Richard Rosenberg, who ran Bank of America during the 1990s, has died. He was 92.
Rosenberg died on Friday, March 3, according to a statement from the lender. He was chief executive officer and chairman of the bank, then known as BankAmerica Corp., from 1990 until his retirement in 1996.
Rosenberg was recruited in 1987 to run the bank's California operations and was credited with helping turn around the firm after it lost $1.8 billion that year. By the time Rosenberg retired, the financial institution had doubled in size to $225 billion in assets, according to the firm. Under Rosenberg, the bank made numerous acquisitions including Continental Illinois, Valley Bank in Nevada and Security Pacific National Bank.
Two years after Rosenberg's retirement from BankAmerica, the company was acquired by NationsBank in Charlotte, North Carolina. The combined company took the name Bank of America.
Prior to his career in banking, Rosenberg served in the U.S. Navy and undertook active roles in the Korean War and Vietnam before ultimately reaching the rank of commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Following his naval duty, Rosenberg joined Crocker-Anglo Bank and then Wells Fargo as a payroll services man. He stayed at Wells Fargo for 22 years, becoming vice chairman.
He also earned a law degree and an Master of Business Administration at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. The banker was appointed a trustee of that university several years later.
Rosenberg was active in business and philanthropy in retirement, and he served on various corporate boards including Bank of America.
In the philanthropic arena, he served as trustee of CalTech and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. He was president of the San Francisco Jewish Home and at that institution, along with his wife Barbara, funded the Barbara and Richard Rosenberg Family Center. In addition, he served for many years on the boards of the San Francisco Symphony and the United Way of the Bay Area. He also served on the board of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center and chairman of the UCSF Foundation, where he directed the $900 million capital campaign to build UCSF's new hospital in Mission Bay.
For his various contributions to business and philanthropy, Rosenberg was elected to the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Rosenberg is survived by his wife, Barbara, whom he married in 1956, and two sons, Michael and Peter.
