U.S. Trust managers including unit head Keith Banks made the policy changes after they observed that some newly hired advisors had garden leave provisions from former employers, said Susan Thomson, a Bank of America spokeswoman. The change expanded an existing policy to include more workers, she said.
The wealth management division, cobbled together with the 2009 acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. and the 2006 acquisition of U.S. Trust, has about 20,000 brokers, advisors and bankers and $2.2 trillion of client balances as of Dec. 31, according to a presentation.
The business generated net income of $1.35 billion last year, a 22% decline from 2009, on higher expenses, while revenue climbed 3.3% to $16.7 billion. Krawcheck, 46, has a long-term target of 6% to 7 percent annual revenue growth, she told investors this week during an investor conference held in New York. Bank of America is the largest U.S. lender by assets and deposits.