John D. Buchanan ’89 has been named executive vice president of legal affairs for Comerica Inc., a financial services company based in Dallas.
Buchanan had previously served since March 2012 as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Buchanan will be a member of Comerica’s management executive committee. He will report to Comerica Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ralph W. Babb Jr. It is anticipated that Buchanan will assume the role of executive vice president of governance, regulatory relations and legal affairs after January 1, 2016, succeeding Jon W. Bilstrom, who currently holds the position and plans to retire in March 2016.
Buchanan has more than 23 years of experience as a banking attorney. Before joining the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in March 2013, he served as a senior executive vice president at Regions Financial Corp. He also has served as general counsel and corporate secretary for Regions as well as for AmSouth Bancorp. and SouthTrust Bank in Birmingham, Alabama.
Buchanan has served on numerous committees and boards, including the Financial Services Roundtable Lawyers Council and the American Bar Association Banking Committee. He also served on the board of directors for Mercedes Benz US International.
After earning his J.D. at Vanderbilt, Buchanan received an LL.M. in taxation from New York University School of Law. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Washington & Lee University. Before starting his legal career, Buchanan was an Army officer and helicopter pilot.
Comerica Inc. offers business and retail banking and wealth management services at locations in Texas, Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. The company reported total assets of $69.9 billion at June 30, 2015.