BankAmerica Shares Rise on Decision by CEO

BankAmerica Corp.’s shares jumped 4.5% after its chairman and chief executive, Hugh McColl, accepted the board’s request to lead the newly formed bank holding company into the next century. BankAmerica’s directors agreed unanimously at their first meeting this week to ask McColl, 63, to stay on until June 30, 2002, two years beyond his normal retirement age. McColl does not have an employment agreement. The announcement follows last week’s stunning resignation by BankAmerica President David Coulter, who had been touted publicly as McColl’s likely successor. Coulter, 51, is leaving the bank today. His departure comes on the heels of massive losses on a loan by the old BankAmerica, where he was chief executive. BankAmerica, the nation’s second-largest banking company, was created earlier this month by the merger of NationsBank Corp. of Charlotte, N.C., where the new holding company is based, and San Francisco-based BankAmerica. Shares in BankAmerica rose $2.25 to close at $57.13 on the New York Stock Exchange.