B of A Promotions

BankAmerica has appointed four senior executives to new posts to strengthen the San Francisco-based banking giant’s commercial lending in the United States and abroad.

R. Thomas Decker has been named head of corporate banking throughout the Americas for the bank’s international division, called the World Banking Group. He is an executive vice president and most recently headed commercial lending in California. Decker, 51, spent most his banking career at Wells Fargo, where he was head of corporate banking when he left in 1986. He replaces Richard L. Saalfeld, who left BankAmerica to become president of Equitech Financial Group, an investment firm in Oakland.

Michael E. Rossi, 44, an executive vice president, has been named to succeed Decker as head of commercial lending through the bank’s 25 offices in California. He has been the senior credit officer in BankAmerica’s World Banking Group and head of its Asia division.

Timothy R. Bottoms, 47, has been named to succeed Rossi as senior credit officer in World Banking. Bottoms was promoted to executive vice president from senior vice president.

Frank L. Somers also was promoted to executive vice president and will manage problem loans worldwide. Somers, 51, will have responsibility for working out all problem loans bankwide except real estate and consumer debt. He is a BankAmerica veteran.

BankAmerica, parent of Bank of America, has overhauled its lending operations in the past two years and the company’s chairman, A. W. Clausen, said the appointments bring additional balance and strength to the effort.