BofA Drags Feet on CEO: Shareholder

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TheStreet) -- Bank of America (BAC Quote) has not yet contacted two former executives thought to be potential candidates for its soon-to-be-vacant CEO job, according to a high-profile shareholder.

Longtime investor Jonathan Finger, who has been pressing the bank to pick an outside candidate, told TheStreet.com that neither Al deMolina nor Jim Hance have been contacted by the board. Both men had served as CFOs at Bank of America, Hance from 1998 until 2004. DeMolina succeeded him until the end of 2007, when he left to become CEO of GMAC Financial.

"We have been able to confirm that the board has not yet contacted either of these two qualified candidates -- both who are strongly supported by many large shareholders of B of A," Finger says in an email.

The race for the top spot has heated up since current CEO Ken Lewis announced his resignation on Sept. 30. The board has extended its deadline a few times, and as of Thursday afternoon had still planned to announce a replacement by Thanksgiving.

Finger, whose Houston-based firm Finger Interests owns over 1 million shares of Bank of America, has been a vocal critic of Lewis due to controversy surrounding the Merrill Lynch deal. His firm helped lead the charge to oust Lewis from his role as chairman, and would like him to be replaced by an experienced outsider who can work well with regulators and manage a firm as large and diverse as BofA.

However, the board is also believed to be considering internal candidates Brian Moynihan and Greg Curl, who lead the consumer and small-business lending operations, and risk management, respectively. Finger has accused the board of putting up a farce by interviewing outsiders, but not seriously considering them.