Thursday, August 21, 2014

BofA may relocate HQ in 5 years, analyst speculates

Bank of America may move its headquarters to the Boston region in the next five years, speculates an analyst who covers the bank.

Dick Bove, an analyst at Rafferty Capital Markets, said the bank’s promotion of New York-based Thomas Montag to sole chief operating is the latest evidence that a power shift is happening away from executives based in Charlotte, The Wall Street Journal reports.

A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment and CEO Brian Moynihan has said in the past that he doesn't plan to move the bank's headquarters.

This week, Moynihan announced that Charlotte-based co-chief operating officer David Darnell is becoming vice chairman and relocating to Tampa, Fla., under a new organizational structure.

Darnell, who worked for Bank of America predecessors NCNB and NationsBank, is one of the bank’s most senior Charlotte-based executives. He will continue to report to Moynihan and lead global wealth and investment management and business banking.

Montag joined the bank in its 2009 Merrill Lynch acquisition.

Bove said the bank’s top executives are now coming from FleetBoston Financial, which Bank of America acquired in 2004.

Moynihan, who came from Boston-based Fleet, still maintains a home there.

“First in past periods, Bank of America’s leadership team was solidly based in Charlotte," Bove said. "No matter how many acquisitions the company made nor how many changes in its name, this bank was run by a solid core of North Carolina National Bank executives – the so-called North Carolina mafia."

On Thursday, Bank of America said it will pay $16.65 billion in a settlement with the U.S. government and various states over soured mortgage bonds.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well...I dunno.

First of all, the loss of the Bank of America hq has been regularly predicted for at least a decade, if not longer. There could be some very good reasons to leave things as they are now, with the bank nominally hq in Charlotte.

But if it does move, then why not just go to New York where the bank has a splendid building on Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan and the heir apparent already lives?

Better still, bring back Glass Steagall and break up all banking behemoths.

Let Wall Street play Russian roulette and let banks be banks.

PS: If the bank does eventually move its hq, you can thank the so-called North Carolina mafia.

Gary Deeb said...

Nice regurgitation, Deon. You really dug hard for the facts... and I'm sure the Observer will cough up a nice $10 Food Lion gift card in your next pay envelope.

Seriously, you're no better than the human microphone-stands that pass for reporters on local TV. Question No. 1: Do you have a phone? And Question No. 2: Do you ever use it?

Do yourself a favor, kid. Get rid of all the mirrors in your house.

Gary Deeb said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I'm sure that this analyst is blowing smoke. No one is moving North anymore. The trend is to move South.

Unknown said...

The fact that this rumor won't die is no surprise, considering that just about every human being in New York and Massechusetts considers themselves higher life forms than the (in their minds) ignorant, in-breeding, knuckle-dragging rednecks that live south of the Mason-Dixon line and east of the Mississippi River. Every few months we read some article where some New Yorker wonders aloud why B of A is still located in such a backward cow town. And all of our tourist and Chamber leaders have massive heart failure because there's still somebody out there that doesn't think we're "world class."

Whatever. If you want to be involved in the finance industry, you still need to be in New York, San Franciso or Charlotte. I'll take our much-lower cost of living here any day.

Anonymous said...

This was a waste of time to post online, and in return this was a waste of my time to read it. Please stop printing hear-say crap.

Anonymous said...

Gary Dweeb? Is that a fake name?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.