Bank of America Corp said on Friday three directors had resigned, the latest in a series of departures at the bank at a time when it is shaking up its board at the behest of the government.

The largest U.S. bank said John Collins, who runs a Boston-based venture capital firm; William Barnet, who runs a real estate investment firm; and Gary Countryman, chairman emeritus of Liberty Mutual Group, had all resigned.

Bank of America has now replaced more than half of the 19-person board it had in place in early March.

It now has 13 members, including four new directors with banking or regulatory experience, including former Federal Reserve Governor Susan Bies.

The resignations were not the result of any disagreement with the company or its management, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

Bank of America has taken $45 billion of federal bailout money, including $20 billion to help absorb Merrill Lynch & Co, the investment bank it acquired on January 1.

Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri declined to elaborate on the filing, which did not say why the directors were resigning.

None of the three could be reached for comment.

The bank's shares, which gained 5.9 percent in the main trading session, were little changed, down 4 cents at $14.73 in after-hours, electronic trading.

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America shares are up 5 percent so far this year, outperforming the KBW Banks index <.BKX>, which is down 8.8 percent over the same period.

(Reporting by Christian Plumb; editing by Carol Bishopric, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

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