Is BoA Mortgage Chief a Candidate for Bank CEO Job?

Barbara Desoer, president of Bank of America's residential mortgage division, increasingly is being talked about as a candidate for the bank's CEO slot, according to industry officials. However, Ms. Desoer declined to answer questions about the post. A spokesman for the bank's mortgage division in Calabasas, Calif., said she was asked the question by certain members of the media at last week's Mortgage Bankers Association convention in San Diego but repeatedly declined to discuss the issue. One source close to the unit described Ms. Desoer as a "dark horse" candidate. He noted that if she leaves the mortgage division it "would create a bit of musical chairs in the old CW [Countrywide] organization." BoA's current CEO, the embattled Ken Lewis, is scheduled to retire at yearend. Ms. Desoer has been managing the bank's mortgage and insurance division for more than a year. Bank of America ranks second in residential originations but first in servicing, according to the Quarterly Data Report.