Bank of America (BAC) has elevated three of CEO Brian Moynihan’s lieutenants, clarifying who at the company has the best shot at running the nation’s second-largest lender once Moynihan steps down.
The moves came late Friday, when the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank named Dean Athanasia and Jim DeMare as co-presidents and promoted chief financial officer Alastair Borthwick to senior vice president.
Athanasia leads the company’s retail and commercial banking units and DeMare is in charge of its global markets business.
“This creates a horse race among three highly respected executives to become the next CEO,” Mike Mayo, a banking analyst for Wells Fargo, told Yahoo Finance.
“If there is to be a changing of the guard at Bank of America within the next few years, I think it’s one of these three people,” Mayo added.
Moynihan reiterated in the Friday announcement that he would like to stay until the end of the decade, saying “with the support of our Board, I look forward to working with all of you” as the company continues with a strategy Moynihan has dubbed “responsible growth” through “its second decade.”
The 65-year-old Moynihan first became CEO in 2010 as the lender struggled to recover from the 2008 financial crisis, making him the longest serving chief of a big US bank after JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon.
Moynihan praised the three executives who received expanded roles in a Friday note to staff, saying “over the last 15 years, Dean and Jim have each served as leaders, strategists, and stewards of growth” and “Alastair has expertly served as our CFO for the last four years.”
Bank of America’s stock has climbed 279% over Moynihan’s tenure, underperforming rivals JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) while outperforming Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C).
The 59-year old Athanasia and the 56-year DeMare both run groups crucial for the giant lender’s overall profitability.
Anthanasia runs the company’s largest and most valuable business, its sprawling US consumer and commercial banking franchise, the same position Moynihan held before rising to CEO.
DeMare has led Bank of America’s global markets division through more than three years of steady growth after it had lagged rivals.
Within that division, the sales and trading group is expected to post its 14th consecutive quarter of rising revenue this quarter in October, CFO Borthwick said while speaking last week at a Barclays conference.
The 57-year old Borthwick in his time as CFO has helped eliminate the drag of the bank’s sizable securities portfolio, steadily replacing lower-yielding securities each quarter.
