Questions about Bank of America first arose in Boston after it announced plans to take over FleetBoston Financial Corp. How would the deal affect Hub customers? Would BofA live up to its Community Reinvestment Act pledges, or perhaps even go beyond them and tailor programs specifically for the Bay State? And would it be possible for a bank based in Charlotte, N.C., to truly replace a local player such as Fleet?

The merger is now complete, but some of those old questions might be resurfacing following the quick departure of BofA’s new president, Eugene M. McQuade, who resigned from his post last Monday. McQuade, the No. 2 man in the bank’s corporate structure, was the highest-ranking former Fleet official at BofA. McQuade said he was not happy with his new role’s focus on technology and operations; the bank’s greatest growth generators, commercial and consumer banking, did not fall under his jurisdiction.

Banker & Tradesman does not want readers to weep for McQuade, who not only will receive about $25 million in cash and benefits when he walks out of BofA’s doors for the last time, but likely also will have little difficulty finding future employment. What’s troubling is that, while many of his colleagues had believed he was ready to remain for the long haul, there is precedent for such a departure. When BofA, then called NationsBank, took over San Francisco’s BankAmerica Corp. in 1998, Chief Executive David Coulter resigned less than a month after the deal closed – and others followed en masse. BofA’s Charlotte executives, according to one published report, comprise a closely knit group that tends to stick together.

While BofA officials should rightfully be proud of their work at what is now the nation’s No. 2 bank, we strongly urge them to hold tightly to the remaining Fleet executives and those from other regions whose expertise in markets outside of North Carolina will benefit the bank and consumers alike. The institution, after all, calls itself the Bank of America.