BankAmerica President Resigns

In the wake of massive losses on a hedge fund loan, David Coulter on Tuesday announced his resignation as president of the newly formed BankAmerica Corp.

Coulter, who had been touted as the likely successor to Chairman Hugh McColl, instead will leave the nation's largest bank next Friday.

"It is with regret that I announce my resignation effective Oct. 30," he said in a brief statement released by the bank. "The decision was extremely difficult for me, both personally and professionally."

Last week, the bank reported on its third-quarter earnings that it lost $372 million on a $1.4 billion loan to D.E. Shaw & Co., a New York-based hedge fund company. The news sent industry bank shares down nearly 11 percent that day.

In accepting his resignation, McColl called Coulter "a man of the highest integrity. It is very painful for me personally to accept his resignation. We wish him well."

BankAmerica was created earlier this month by the merger of Charlotte, N.C.-based NationsBank Corp. and San Francisco based-BankAmerica.

The hedge fund problems stem from the old BankAmerica and were viewed immediately as a problem for Coulter, who was its chief executive. He had been expected to become chief executive when the 63-year-old McColl retired.

The old BankAmerica made the loan to D.E. Shaw & Co. in March 1997. BankAmerica was to receive 50 percent of the interest from the funds invested in securities.