Bank of America HQ possibly moving to Manhattan?

[Andy Nguyen]

Bank of America CEO retires, out by year's end | BUSINESS News

It also restokes speculation about the bank's Charlotte headquarters potentially moving to New York.

After Lewis' retirement the ties of management and the board to Charlotte will be their weakest since its inception. The bank has no current director from North Carolina, and the majority of the current executive team are located outside Charlotte.

Investment banking for BAC is already based in NY. Retail banking is based in Boston. The CEO and executives are based in NC, however due to the new search to replace Ken Lewis as CEO, there was speculation that the company would be willing to relocate this position to NY. This would open up the spectrum of possible outside candidates as more would be willing to move to manhattan than north carolina. Now that BAC has agreed to repay it's TARP funds and come out from underneath the goverment's pay restrictions, I believe the bank will have an easier road to filling Ken Lewis' shoes.

It would be great for NY, and is another expample of how well positioned our city is for the new economy. That is, one centered around ideas, not manufacturing. Nowhere are ideas produced and traveled faster than in New York City. Will this happen? We'll see. Charlotte has already lost most of it's muscle. Wachovia has gone to WF in SF and BAC has a very small percentage of their 200K plus staff working in Charlotte.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

A more elaborate article from Crains NY
Is Bank of America in a NY state of mind? - Crain's New York Business

The biggest road-block, she said, typically is helping companies recoup their relocation costs. But that shouldn't be an issue for BofA, which earlier this year opened a fancy new 2.1-million-square-foot building overlooking Bryant Park.

In addition, BofA's investment banking and Merrill Lynch wealth management divisions are largely based here and together account for half of the firm's revenue. And of course, former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain famously left behind an office in the World Financial Center that cost $1.2 million to renovate and should be suitable for even the most discriminating CEO.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

The search for the next BoA CEO is finally over.

Finally, there is white smoke at Bank of America: Brian T. Moynihan will be the next chief executive.

After a two-and-a-half-month search that seemed to stretch across the nation’s banking industry, Bank of America late Wednesday named Mr. Moynihan, the head of its consumer banking business, to succeed its beleaguered leader, Kenneth D. Lewis.

The announcement brings to an end one of the industry’s most closely watched and contested successions in recent memory. In recent weeks, Bank of America reached out to a number of executives at other big banks, only to have them rebuff its advances.

Bank of America Names Brian Moynihan as Next Chief Executive - NYTimes.com