Federal officials have urged banking giant Bank of America Corp. to revamp its board and bring in directors with more banking experience, the Wall Street Journal said.

A committee, led by the bank’s new Chairman Walter Massey, is expected to examine the strength of the board and the issue of CEO succession, the paper said, citing a person familiar with the situation.

Executives at the company, Brian Moynihan, Barbara Desoer and Joe Price, have all been cited internally as candidates, according to the paper.

Bank of America shareholders voted in late April to oust embattled Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis as chairman of the board in what could also be a precursor to his eventual replacement as CEO.

The Wall Street Journal called the regulators’ move "unusual" as the federal government does not own a stake in the company, and most of the bank’s losses have stemmed from the purchase of Merrill, which was advised by regulators.

Bank of America needed a $20 billion federal bailout to absorb Merrill. Lewis had indicated that regulators pushed him to keep quiet about Merrill’s losses and not to back out of the merger. He told shareholders last month that "as a legal matter, there was no duty" to disclose the bank’s talks with the government.

The company has also been forced to take caps on executive pay, the paper said, citing people close to the bank.

A company spokesman did not immediately respond to a Reuters e-mail seeking comment, sent outside regular business hours. (Reuters)