BANK of America, which has lost almost half its market value this year, has announced a reorganization that includes the departure of two senior executives.

The bank said Joe Price, head of consumer banking, and Sallie Krawcheck, head of global wealth and investment management, have left. Price is a former chief financial officer and Krawcheck is a former CFO of Citigroup, leader of its Smith Barney brokerage unit and frequently labeled the highest-ranking woman in the financial services industry.

Chief Executive Brian Moynihan named commercial banking head David Darnell and investment banking head Tom Montag, a former Goldman Sachs executive, to new positions as co-chief operating officers.

Investors did not seem convinced the reorganization indicates Moynihan now has a steady hand on the controls of a bank battling a barrage of litigation and loan losses.

The stock inched up to US$7.03 in after-hours trading after closing at US$6.99 in New York on Tuesday.

David Dietze, chief investment strategist at Point View Financial Services, which owns shares in the bank, said: "It seems apparent Moynihan is under pressure to make some bold moves. Obviously there is disagreement among people at the top."

The shake-up comes less than two weeks after billionaire investor Warren Buffett invested US$5 billion in the bank's preferred stock and after the company announced it would shed 3,000 jobs.

The moves temporarily arrested a share-price decline as investors fear the bank remains on the hook for billions of dollars of mortgage-related losses.

Source:shanghaidaily