Banking executive exits amid accusation

NEW YORK — A senior executive at Bank of America in New York departed last week after an internal investigation into a young female banker’s accusation of inappropriate sexual conduct, according to people at the bank who were briefed on the investigation.

Omeed Malik, 38, was a powerful figure in the hedge fund world. He was a managing director and helped run the prime brokerage business that raises money for hedge funds.

Among his roles, Malik was an adviser to Jon S. Corzine, a former New Jersey governor and U.S. senator, as Corzine started a hedge fund, and he was a speaker at a high-profile hedge fund conference organized by Anthony Scaramucci, who briefly was White House communications director last year. Malik, a former lawyer at Weil Gotshal & Manges, a prominent New York firm, also was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

While a wave of sexual harassment allegations has roiled Hollywood, Silicon Valley, the media world and Washington, until now Wall Street, an industry long dominated by men, had remained relatively insulated from the #MeToo movement.

The details of the conduct that led to Malik’s departure are unclear.

Malik and his lawyer, Mark Lerner, did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.

The young woman, who is an analyst at Bank of America, complained about Malik within the past several weeks, said the people briefed on the investigation, who were not authorized to speak publicly. The bank then opened an investigation. Officials from human resources interviewed as many as a dozen people who have worked with Malik.

Allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination have cropped up at Bank of America in the past. Two years ago, it reached a settlement with a female managing director who had filed a lawsuit claiming the bank fostered a “bros’ club” culture, mistreated female employees and paid them less than men in comparable jobs. The terms of that settlement were not disclosed.