BofA Says Departures of Men, Women Proportionate

Seeking to put to rest reports that women executives are leaving the company in droves, Bank of America has made public statistics that indicate male and female managers from the old San Francisco-based bank are departing in proportionate numbers.

About 1,134 executives at the former BankAmerica Corp. had lucrative severance packages triggered by the company’s Sept. 30 merger with NationsBank.

The number of women opting for parachutes has attracted scrutiny, even from members of Congress, since it was reported that six of the former BofA’s top 10 women executives had resigned.

This week, the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank said that 27% of the original 1,134 execs with parachutes were women. Women made up 27% of the 918 execs who were offered jobs with the new bank, and they made up 27% of the 900 who opted to stay.

“So we really didn’t have any gains or losses [in terms of] the women executives who decided to stay with the company,” said bank spokeswoman Melba Spencer.

In all, about 80% of the 1,134 execs eligible to leave the company stayed.

The departures of the six BankAmerica women execs were from the ranks of the old BankAmerica senior management council, a 45-member policymaking committee. By leaving, they receive a severance package of up to three times their annual salary, which for some individuals totals millions of dollars, a bank official said.

Several top-ranking male executives also left, including former Chief Executive David Coulter.