Bill Daley Exits BNY Mellon After Less Than Five Months

The Bank of New York Mellon’s (BNY Mellon) Bill Daley is stepping down after being appointed vice chairman in June, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Tuesday (Oct. 22).

The appointment and resignation follow Daley’s failed nonpartisan political bid in February to become the next mayor of Chicago in Illinois. Formerly the White House chief of staff under the Obama administration, he worked at JPMorgan Chase for seven years.

Daley’s decision to leave BNY Mellon comes on the heels of the departure of the company’s CEO Charles Scharf. Daley and Scharf were previously colleagues at JPMorgan. Scharf hired Daley to oversee BNY Mellon’s government affairs and communications.

“Bill Daley’s departure was expected, as Bill joined us a few months ago largely as an adviser to Charlie,” a BNY Mellon spokeswoman said. “We parted amicably and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

Aside from serving former President Obama, Daley was also the commerce secretary to Bill Clinton. Daley’s father and brother are both former Chicago mayors. He joined JPMorgan in 2004 around the same time as Scharf, just before the bank merged with Chicago’s Bank One Corp.

Scharf was also at BNY Mellon for just a short time, having been recruited in July 2017. He is now CEO of Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest bank in the United States. Scharf has had a long career in payments and financial services and is the first outsider to run Wells Fargo. He takes his place as the fourth CEO in the wake of the “fake account” scandals that brought the ire of consumers and regulators. Scharf replaces interim CEO Allen Parker, who previously served as general counsel.

Scharf said tackling the regulatory issues – with hundreds of notices from regulators known as “matters requiring attention” – will be among the biggest priorities, as the firm has already accrued billions of dollars in fines.