PENPIX-Possible Lewis replacements at BofA

By Joe Rauch

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov 5 (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) CEO Ken Lewis' year-end retirement is fast approaching and the bank's search committee is still hunting for a successor.

Some media outlets have reported a replacement could be named within the next week, despite a shrinking pool of external candidates as the search begins its second full month.

Bank of America has disclosed that the heads of its five major business units, in addition to its chief risk officer, are candidates for the top job, but it has not named any external candidates.

Below is short list of the likeliest internal and external candidates, suggested by analysts and Bank of America observers, including the two top internal replacements. A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment.

GREGORY CURL, 61, chief risk officer, Bank of America

Once considered by bank observers as an also-ran in the race, Curl's name has emerged as one of the key internal contenders for the job.

Curl, with the bank since 1996, became chief risk officer in June 2009. The former naval officer is seen as a nod to the risk management the bank may need from the top job, given Bank of America's continuing credit woes, which include rising credit card defaults, and as net charge-offs totaled $9.6 billion in the most recent quarter.

BRIAN MOYNIHAN, 49, retail banking head, Bank of America

Moynihan is considered by many bank analysts and observers as the choice if Bank of America's board decides to appoint an internal successor, but regulators may chafe at his selection.

Moynihan has been a senior executive at the bank, in various capacities, since joining as part of the FleetBoston buyout in 2004, most recently running Bank of America's 6,000 branch-strong retail banking franchise, which has nearly a trillion in total deposits.

While he's bounced around in roles within the bank in the last year -- general counsel, head of global wealth management and consumer bank chief in the last 12 months -- observers said one key fact may give Moynihan the inside track -- he is closely aligned with former FleetBoston executives and directors Charles Gifford, Thomas May and Thomas Ryan.

All three worked closely with Moynihan at FleetBoston and they are all on Bank of America's six-member CEO search committee.

But he is also viewed as a close ally of the bank's recent leadership team, including Lewis. Because of that, Bank of America's regulators, notably the U.S. Treasury and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, may want an external replacement, observers said.

Moynihan said in an interview on Wednesday that he is keen to step into the CEO spot, but will stay on even if he does not get it.

ALVARO DE MOLINA, 52, CEO of GMAC Financial Services