Bank of America Financial Chief Exits as Part of Shake-Up

Bank of America Corp. is shaking up its management team, replacing its chief financial officer, its wealth-management chief and naming a new official to oversee the firm's stress tests with the Federal Reserve.

The Charlotte bank's chief financial officer, Bruce Thompson, is leaving the bank, according to an internal memo expected to be sent to bank employees Wednesday evening.

Mr. Thompson had been considered a close ally of Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan, and analysts and investors sometimes tossed around his name as a potential candidate to take over the bank when Mr. Moynihan steps down.

In the memo, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Moynihan praised Mr. Thompson and said he had put the bank on "a strong, stable financial foundation" and noted the bank's second-quarter earnings report last week, which beat analysts' expectations.

"I am confident in saying that no finance executive in the world in the past decade has contended with greater challenges and discharged his responsibilities with as much skill and grit as Bruce Thompson," Mr. Moynihan wrote.

Paul Donofrio, a former Navy pilot and Bank of America veteran, will replace Mr. Thompson. The bank had moved him earlier this year from his longtime post in the corporate bank to the role of being CFO of the consumer bank and wealth management, a signal that many interpreted as him being groomed for the CFO job.

The bank is also telling employees in the memo that David Darnell, the head of wealth management, is retiring. He will be succeeded by Terry Laughlin, a longtime Moynihan ally who is currently overseeing the bank's effort to resubmit its stress test to the Fed.

Andrea Smith, the head of human resources, will be elevated to the newly created role of chief administrative oficer, and will eventually take over control of the stress-test submissions as well as the "living wills" that the bank must report to regulators.

Mr. Thompson spent the bulk of his career in Bank of America's investment bank, at times running leveraged finance and capital markets divisions. Mr. Moynihan hand-picked him for the role of chief risk officer and then CFO. Mr. Thompson cultivated a reputation as an intelligent banker and hard worker, but he also was a key lieutenant during stress tests with the Federal Reserve that ran into issues.

Stress tests have become important flash points for big banks since the financial crisis, with the Federal Reserve using them as an opportunity to review a bank's planning and resilience in a potential recession. Banks that don't pass the Fed stress generally can't proceed with their plans to increase dividends or share buybacks.

Bank of America earlier this year was chastised by the Federal Reserve for not anticipating problems with its "stress test" submission, a rebuke that led the firm to hire a bevy of consultants to help address the issue, the Wall Street reported in June.

The bank's shares have trailed peers this year, though last week BofA reported a revenue gain and earnings that beat analysts' expectations.

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