SEATTLE — Washington Mutual, hard hit by the mortgage and credit crises, said Monday it will replace chief executive Kerry Killinger as chairman of the board and take other steps to improve corporate governance.
Killinger, 58, will remain on the board, where he has served as chairman of the country’s largest savings and loan since 1991. He also will hold his post as chief executive, even as the list of CEOs shown the door at the country’s top banks continues to grow.
WaMu said Stephen E. Frank, the lead director on its board, will become chairman starting July 1. Frank, 66, retired in 2002 as chief executive of Southern California Edison, the largest subsidiary of the Edison International power company.
In addition to splitting the job of chairman and CEO, WaMu said its board made has made it harder for directors in uncontested elections to hold their seats if they don’t get a majority of the votes.
