Merrill Brokerage Head Sontag to Exit BofA

Days after Bank of America (BofA) announced the appointment of Sallie Krawcheck to run global wealth and investment management, Daniel Sontag said he will leave BofA, according to published reports.

Krawcheck, the former CEO of Citigroup’s Global Wealth Management, will be a member of the Executive Management Team and oversee the brokerage network currently run by Sontag (see “Krawcheck Replaces Moynihan to Head Wealth Management at BofA”).

Sontag took over the post in January when Robert McCann left, days after Merrill Lynch’s acquisition by BofA (see “McCann Exits Merrill after Bank of America Takeover”). He has been with Merrill Lynch for more than 30 years and was appointed head of the Americas Client Relationship Group in 2006.

Reuters reported that Sontag will stay on for a transition period.

Bank of America has struggled with departures since the acquisition of Merrill. BofA now has about 15,000 advisers after losing 2,300 advisers from the combined banks’ wealth management groups in the first quarter and 800 more in the second quarter, according to Reuters.

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