Tom Montag, chief operating officer of Bank of America, will be leaving at the end of the year

Two trusted members of Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan will leave at the end of the year, establishing a successor career among the company’s top executives.

Tom Montag, 64, chief operating officer and leader of the global markets and banking division, and Anne Finucane, 69, vice president of the bank, are both retiring, the bank said in a statement Thursday. The firm, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the second largest U.S. bank by assets.

Montag was considered the obvious candidate to replace Moynihan in case circumstances required it. He joined Bank of America in 2008 through the acquisition of Merrill Lynch during the financial crisis, but had spent most of his career as a business executive at Goldman Sachs.

As vice president, Finucane was responsible for the company’s strategic positioning, as well as its environmental, social and corporate governance, or ESG, and public policies. But his influence at Bank of America extended far beyond his workplace. A 26-year-old veteran of the firm, she was known as a confidential woman closely connected to Moynihan and her predecessor.

In fact, Moynihan once joked that “We all inform Anne.”

“Anne has been a trusted advisor and invaluable partner for many years,” Moynihan said in the statement. “From her time as one of the few women executives in financial services to the present day, she has provided an unprecedented strategic vision, helping to make banking more transparent, while acting as a tireless advocate for equality, l ‘sustainable energy, education and health care’.

Although the company has established a succession plan for CEOs, Moynihan has publicly said he expects to continue leading Bank of America for years to come. Montag and Finucane’s successors will be announced in the coming weeks, the firm said.