Bank of America names 4 outside directors

BOSTON -- The largest U.S. bank announced the appointments of Susan S. Bies, a former Federal Reserve System governor and former chief financial officer of First Tennessee National; William P. Boardman retired executive of Bank One and Visa International; D. Paul Jones, former chairman and CEO of Compass Bancshares; and Donald E. Powell, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and former president and CEO of First National Bank of Amarillo. All are in their 60s.

The board's election of the four expands the board's size to 20 from 18 — a move that comes three weeks after the Charlotte-based bank said it had approached executive search firms about finding new directors. Board Chairman Walter Massey said then that it was unclear how many directors could be affected or who might step down.

On Thursday, the bank disclosed the resignation of outside director Robert Tillman, former chairman and CEO of home improvement chain Lowe's. Tillman's resignation, effective May 29, was not a result of any disagreement with Bank of America or its management, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

Also on May 29, the bank announced the resignation of the lead outside director, O. Temple Sloan Jr. Sloan had been among the board members who have come under fire from shareholders over the handling of Bank of America's takeover of Merrill Lynch.

Criticism over the deal also led Bank of America's president and CEO, Kenneth Lewis, to have the board chairman title stripped from him in an April 29 shareholders vote.

Massey said on Friday that the new directors "bring a wealth of experience in financial services from a variety of perspectives. Their participation will make our board even stronger as we move our company toward achieving its true potential."

Lewis said, "I look forward to working with our new board members and taking advantage of their counsel."