Morning roundup: BofA Merrill Lynch has new leadership structure

Here's a look at what's news in banking and finance this morning:

• Bank of America's investment bank shook up its leadership Sunday night, naming Christian Meissner its sole head. Sources told the Wall Street Journal, which first had the news, that the move was a way for co-COO Tom Montag to simplify his part of the bank. Other co-COO David Darnell took similar actions in October.
• The New York Times takes a look at the exposure to troubled European countries at five large U.S. banks. Collectively, the banks hold $80 billion in exposure, but hedges reduce that to $50 billion, the newspaper's analysis shows.
• Banks are lobbying federal regulators in hopes of exempting much of their derivatives trading from the Volcker Rule, part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, that restricts proprietary trading, Bloomberg reports.
• Rising bank stocks could be an indicator of economic recovery, but some analysts are skeptical that it can continue, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bank of America's stock is up more than 30 percent this year after losing 58 percent of its value in 2011.