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AgendaFebruary 2 2005

Alvaro de Molina

Cuban immigrant Al de Molina has done an impressive job as treasurer of Bank of America (BofA). “In a difficult interest rate environment, he adroitly managed the ups and downs, with the treasury business ending up being an important contributor to the bottom line,” says Joe Morford, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
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Yet nothing could have prepared analysts and investors for Mr de Molina’s appointment in April as president of BofA’s global corporate and investment bank: everyone (including he himself) had thought he was more in line for a CFO role.

But he was one of CEO Ken Lewis’s trusted right-hand men, making him the right man for the right job at the right time. Speculation has it Mr Lewis also wanted to try him out running a business unit, a key experience if Mr de Molina is to make it to the top spot at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank.

Since then, Mr de Molina has been making waves at the scandal-tainted division, which had suffered from weak management and sometimes appeared rather rudderless. Analysts describe him as capable of combining discipline and a good hard look at the economics of the business with a fresh approach.

It’s now up to him to prove that BofA – whose consumer business still dwarfs anything else – is taking investment banking seriously. So far the signs have been positive: for example, the announcement in October that the bank would invest more than $600m to build out its investment banking platform. Acquisition of a major securities firm such as Merrill Lynch – which would put BofA in the Citigroup/JPMorgan Chase league and Mr de Molina at centre-stage – can’t be ruled out.

Risks: While there is consensus that Mr de Molina has done well so far, it is still early days. And while he is viewed as having a broad skill-set, a treasury background may not be ideal for the ‘vision thing’ he requires to really make his mark in the investment banking world.

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Read more about:  Agenda , Banking strategies , Americas , US