Banking analysts said the leaders of Bank of Boston's international operations have been struggling for power since Constantin Boden, executive vice president of international banking, retired in January.
Mr. Boden was in charge of international private banking operations and the overall banking business in Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean. His duties have been split among several executives.
"It sounds like it's going to be a power play," said bank analyst Linda Stromberg of M.R. Beal & Co.
The bank has not decided if it's going to replace Mr. Boden, who at 58 had been a 33-year employee of the bank. In an interview last week, Mr. Boden pointed out that many banks do not have a single chief of international operations.
Among the candidates to replace Mr. Boden are Mark MacLennan, 41, group executive of multinational banking, who has taken over international private banking and the Central American and Caribbean operations. Another candidate is David Kruger, 52, the group executive in charge of Asia. A third possibility is Henrique de C. Meirelles, 49, who heads Brazil. And, there is also Manuel R. Sacerdote, 52, group executive in charge of southern South America.
Meanwhile, managing director of domestic corporate finance, John Giannuzzi, left Bank of Boston last week to take a job at Stamford, Conn.- based General Electric Capital Corp.
Separately, Bank of Boston said it will buy up to $50 million of a controversial $1 billion Argentine government bond issue.
The three-year floating-rate note issue is being syndicated by Citicorp and Deutsche Bank AG. Argentina is seeking to persuade a reported 35 banks from around the world to subscribe to the issue, which has been priced at some 300 points over the London interbank offered rate, or well below what the country would normally have to pay to borrow a similar amount.
The Argentine government hopes to use the money to meet its short-term funding needs.
Bank of Boston has an extensive presence in Argentina and other Latin countries and has just opened a subsidiary in Bogota, Colombia. The new unit will focus on trade finance, correspondent banking, and corporate banking.
The Boston-based bank has more than $8 billion in assets in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, out of total assets of $44.6 billion.
