In a move that was expected, credit-card lender MBNA Corp. said Friday that chief executive Charlie Cawley will retire Dec. 30.

Cawley, 63, a founder of MBNA, which is based in Wilmington, Del., will continue to work with the company as a senior adviser.

Cawley has family ties to Maine – his father ran a clothing plant in Belfast – and he lives part of the year in his Camden home.

He is widely credited with developing MBNA’s presence in Maine with nearly 5,000 employees in the state, huge office complexes in Rockland, Camden and Belfast, as well as operations elsewhere in the state. Overall, the company employs some 28,000.

MBNA was born out of the credit card division of a Maryland bank. It found its niche in the crowded field of credit card lenders by marketing its card to a select group of consumers.

Cawley pushed the idea of creating a card specifically for an organization, such as universities or professional associations, in exchange for the organization’s endorsement of the cards to its employees and others.

Such “affinity” cards carry the organization’s logo or name, and a portion of the fees go to the sponsoring organization.

Cawley will be succeeded by Bruce Hammonds, 55, president of MBNA Corp.

John Cochran, 52, has been named chairman and chief executive of MBNA America Bank N.A., the primary unit of MBNA Corp. He has been president of the bank.

In June 2002, Hammonds was named chief executive and Cochran chief operating officer of MBNA America.

Cawley took over as CEO after former chairman and CEO Alfred Lerner died in October 2002.

MBNA had assets of $52.86 billion as of Sept. 30.

The move completes the planned transition of senior management announced in June 2002, the company said.

Shares of MBNA closed Friday at $24.52, down 6 cents on the New York Stock Exchange.