INTERVIEW - BofA's consumer bank chief eyes CEO job

By Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bank of America's consumer banking chief, tipped to be a leading candidate to replace outgoing chief executive Kenneth Lewis, said he is keen to step into the top job but will stay on if he misses out, addressing one of Wall Street's most talked-about issues.

Brian Moynihan, considered an outsider who joined the largest U.S. lender after it acquired FleetBoston in 2004, is one of several candidates named to fill Lewis' shoes after he retires at the end of the year.

"Anybody would want this job, it's one of the best jobs in the business," he told Reuters on Wednesday on the sidelines of a speaking engagement in Los Angeles. "This is a great company and I will continue to do a great job for it, no matter what the outcome."

Guessing who stands in line to succeed Lewis -- who held the job for eight years -- has become a popular parlor game on Wall Street. Bank of America has said it is considering six internal candidates, including Moynihan, but the Wall Street Journal has also reported that the lender may reach out to Bank of New York Mellon CEO Robert Kelly.

"The board is in process as they have said, they're working expeditiously," he said without elaborating.

The bank's top executives are also grappling with persistent criticism over what some deem an ill-advised deal to buy Wall Street securities giant Merrill Lynch.

Moynihan, who ran Bank of America's global corporate and investment banking division when it bought Merrill, said he has no regrets about a deal that has since drawn regulators' and investors' ire.