June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp., the second- biggest U.S. bank, replaced Mark Werner as head of global markets with Thomas White after revenue growth in trading lagged behind the company's biggest rivals.

Werner, 49, is leaving to ``pursue other opportunities,'' the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank said in a statement. He didn't return a call for comment. White, 52, is currently global head of credit products.

While Bank of America's revenue from sales and trading rose 17 percent last year, it fell short of gains at Wall Street rivals such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., where Werner worked until joining the company three years ago. Under White, Bank of America's debt-underwriting income jumped 38 percent last year from 2005, and credit-products revenue gained 30 percent.

``They're definitely making strides, no question,'' said Mark Batty, an analyst at Philadelphia-based PNC Wealth Management, which oversees $76 billion and owns Bank of America shares. ``They're just out of the gate, though, and they have a ways to go to the level of Goldman Sachs.''

Leaving with Werner are Tom Berkery, chief operating officer of global markets; Tom Connor, head of liquid products; and Pat Coleman, head of the division's institutional sales.

From 2004 to 2006, Bank of America increased its ranking among underwriters of investment-grade debt to second from eighth, and in U.S. bonds to fourth from eighth, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It also remained second in the rankings for syndicated loans, behind JPMorgan, helped by its role as lead arranger for financing in the buyout of hospital operator HCA Inc., the biggest such deal at the time.

Europe, Asia

White will help lead an expansion of the capital-markets operations in Europe and Asia, a business Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis has targeted for at least $300 million in new spending over the next several years. White, who will report to corporate and investment bank president Gene Taylor, will try to meet the bank's goal of increasing revenue in the global markets group by $4 billion, or 50 percent, in the next four years.

Taylor, 59, said in the statement that White ``will capitalize on our strengths in distribution and in high-grade debt, leveraged finance, structured products, syndications, liquid products and equity derivatives.''

As for Werner, ``we thank Mark for his contributions to our business and wish him well in his future endeavors,'' Taylor said.

Lagging Behind

Werner joined the bank in October 2004 and most recently oversaw the addition of dozens of capital-markets bankers as part of a $675 million expansion of the securities unit. Bank of America in 2005 combined its corporate and investment banks in a bid to make more products available to a wider array of customers and eliminate overlap.

Revenue from sales and trading in 2006 rose 17 percent to $5.7 billion. That compares with increases of 56 percent to $22.7 billion at Goldman Sachs and 28 percent to $11.6 billion at JPMorgan. Trading revenue at Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank, rose at about the same pace as Bank of America's, reaching $14.8 billion.

Bank of America named Richard Prager to replace Connor as head of liquid products. Prager was elevated to global head of commodities in September. White's position hasn't been filled yet, spokeswoman Alex Trower said.

Shares of Bank of America rose 7 cents to $50.78 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has declined 4.9 percent this year, while the 24-member KBW Bank Index gained less than 1 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Will Edwards in Washington at wiedwards@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 1, 2007 16:15 EDT