Bank of America has named two co-presidents and enhanced the title of its finance chief, Alastair Borthwick, lining up three potential successors to CEO Brian Moynihan, according to an announcement Friday.
Dean Athanasia and Jim DeMare – the bank’s regional banking and global markets chiefs, respectively – have been named co-presidents, and Borthwick has been named executive vice president.
“These leadership appointments will drive our efforts to build and deliver Bank of America’s capabilities across the globe,” Moynihan said in a prepared statement.
Athanasia and DeMare will work with the CEO to drive “broad-ranging, strategic efforts that are central to our long-term performance,” Moynihan said in a letter to staff. This includes initiatives focused on increasing market share and returns and the expansion of artificial intelligence tools for clients, along with global growth plans.
The two will assume overall responsibility for Bank of America’s business lines, Moynihan said, and individual business heads will report directly to them.
Borthwick will continue as a strategic adviser to Moynihan and both BofA’s management team and board, and will assume additional responsibilities over time, including its global real estate portfolio.
“Over the last 15 years, Dean and Jim have each served as leaders, strategists, and stewards of growth,” Moynihan said. “They have designed and driven out full transformations of the businesses under their direct leadership to focus on our clients and their needs; align resources, capabilities, and intensity; compete and gain market share; and deliver long-term, industry-leading results.”
Of Borthwick, Moynihan noted, “his financial stewardship and broad leadership have been instrumental to our progress.”
BofA has bolstered every major aspect of its balance sheet since Borthwick became CFO, Moynihan said. In the second quarter, the bank returned $7.3 billion to shareholders, the CEO noted.
The announcement may spur speculation that Moynihan’s tenure is winding down. However, the longtime CEO indicated he plans to stay with the bank through the end of the decade.
Moynihan took the top role at BofA in 2010, guiding the company in the years following the financial crisis. His turnaround of the bank included selling off non-core assets – including 23 businesses in his first six quarters at the helm – and honing the integration of Merrill Lynch’s investment banking and wealth management businesses into BofA’s existing retail and commercial network.
Piper Sandler analysts said their “best guess is that any official succession announcement could still be years away,” according to a Sunday note.
Though the analysts indicate a slight edge to DeMare and Athanasia on title alone, they said “aside from Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Borthwick has been BAC’s most visible ‘public face’ for the last few years and is therefore quite well known to the investment community.”
“Thus, with their broad experience (which will only expand over the next few years), any of the three could prove a capable successor to Mr. Moynihan,” the analysts wrote.
