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Chad Gifford, who is a key part of the hunt for Bank of America Corp.'s new CEO, kept his cards close when lawmakers asked him about the search on Tuesday.
“We are trying – and it's very difficult with the visibility of Bank of America – to keep this selection process confidential,” Gifford told members of a House committee that is examining the bank's purchase of Merrill Lynch. “…It's very difficult for us when presumed candidates appear in the press. It makes it difficult for their current jobs.”
Gifford was testifying alongside Brian Moynihan, who runs Bank of America's giant consumer banking unit. Moynihan is reportedly a front-runner to replace CEO Ken Lewis, who unexpectedly resigned Sept. 30. Though Moynihan, 50, has a broad range of banking experience and is well-liked by some board members, critics have said that the board needs to pick an outsider for the job to signal a fresh start.
On Tuesday, committee member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., asked Gifford if he was considering Moynihan for the CEO job.
“That's what I read in the newspapers,” Gifford replied.
“What do you mean?” Cummings asked him.
“We have tried very hard, Congressman Cummings, not to be talking publicly about individuals,” Gifford said.
Cummings replied that he was trying to figure out whether Moynihan is “the guy we've got to face when we are trying to deal with Bank of America when we've got $45 billion invested in the company.”
“I'm just trying to figure out, is this the face that we're going to be facing?” Cummings said, then asked Gifford if Moynihan is a top candidate.
“He is a very talented executive at Bank of America,” Gifford replied.
Bank of America's board has been criticized for not having a successor in place as soon as Lewis stepped down. It's not clear when the board will name a new CEO. The bank says it could be by Thanksgiving. Lewis' last day is Dec. 31.
“The longer this goes on, the worse it looks for the bank,” said Anthony Sabino, a partner at Sabino & Sabino in New York. That's because the lapse can imply that the board members are feuding, or that they can't get any qualified candidates to take the job. “Now, this is officially dragging on.”
One candidate whose name has generated speculation lately is University of North Carolina president Erskine Bowles. But in an e-mailed statement Bowles said: “These are all just rumors.”
Bowles has an intriguing resume: He founded and sold a Charlotte investment bank and served as President Bill Clinton's chief of staff, and he currently sits on Morgan Stanley's board of directors. Bowles, however, doesn't have experience running a giant corporation or a retail bank. When Bowles assumed his post in January 2006, he signaled plans to stay at least five years, and he has recently said the system has issues he still wants to address.
The CEO search has special significance to Charlotte, the bank's headquarters city. Lewis, who was born and raised in the South, said throughout his tenure that the bank headquarters would stay in Charlotte even as the bank expanded on Wall Street.
At the Charlotte Chamber's annual meeting on Monday night, board member Chad Holliday hinted that the headquarters are here to stay. “I look forward to many trips here year after year,” he told audience members. When they applauded, he said, “Good catch.”
Holliday is the retired CEO of Delaware-based DuPont, and he joined the bank's board in September as part of a government-influenced shakeup. He was in town to introduce his friend, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers, who was being honored with the 2009 Carolinas Citizen of the Year Award.
Observer staff writer Rick Rothacker contributed.
