CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- His name has been widely circulated as a candidate to replace Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, but today, according to reports, Alvaro de Molina lost his job as head of GMAC.
The CEO resigned Monday afternoon, with a statment that read, in part, "I came to GMAC thinking that it was a short-term assignment working through a liquidity crisis. That crisis lasted two years," he said. De Molina did not say what his next move would be.
A person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press de Molina was asked to step down by GMAC's board of directors. The person declined to be named because the reasons behind de Molina's exit have not been made public. The Wall Street Journal reports there were conflicts with the board over the direction GMAC was headed, especially with the move toward becoming a banking holding company. GMAC was also in negotiations with the government over a third round of taxpayer assistance.
Treasury Department officials stressed that they had nothing to do with Molina's departure, calling the decision "100 percent GMAC's."
GMAC will now be lead by Michael Carpenter, who was a director on the board.
Still, some analysts say the news does not necessarily disqualify de Molina from a shot at the top job at Bank of America. In fact, we spoke with one bank-watcher who thinks the chances are now as high as 50-50.
"If he can convince the Bank of America board that number one he wants the job and number two, his dismissal from GMAC was not for cause than there is a good chance that he is going to be a frontrunner for the job," UNCC banking professor Tony Plath told Newschannel 36."He needs a day job."
Al de Molina is a popular choice among investors who'd favor a bank outsider. He has strong ties to Charlotte, and his candidacy likely bodes well for the likelihood the bank's headquarters would remain in North Carolina.
"Al lives in Charlotte, he’s loyal to Charlotte, he likes the community and he likes the financial services network at Bank of America," Plath said.
Plath says discord over the direction he was taking GMAC may even serve de Molina well, if Bank of America's director agree with de Molina's side of things. His most important weakness: resentment at B of A. When de Molina left the bank several years ago, he took some top talent with him. Plath says ill will inside management could hurt him.
An analyst for the Wall Street Journal, speaking on a web video Monday, expressed the opinion that de Molina is out of the running, in part because of that ill will. He also said ill will with the government would be an even greater impediment for de Molina in the Bank of America job because B of A took so much bailout money.
According to a Bloomberg news report, an unnamed source says de Molina will not get an offer.
