Merrill Lynch dealmaker now CRO at Bank of America

Gregory Curl, the lead negotiator on Bank of America's troubled acquisition of Merrill Lynch, has been appointed chief risk officer at the Charlotte-based firm.

As of June 30, Curl will replace Amy Brinkley, who has been responsible for the firm's risk management since March 2002. He will be based in Charlotte and will report to chief executive Ken Lewis.

Curl has been at Bank of America since 1978, holding numerous positions, including vice-chairman of corporate development, and most recently global corporate planning and strategy executive.

He has been involved in the bank's biggest acquisitions in recent years, including the $21 billion purchase of LaSalle Bank and the $25 billion purchase of student lender Sallie Mae with JP Morgan, both in April 2007. He also played a significant role in Bank of America's $3 billion investment in China Construction Bank in June 2005, as well as the firm's $4 billion acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide in January 2008, and the purchase of Merrill Lynch on January 1 this year.

Brinkley will remain at the bank until her retirement later this year. Like Curl, she joined the firm in 1978, and has held various roles including principal marketing executive.

A joint statement issued on May 6 by the US Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency declared firms "will need to review their existing management and board in order to assure that the leadership of the firm has sufficient expertise and ability to manage the risks presented by the current economic environment and maintain balance-sheet capacity sufficient to continue prudent lending to meet the credit needs of the economy". An official at Bank of America declined to comment whether Brinkley's departure was a result of these more stringent regulatory demands.

Bank of America has also elected four new members to its board, one of whom has significant risk management experience. Susan Bies, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board, as well as a previous member of the Securities and Exchange Commission's advisory committee on improving financial reporting, is the former chief financial officer and executive vice-president of risk management at First Tennessee National.

The other new members are Donald Powell, former chairman of the FDIC; William Boardman, retired executive of Bank One and Visa International; and Paul Jones, former chairman and chief executive of Compass Bancshares.

See also: The risk breaker
Lewis ousted from BoA chair
Thain leaves BoA within a month of merger