BofA will not oppose U.S. consumer finance agency

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) will not oppose U.S. President Barack Obama's push to create a consumer finance-focused regulator, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank will not actively lobby against, or for, Obama's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, company spokesman James Mahoney told Reuters in an interview.

The stance sets apart Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank, from a broad swath of the industry, which has vigorously opposed creation of the agency since it was proposed in July 2009.

The Consumer Finance Protection Agency's mission of overseeing banks' products and services for transparency and consumer fairness were principles Bank of America was already adopting, Mahoney said.

He added the stance is not a policy shift for the bank, but in line with the bank's own existing consumer-friendly push.

Last year, Bank of America pushed to simplify overdraft fees and polices, as well as improve mortgage and credit card disclosures, though some of those changes were made to match new laws passed by Congress set to take effect in 2010.

The news comes as Bank of America new chief executive, Brian Moynihan, has been spending more time on Capitol Hill with regulators and U.S. political leaders in an attempt to improve frayed relations, according to recent media reports.

Tighter regulation is seen as inevitable in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

During his company's fourth quarter earnings call, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, head of the second largest U.S. bank, said he opposed creation of the agency.

The American Bankers Association has also come out strongly against the proposed agency.

(Reporting by Joe Rauch; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)