New BofA wealth chief to deepen bank ties

Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust advisers can expect an even closer relationship with Bank of America Corp. following the retirement of the head of the company’s Global Wealth and Investment Management division later this year.
Bank of America has tapped a long-time company veteran with close ties to the bank, Terry Laughlin, 61, to replace Mr. Darnell, 62, when he retires in the fourth quarter. Mr. Laughlin is currently president of strategic initiatives at Bank of America, a role in which he has focused on developing processes and systems that better integrate Bank of America’s various business lines.
“His responsibilities will be similar to what David was doing, and David was working very closely with the leaders of [Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust] to really keep that platform continually integrated with the rest of the company,” said a source at the firm who spoke on background. “That’s getting deeper and deeper and more and more routine.”
Three top wealth executives will report to Mr. Laughlin, including John Thiel, head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Andrew Sieg, head of global wealth and retirement solutions, and Keith Banks, president of U.S. Trust, Bank of America’s high-net-worth private banking and advisory channel.
Bank of America’s mass affluent wealth management offering, Merrill Edge, will still fall under the consumer banking division and be overseen by Dean Athanasia.
The firm’s mantra and strategy has been to deliver “one company” to its clients by encouraging brokers to refer wealthy clients to the bank for savings accounts, loans and other products, and vice versa. That’s not always been a popular practice, however, for some veteran Merrill Lynch advisers who have been reluctant to push banking products on their clients. A dust-up occurred, for example, when the firm placed the Bank of America flag on Merrill brokers’ business cards.
But it has worked to make Bank of America’s wealth division one of the most profitable on Wall Street, with 24% profit margins as of the second quarter of this year, a tick above Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s 23%.
For much of his time, Mr. Darnell had split his role between co-chief operating officer and head of the wealth unit. Mr. Laughlin will also continue to share some responsibilities and assist with the company’s annual Comprehensive Capital and Review and stress testing, but will eventually move into a role more solely focused on wealth management, according to the source.
Mr. Laughlin, who was a former colleague of Bank of America’s chief executive officer, Brian Moynihan, at Fleet Financial Group, has held a number of leadership positions around the company, including chief risk officer. He also was chairman and chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust, according to a statement from the firm.