Bank of America has reportedly expanded its CEO search to include executives who would rather live in New York City than Charlotte, NC. It could portend Charlotte losing a second major banking headquarters in a very short time. Does someone have it out for my former town?

There's no indication that the headquarters would move, but I suspect it'll be considered. B of A opened a two million square foot building overlooking New York's Bryant Park just this year. And Bloomberg reports that the top CEO candidates would prefer the Big Apple:

"It does reflect well on the board that they're not going to let the headquarters location limit their selection in terms of CEOs," said Thomas Brown, CEO of New York-based hedge fund Second Curve Capital. "There aren't too many people around the world who think that Charlotte is a major financial center."

Especially not people who run a New York-based hedge fund. But until last year, two of the four biggest banks were headquartered in Charlotte. Then, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo bought Wachovia, in a government brokered deal. The government also pushed B of A into owning Merrill Lynch, which is based in New York. Plus, the government's hand in executive pay might be a reason for B of A expanding its search. From Daily Finance:

The search for a new CEO is made especially difficult due to government oversight of executive pay at BofA, one of seven financial-services companies that received bailout money under the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Unable to offer its new candidate a big paycheck, BofA's board has been stripped of one of its key recruiting tools.

Wait a second. Is it the federal government that's trying to destroy Charlotte?

Seriously, New York needs another bank like the Yankees need another World Series title. From Crain's New York:

While a transfer of BofA's headquarters would likely result in only a few hundred new corporate jobs--far too few to make a dent in the tens of thousands of financial jobs lost in New York over the past two years--a move would bring other benefits.

For example, charitable giving from the bank would likely increase locally. Pam McDonough, a former Illinois state official who helped lure Boeing to Chicago, said the aircraft manufacturer quickly became a leading benefactor of Chicago's public schools shortly after it moved. She added that it helped Chicago's image to be seen in the place where globally-focused Boeing executives chose to work.

Meanwhile, a nice city like Charlotte would lose out on that stuff.

Then again, Charlotte, after all we've been through with the banks, maybe your attitude should be: New York, take them. Please.