Bank of America CFO Bruce Thompson is out.
On Wednesday evening, the firm announced that Thompson will leave the firm. Thompson has served as CFO of the bank for 5 and a half years.
Thompson will be replaced by Paul Donofrio, currently the bank’s strategic finance executive, effective August 1. Thompson will stay with Bank of America through the end of this year.
The Wall Street Journal, which first broke the news that Thompson would leave, reported that this news comes as a surprise.
As WSJ notes, in March Bank of America was given a conditional pass on its stress test from the Federal Reserve. The Fed said at the time that Bank of America would need to “address certain weaknesses in its capital planning processes” and present an improved plan by September.
If Bank of America fails to meet Fed standards in September, the Fed said it could move to curb the bank’s capital distribution plan. Bank of America was permitted, however, to begin a $4 billion share repurchase program.
According to WSJ, which cites a person familiar with the matter, the once-close relationship between Thompson and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, “deteriorated in recent months.”
And as WSJ reported back in June, Bank of America was criticized by the Fed for not being ready for its stress test, leading to the bank hiring consultants address the problem.
In addition to Thompson’s departure, the firm also announced that vice chairman David Darnell will retire by the fourth quarter of this year, and that global human resources executive Andrea Smith will take a newly-created role a chief administrative offer.
Last week, Bank of America reported second quarter earnings that beat expectations, citing strong core loan growth and higher mortgage originations. Legal fees for the bank were also way down in the quarter, totaling $175 million against $4 billion for the prior year period.