CHARLOTTE, N.C. - First Union Corp. on Wednesday named W.J. Nimmo chief risk officer to succeed Malcolm T. Murray, who is to retire in December as chief credit officer.
Mr. Nimmo took the renamed post effective immediately and has joined the company's operating committee, reporting to chief executive officer G. Kennedy Thompson. Mr. Nimmo is responsible for overseeing credit, market, and operational risk management strategies.
In a statement, Mr. Thompson said Mr. Nimmo would help $258 billion-asset First Union "build our platform for growth balanced by sound risk management practices."
Mr. Nimmo joined First Union in April. Before that he was chief risk officer at Westpac Banking Corp., a $81.4 billion-asset company in Sydney, Australia. Before that he spent 25 years at Citibank in New York and overseas.
First Union is undergoing a massive restructuring that includes the shuttering of its Sacramento, Calif., consumer finance unit, Money Store, and the sale of more than $400 million worth of troubled loans.
First Union said Mr. Murray will advise Mr. Nimmo. Mr. Murray has been credit officer since 1978, and his departure had been planned for nearly two years, the company said.
