B of A Stock Soars on Rumors of Key Executive Change

BankAmerica common stock shot up $1.375 a share in New York Stock Exchange trading Thursday on rumors of an impending management shake-up. The price rise, to $15.25, represented almost a 10% increase and came on volume of nearly 1.7 million shares, more than three times its average daily sales.

A BankAmerica spokesman denied the rumors, saying that “no changes in senior management are being contemplated.”

But the spokesman, John Keane, confirmed that Sanford I. Weill, who resigned as president of American Express last summer after losing a long power struggle, approached the bank last month and offered to help it raise capital in exchange for being named chief executive.

“The bank was not interested in his ideas and has had no further communication in the matter,” Keane said. Weill could not be reached for comment.

Weill discussed his plan with Samuel H. Armacost, BankAmerica’s president and chief executive, and several members of the board, sources said. He was firmly rebuffed, and some sources suggested that the offer may have strengthened board support for Armacost, whose future has been called into question by the huge losses at the San Francisco-based firm, parent of Bank of America.