Bank of America shakes up leadership, Moynihan stays on

• Key Insight: These are the first major leadership changes at the bank since 2021.
• What’s at Stake: Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan signaled he isn’t ready to step down yet.
• Forward Look: The new appointments could be a sign of who’s on the shortlist to be the next top leader at the bank.

Bank of America is revamping its top leadership, but longtime CEO Brian Moynihan signaled he plans to stay at the helm for at least another five years.

The Charlotte-based megabank said Friday afternoon that it had promoted Dean Athanasia, president of regional banking, and Jim DeMare, president of global markets, to serve as co-presidents of the company, a role that Moynihan had previously held on his own.

Alastair Borthwick, who has been chief financial officer at Bank of America for the last four years, will also take on the title of executive vice president, the company said Friday.

But Moynihan, 65, also tempered the news when it came to succession planning at the $2.4 trillion-asset company. The CEO, who’s been in his seat since 2010, said in a letter to the company on Friday that he planned to stick around through the end of the decade.

He added that the executive changes will help the bank “grow and win in the market” and said that his responsibilities as chair and CEO won’t change.

“With this move, we will further build and deliver our capabilities across the globe,” Moynihan wrote. “In their new appointments, Dean and Jim will significantly increase the capacity, intensity, and expertise dedicated to our highest priorities, benefiting all.”

As co-presidents, Athanasia, 59, and DeMare, 56, will assist Moynihan on long-term strategy, including cost management, local and global market share growth and AI development across the company, Moynihan wrote.

The promotions streamline certain workflows, as the heads of the bank’s eight lines of business will report directly to Athanasia and DeMare, who will help “accelerate growth plans, shape strategic investments for our clients, develop the talent needed in the years and generations to come, and position our company with all our stakeholder groups,” the letter said.

Borthwick, 57, will continue to serve on the board of directors and as an advisor to Moynihan, but will assume additional responsibilities over time. Borthwick most recently took on oversight of the bank’s global real estate portfolio.

The CFO has been at Bank of America for two decades. Previously, he served as president of global commercial banking at the bank, and as managing director and co-head of global capital markets.

The promotions mark Bank of America’s first significant leadership changes since 2021, when it announced a similar shakeup to its leadership team, including naming Borthwick CFO.

At the time, the company also tapped Holly O’Neill as president of retail banking. In April, O’Neill was promoted to also lead the bank’s consumer and preferred lines of business.

Also in 2021, Bank of America named Wendy Stewart as president of global commercial banking, Tom Scrivener as chief operations executive, Steve Boland as chief administrative officer and Aditya Bhasin as chief technology and information officer. Boland and Bhasin both departed earlier this year.

Succession planning at the megabanks is a consistently hot topic, though there has been no major turnovers atop the biggest U.S. banks for several years. Like Moynihan, JPMorganChase’s longtime leader Jamie Dimon — who has served as CEO since 2005 — has left experts guessing about how much longer he’ll stay on, and who will take over when he eventually leaves.