Cleveland Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND — PNC Bank Chairman and CEO James Rohr, who oversaw PNC’s controversial purchase of National City Corp. in 2008, will step down in April. PNC’s board of directors on Thursday said President William Demchak will succeed Rohr as CEO in April. Rohr is expected to take on a new position of executive chairman during a one-year transition.

Rohr, 64, said he wants to retire and have a smooth transition.

“Bill has demonstrated exceptional leadership since joining PNC in 2002,” Rohr said in a statement. “As president, he drove customer growth by successfully aligning our businesses to deliver the entire company for our clients. His candor and work ethic have earned him the trust of employees and investors, and the confidence of PNC’s board. He deserves the opportunity to steer PNC into the future.”

The announcement was made after the stock market closed. PNC shares closed at $63.87. On Friday morning, the stock was trading up 18 cents at $64.05.

Demchak joined PNC in 2002 as chief financial officer. He later became the head of corporate and institutional banking, was promoted to senior vice chairman in 2009 and named head of all PNC businesses in 2010. Demchak became PNC’s president in April.

Rohr became a household name in Cleveland in October 2008 after he masterfully pulled off the purchase of troubled National City. PNC bought the 163-year-old bank, which at one time had a value of around $40 per share, for $2.23 per share. The deal became attractive to Rohr after he got regulators to agree to give National City’s share of TARP money to PNC, amounting to $4 billion, and got a tax break for taking over National City’s $20 billion in bad loans.

Rohr, who spent nearly his entire career at PNC, has been CEO for 13 years.