Dallas-based Comerica Taps Curtis Farmer as CEO to Replace Its Longtime Leader

Curtis C. Farmer will become the new chief executive and president of Dallas-based Comerica Inc., replacing longtime leader Ralph W. Babb Jr.Babb, 70, will become executive chairman, the company announced Tuesday. He had been CEO and chairman since 2002.Farmer, 56, joined Comerica in 2008 as its executive vice president of wealth management, became vice chairman in 2011 and president in 2015. He had worked at Wachovia Bank for 23 years before that."Curt's focus on relationship banking and his experience in the financial services industry, as well as at Comerica, make him ideally suited for the role of CEO," Babb said.As part of his promotion, Farmer received stock awards of $1.5 million and his base salary was boosted by $79,000 annually. His pay package in 2018 totaled $3.98 million, including a base salary of $765,231, according to Comerica's proxy filing.Since becoming president in 2015, Farmer's duties have steadily expanded to also include business banking, technology and operations, and credit. He joined the company's board of directors in 2018. Comerica's assets totaled $69.7 billion as of March 31, 2018. It has 8,000 employees.  Continue reading...