Troubled megabank Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) may have the desire to hire from outside to replace outgoing CEO Ken Lewis, but evidently no one wants the job.
The latest to refuse the gig is Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE:BNY) CEO Robert Kelly, according to The Wall Street Journal, which also reported that Bank of America has talked a number of times with the BNY chief.
Although BNY is not a retail bank (any more), Kelly has experience managing a massive commercial bank thanks to his days in Charlotte, N.C., at BofA's old cross-town rival Wachovia, where he was the chief financial officer for five years. Despite his experience in Charlotte, he "has shown no interest in the job," the WSJ reports, citing a person familiar with his thinking.
Kelly is not the first outsider to make the news. Some candidates mentioned in an earlier WSJ article include:
- Ajay Banga, who left Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) to become president and
chief operating officer at MasterCard Inc. (NYSE:MA). He apparently turned down the job.
- James Hance Jr., a former Bank of America vice chairman and finance
chief who retired in 2005.
-
Former Bank of America chief financial officer Al de Molina, now the
CEO of GMAC. However, the WSJ reports he was eliminated from the
candidates.
- BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK). CEO Laurence D. Fink was
also mentioned as a candidate, but the Journal reports he wasn't
contacted by the bank and has no interest in leaving BlackRock.
The chief take-away from these stories is that Bank of America is seriously considering outside candidates, but outside candidates are not taking Bank of America seriously. - Matthew Wurtzel
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