Head of BofA Unit First to Exit Amid Merger

The head of BankAmerica Corp.’s consumer banking unit has become the first high-profile casualty of the merger with NationsBank Corp. H. Eugene Lockhart, president of BankAmerica’s Global Retail Bank, announced Friday that he would be leaving. “Lots of tough decisions have to be made in a merger of equals and this was one of them,” said BankAmerica Chief Executive David Coulter. “Both BankAmerica and NationsBank have outstanding executives in charge of retail banking.” Lockhart’s severance package is worth close to $23 million, including restricted stock grants that can be cashed in for more than $17 million. San Francisco-based BankAmerica and Charlotte, N.C.-based NationsBank announced their merger deal, which is valued at more than $60 billion, last week. The new company, which is expected to keep the BankAmerica name but have its headquarters in Charlotte, will have about 180,000 employees and offices in 22 states.