Bank of America (BofA) has promoted Dean Athanasia and Jim DeMare to serve as co-presidents. It is a gesture that highlights its succession planning over the long term and dedication to innovation in the Industry. The move follows as the $3 trillion financial behemoth confronts increasing competition. This competition comes from both established banks and upstart fintech companies. Also, more turbulent global economic conditions.
The announcement on Wednesday follows CEO Brian Moynihan’s vision of creating a stronger and more agile team of executives. They made this to drive Bank of America into its future growth phase. Athanasia and DeMare will report directly to Moynihan. And the organization has tasked both of them with leading separate segments of the bank’s huge operations.
“Dean and Jim are highly accomplished leaders who have demonstrated their ability to lead growth as we go through a shifting financial services landscape,” Moynihan stated. “Their leadership will set us up for enduring success as we continue to serve clients and shareholders around the world.”
Athanasia to Lead Consumer and Wealth Segments
Dean Athanasia, a 28-year veteran of Bank of America, will manage the Consumer, Small Business, and Wealth Management franchises. This division encompasses Merrill Wealth Management and Private Bank. These are two key components of the effort of Bank of America. They are there to capture high-net-worth clients and expand its advisory franchise.
Athanasia was instrumental in transforming the bank’s consumer business digitally. He is spearheading efforts such as the mobile banking app of Bank of America. This received several awards, along with AI-driven features such as Erica, its virtual assistant. These investments in digital channels have paid off. This was through Q2 2025, Bank of America had 45.8 million active digital customers, with 74% of transactions. Now taking place through digital means.
“Dean has been at the forefront of thinking about how we engage with customers.“ It is said by Karen Hughes, a PwC Senior Manager. “His track record suggests that we can expect even greater integration of customization offerings. Also, financial planning via AI, and even embedded finance solutions, are expected in the near future.”
Since fintech innovators like Chime, Robinhood, and Cash App extend deeper into consumer banking, the focus of Athanasia will be on customer retention and experience, areas that incumbent banks must excel in order to maintain market share.
DeMare to Drive Growth in Global Banking and Markets
Jim DeMare will oversee Banks’s Global Banking and Global Markets franchises, including investment banking, corporate lending, and trading. With over 25 years of experience at the bank, people most commonly regard DeMare as a capital markets and risk management specialist.
Under DeMare’s leadership, Bank of America Global Markets achieved a record 2024 revenue. This is particularly in fixed income, currency, and commodities (FICC). Through his approach, which integrates innovative trading technology with risk management rigor, Bank of America becomes a Wall Street giant to beat in the guise of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Moynihan affirmed, “Jim’s conceptualizing in markets over time, and his manufacturing of ideas, have been two of the major drivers of our success.” “His leadership will allow us to be competitive and therefore be able to better serve the institutional and corporate clients as we go beyond borders,” he added.
Why This Move Matters: Succession Planning and Strategic Balance
Appointment of co-presidents is an unprecedented organizational move for U.S. megabanks and is closely watched by investors and analysts. Since Moynihan is in his fifteenth year as CEO, interest in his final successor has heightened. With the promotion of both Athanasia and DeMare, Bank of America is showing a two-pronged succession plan, under which each of the leaders can demonstrate their potential for the top position.
Financial experts see it as a strategic balancing act:
- Athanasia’s consumer-first focus positions the bank to lead in areas like digital banking and wealth management.
- DeMare’s institutional expertise strengthens the bank’s foothold in global markets and investment banking.
“Having two leaders with complementary strengths is a smart way to hedge against uncertainty,” said Sarah Whitman, a senior banking analyst at Morningstar. “It mirrors what we’ve seen at other global financial institutions where leadership transitions are carefully staged.”
Bank of America Financial Performance: A Mixed Track Record
This leadership transition is at a period of moderate growth and ongoing challenges for Bank of America. The bank recorded $26.9 billion in revenue in Q2 2025, a 3% increase over the previous year.
$7.5 billion in net profits, which demonstrates good credit quality and careful cost control.
Deposits of $1.1 trillion are supported by strong small business banking performance.
But Bank of America also faces headwinds through volatile interest rates, international political tensions, and rising competition from fintech players offering cheap technology-based solutions.
Bank of America stock has climbed 4% year to date, lagging behind its peers like JPMorgan Chase, whose trading income has been stronger.
Industry Context: A Time of Transformation
The decision to relocate at this particular time follows the general trend of changes in executive management within the financial services industry. A few days ago, Citigroup made public its plan for a top-down change that would facilitate the leadership organization, while Wells Fargo has been implementing an energetic strategy aimed at the use of AI in fraud prevention and digital onboarding, although it is going through a customer trust crisis.
The installation of two co-presidents at Bank of America is the right move to ensure a firm’s position in the competitive market, which is being impacted by rapid technological changes, regulation, and evolving customer expectations.
“Banking is less about balance sheets and branch footprints these days,” noted Kevin Richards, Accenture financial services strategy consultant. “It’s about integrating data, AI, and one-to-one interaction to create value at scale. These hires suggest Bank of America is painfully aware of that reality.”
Strategic Challenges
While the leadership realignment is a plus, both Athanasia and DeMare face challenging work:
- Digital Disruption: The challenge of fintech competitors who speed through innovation and sometimes operate without regulatory constraints.
- Global Volatility: The ability to navigate turbulent markets amid rising geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties.
- Regulatory Pressures: The need to cope with increasing compliance requirements, more specifically on cybersecurity, privacy, and ESG reporting.
- Customer Expectations: Providing seamless, personalized digital services that do not fall short in security or trust.
The degree to which the new co-presidents effectively deal with these matters will be the factor that decides whether Bank of America can still be ranked among the top global financial institutions.
Looking Ahead – FinTech Insights View
Athanasia’s emphasis on client interaction and asset management is likely to lead to the deployment of technology-based advisory solutions, real-time payment infrastructure, and cross-platform digital experiences. DeMare will concentrate on broadening Bank of America’s global trading footprint and implementing futuristic analytics for the management of risk-adjusted returns. The combination of these plans puts Bank of America on track to compete not only with incumbent Wall Street competitors but also with agile, technology-driven companies reshaping financial services.
The promotion of Dean Athanasia and Jim DeMare to joint co-presidents; it is a milestone for the Bank of America. It is a public statement that the bank is aligning itself to go beyond the next level of growth, merging customer-centric innovation with global market leadership.
The appointments have a positive effect on all the stakeholders in the bank’s ecosystem. This includes retail customers, institutional investors, etc., as they provide safety and a future plan. As the financial services environment changes, the leadership at Bank of America has the task of showing that such a dual system is feasible in a challenging and complex market.