No 'I' in B of A
Sallie Krawcheck seems to have bought into the corporate culture at Bank of America Corp.
In an interview Wednesday, Krawcheck, who recently completed her first year at B of A as president of global wealth and investment management, fondly recalled her first conversation with Brian Moynihan in a chat about the Charlotte company's core values. Moynihan, who was running consumer operations, would become the CEO five months later.
"Brian said two things," she said. "First, among senior managers, teamwork is paramount as a means of providing the best we can for our clients.
"Secondly, he emphasized focusing on leveraging the strength of this enterprise because it is our competitive advantage."
For her part, Krawcheck said she has tried to meet both standards, building a team of current executives and new hires and working to expand relatively untapped product areas such as retirement planning.
"We view this business as a team sport," she said.
Retail Vet to Retire
Longtime retail banking executive Connie Beck is retiring from Comerica Inc., a departure that will change lines of authority in the executive suite and result in at least one new hire.
Beck, 64, will reach Comerica's standard retirement age in early 2011, a little over six years after joining the company from SouthTrust Corp. of Birmingham, Ala. Before that she spent 25 years at Bank of America.
She told American Banker by e-mail that it was an "exciting time" at the company and that the executive team it had built would "further the success of the retail bank and wealth management."
She plans to leave in the first quarter. Taking over her responsibilities as retail chief will be Curt Farmer, who will also retain his position as head of wealth management. The consolidation was done to better align planning for Comerica's consumer businesses, the company said.
"We see the retail bank, the wealth management group as being in lockstep with each other," Farmer said in an interview.
One change still to come is the hiring of a national retail director who will report to Farmer. Taylor & Co. is conducting the search.
The transition may result in other operational changes.
"As we get closer to the end of the year, we'd probably have more strategic plans to share," he said.
Clients' New Normal
Attention small-business bankers: some of the behavior changes you have seen in your customers may be permanent.
In a new survey sponsored by Citigroup Inc., nearly two-thirds of small-business owners said the way they run things has been forever altered by the economic downturn. Some 42% cite debt reduction as a change they'll be making for good, while 40% cite an emphasis on increasing cash reserves.
"They're deleveraging," said Raj Seshadri, head of small-business banking at Citi. "We see their deposit levels going up in their accounts. They report that they are conserving cash, waiting to invest, waiting to expand."
Though none of that bodes well for lending, it could be a boon for cash management services. And if you want to show small-business owners what you can do for them, it should be easier than ever to track them down at work.
According to the Citi poll, a national random sample of 521 small businesses surveyed by telephone from July 19 to Aug. 18 by Abt SRBI, 61% of small-business owners plan to put in longer hours in the wake of the downturn.
It Goes On and On
The speculation over whether Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren will be nominated as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau refuses to die.
Several media outlets reported Thursday that Harvard students were notified that when classes resume next week, Warren will not be teaching her contract-law class.
"Professor Warren regrets that she will not be able to teach you this fall and we regret the last-minute change," said an e-mail from the school obtained by The Washington Post.
The disclosure fueled rumors that Warren would be nominated for the CFPB post soon, although White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said no such announcement was expected this week.
A spokesman for Warren declined to comment.
It's unclear if Warren's decision is related to the CFPB pick, but she could be positioning herself to be free if the Obama administration does choose her.
