After the announced resignation of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Chief Executive Officer Kenneth D. Lewis yesterday, the board of the Bank of America is moving quickly to put together a nominating committee in order to begin a search for a new CEO for the banking giant.

Depending on how long it’ll take to siphon through the list of candidates, there are hints there’s a possibility of an interim CEO until the process is over and a new CEO chosen.

Since Lewis will stay until December 31, there is some time to go through the process without the pressure of making a quick decision which they may regret later if there isn’t a proper vetting process initiated.

It seems at this time that the board is first looking internally, with leading people for the job including Sallie Krawcheck, 44, Gregory Curl, 62, Brian Moynihan, 49, Barbara Desoer, 56, Joe Price, 48 and Tom Montag. It’s hard to believe it wouldn’t be one of these people, but you never know if there’s a high quality candidate outside the bank which could outshine them all. It’s doubtful, but you never know.

Of course if they don’t choose one of the above listed employees, they risk losing some of them as a result; so it’s highly likely one of them will be the next CEO of Bank of America.

Even so, Bank of America spokesman Robert Stickler said that at this time “all options are on the table,” seeming to imply those listed above can’t assume anything at this time of the process.

Some outsiders believe an interim CEO may be put in place for the duration of Lewis’ tenure, and could well go beyond that until a healthy succession is put in place. If that happens, it is thought a current board member would fill the temporary CEO slot.

A number of industry watchers feel Lewis has hurt the company by taking this route, although it has to be understood in light of the extraordinary pressure put on him, and as yet unknown pressures he had from all quarters during the Merrill Lynch fiasco, which could end up being discovered was largely connected to the U.S. government. Lewis at one time had wanted the drop the deal, but reports are he was pressured to take on Merrill Lynch by government financial agencies.

Lewis and Bank of America are currently under investigation concerning whether there were possible misconduct when acquiring Merrill Lynch by not communicating to shareholders about bonuses and losses incurred by the company.

While the SEC has stated they could find no specific individuals in the company that had did any wrongdoing, a federal judge rejected an agreed upon settlement and now the case is going to court.

Bank of America is the largest bank in the United States as measured by deposits and assets.