NEW YORK — Bank of America Corp. is realigning its business divisions to reflect a renewed focus simplifying the bank and to better sell various products aimed at the same customers.
The Charlotte bank, the nation's second-largest by assets, disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday that it is cutting the number of its divisions to five from six, folding its credit-card operations into its retail and small-business banking business to form one consumer-banking division. Many banks have put more emphasis on selling credit cards to their own bank customers who visit branches.
In addition, Bank of America said it will create one larger business-banking division, combining middle-market and large corporate lending. The latter was previously part of its capital-markets division, which will now contain trading and underwriting securities and investment banking.
Bank of America's Merrill Lynch wealth-management division and its mortgage-banking division aren't affected by the changes, which were made in the first quarter.
The consolidation cements changes that Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan made when he shook up his senior management team in September. At that time, he put David Darnell in charge of all consumer-banking and wealth-management operations, while Thomas Montag was put in charge of what is known as the wholesale business, which is business banking and capital markets. The two were promoted to co-chief operating officers. At the time, Moynihan said the change "is a significant step in the continued transformation of our company."
Bank of America put the management changes and new organizational structure in context of its broad cost-cutting program, called Project New BAC. The program included 30,000 job cuts and reduced expenses by $5 billion.
A new phase of the program, likely to cut around $3 billion, is in progress. "Removing a layer of operations management, aligning leaders with our customer groups, and simplifying the organization reflect the primary objectives" of the cost-cutting program that began in April 2011, the bank said in September.
Joe Price, previously president of consumer and small-business banking, and Sallie Krawcheck, previously president of wealth management, departed when the new management structure was disclosed; Barbara Desoer, president of the mortgages unit, left earlier this year.
The reorganization formalizes the new operating structure, but no more executives changes were disclosed.
