Deals and People October 27, 2003

BoA's DeMartini to Step Down After Fleet Merger

October 27, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Richard DeMartini, head of Bank of America (BoA)'s asset management unit who got caught up in the ongoing mutual fund trading scandal, will step down from his post early next year.
Reported by

Dow Jones reported that DeMartini would retire after the completion of the $47-billion merger with Fleet Boston Financial Corp., which BoA also announced Monday. The deal is expected to close during the first half of 2004.

Speculation has run high that DeMartini’s time at BoA might be limited after the company’s high-profile mention in New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s complaint against hedge fund Canary Capital Partners for its part in fund share market-timing and late-trading arrangements (See Spitzer Fund Abuse Probe Pumps Out More Subpoenas ).

According to Dow Jones, DeMartini’s name appeared on some internal e-mails, related to the firm’s business with Canary, involving the improper exceptions made on behalf of Canary that allowed the hedge fund to conduct improper market-timing trades in a number of Nations funds.

Brian Moynihan was named as president of wealth management for the new combined asset management entity. He has been Fleet’s executive vice president in charge of brokerage and wealth management.

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