The Wall St. Journal is reporting that Bank of America Corp. (BAC) directors Frank Bramble and Charles Holliday are the leading contenders to become chairman this week, according to people familiar with the situation.
Mr. Bramble, 61 years old, is a former vice chairman of MBNA Corp., a credit-card issuer bought by Bank of America in 2006. Mr. Holliday, 62, was chairman and chief executive of chemical company DuPont Co.
Bramble and Holliday, already Bank of America directors, aren’t expected to push for changes in the strategy of new Chief Executive Brian Moynihan, said one person familiar with the matter. Since becoming CEO, Moynihan has pushed to improve the bank’s risk-management practices and relationship with customers, continues to look outside the U.S. for growth and has softened the tone taken by the company in Washington, D.C.
Following an overhaul ordered by the U.S. government, Bank of America’s board has more influence than it did during the reign of former CEO Kenneth D. Lewis, who retired at the end of 2009. Few of the directors on the board a year ago remain. Chairman Walter Massey isn’t up for re-election at this week’s meeting.
U.S. officials have been kept informed about the impending selection of a new chairman but haven’t asked for control over the process, said one person familiar with the situation. No consensus has yet emerged among Bank of America’s directors.
As chairman, Mr. Holliday could become an important force in Bank of America’s efforts to expand its reach outside the U.S. As CEO of DuPont for more than a decade, Mr. Holliday worked to reposition the company more broadly in agriculture, biotechnology and other science-heavy pursuits. Since joining the Bank of America board in 2009, he has been an informal adviser to Mr. Moynihan and helped lead the bank’s CEO search last year.
Mr. Bramble, a Bank of America director since 2006, was chief executive of MNC Financial Inc. when the Baltimore bank was acquired by NationsBank Corp., a Bank of America predecessor, in 1993. At MBNA, he survived a harrowing helicopter crash in New York’s East River, pulling colleagues from the copter as it sank.
Bank of America acquired MBNA in 2006 for $35 billion, and Mr. Bramble joined the full board. Last year, Mr. Bramble joined a board committee that dealt with a secret regulatory sanction requiring changes to the board and certain bank controls. He was also named chair of the board’s risk committee.
A decision is expected Wednesday following the Charlotte, N.C., bank’s shareholder meeting, these people said, cautioning that another candidate still could emerge.
Bank of America is the largest U.S. bank in assets.
