Curl has the backing of a Charlotte contingent inside the bank.
Under fire for his Jan. 1 Merrill Lynch & Co. acquisition, Lewis surprised his board Sept. 30 by saying he was stepping down at year's end. Although directors may not heed his suggestions on a successor, the Journal story said that Lewis presented three options to the board on Oct. 5:
Name Curl as CEO to give the board time to assess three younger executives: Moynihan, investment banking head Tom Montag and home loans head Barbara Desoer. Although little known inside and outside the bank, Curl has been a key strategy executive since he arrived through the 1997 purchase of St. Louis-based Boatmen's Bancshares. Curl was a key player in negotiating the Merrill deal, potentially hurting his chances.
Name Moynihan to the position immediately. He has run a number of businesses for Lewis, but also has ties to the Merrill acquisition. He is set to testify to Congress on Nov. 17 about his role in the Merrill deal. Moynihan also isn't known for strong communication skills at a time the bank might want a personality that can rally employees.
Name an outside candidate, although Lewis told the board that could hurt stability inside the bank and drive off top executives. Besides Kelly, high-profile candidates that have resisted the bank's advances are Bob Diamond, president of British bank Barclays Plc, and Larry Fink, CEO of asset manager BlackRock Inc.
Bank analyst John McDonald of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., said Monday that investors have largely favored an outside candidate but some now simply want "certainty" about the CEO position. The bank's shares are down nearly 7 percent since Lewis announced he was leaving. The stock price did climb nearly 5 percent Monday, to $15.77, on a strong day for the markets.
While the bank has been rejected by some high-profile CEOs, McDonald said that shouldn't necessarily be seen as a condemnation of the bank because these executives have premier jobs already.
The bank's search is simply highlighting the dearth of chief operating officers and business unit heads that are either up to the task or willing to do the job, he said.
