By Lananh Nguyen, Ateev Bhandari and Saeed Azhar
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America appointed Dean Athanasia and Jim DeMare as co-presidents on Friday, in a sign that the second-largest U.S. lender is preparing potential successors for CEO Brian Moynihan.
Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick was named an executive vice president.
"In their new roles as co-presidents, Dean and Jim will work with me to drive broad-ranging, strategic efforts that are central to our long-term performance," Moynihan
said in a letter shared with the employees.
Still, Moynihan, 65, reinforced his commitment to lead the company through the end of the decade. The CEO is one of the industry's longest-serving leaders. He took the reins in 2010 after a tumultuous succession process, steering the bank's turnaround after the 2008 financial crisis.
"It's nice to want to continue as the CEO for five more years, but there's increasing pressure to improve performance and stock price," said Mike Mayo, banking analyst at Wells Fargo.
Areas in need of improvement include the corporate and investment bank, the private bank and Merrill Lynch, he said.
BofA shares are up 15% year-to-date, trailing a 28% rise in shares of bigger rival JPMorgan Chase. The S&P bank index has gained 20% so far this year.
Investors are also closely watching when JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon will retire after heading the biggest U.S. bank for more than 19 years.
THREE-WAY RACE
Mayo said that including Borthwick, it is now a three-way race to become the next BofA CEO.
Athanasia, 59, and DeMare, 56, will take overall responsibility for the company's business lines, and the individual business heads will report to them, Moynihan said in a letter.
"Dean and Jim will significantly increase the capacity, intensity, and expertise dedicated to our highest priorities, benefiting all."
Athanasia earlier oversaw four of the company's eight major lines of business, including retail banking, preferred banking, business banking and global commercial banking.
The consumer business remains BofA's biggest by revenue, accounting for a roughly 42% share in the second quarter.
DeMare's markets division is set to post its 14th consecutive quarterly revenue growth in the third quarter. Its second-quarter revenue rose 15%, helping to beat quarterly profit estimates.
(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru and Lananh Nguyen, Saeed Azhar and Tatiana Bautzer in New York; Editing by Alan Barona, Marguerita Choy and Richard Chang)
