Ken Lewis Retiring: Bank Of America CEO To Step Down By End Of 2009

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: The Huffington Post

NEW YORK — Ken Lewis, the embattled CEO of Bank of America Corp., is leaving the company, succumbing to nearly a year of strife that followed his company's acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.

The bank, the nation's largest by assets, said Wednesday that Lewis, 62, decided on his own to leave and would retire as CEO and also leave the company's board by the end of the year. The company did not announce a successor, saying one would be selected by the time Lewis steps down Dec. 31.

The fact that no succession plan was announced indicated that the Bank of America board did not expect Lewis' decision at this time. Nonetheless, the news, coming after shareholders had stripped Lewis of his chairman's title earlier this year, wasn't surprising because of the intense pressure he came under after the Merrill Lynch deal, including criticism about billions of dollars in bonuses given to Merrill Lynch employees.

Lewis had said he would stay on as CEO until after the company's financial problems were resolved, a process expected to take several years.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/30/ken-lewis-retiring-source_n_305423.html

[DJ13]

1. THANKS SUCkerssssssss ........!

[customerserviceguy]

2. We should start a betting pool

as to what this asshat's golden parachute will be.

[Po_d Mainiac]

3. Hope Cuomo gets his passport ASAP.

Will he finally squeal like the pig he is? :grr:

[comtec]

4. LOL You seem to be under the mistaken idea that the rich are E V E R held accountable!

even madeoff made off with B I L L I O N S, the piddly millions he's had to 'give up' are NOTHING!

where's the money?

dont expect this asshole, or any other to be held up to ANY kind of standard....

[ShortnFiery]

7. FYI: THE GREED GAME - complements of FreeDocumentaries.org =->

http://inlandz.blogspot.com/2009/09/free-enterprise-story-you-wont-see-on.html

[Heidi]

5. BofA CEO Lewis out by year's end, search on for successor

Source: Reuters

Thu Oct 1, 2009 3:57am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) CEO Kenneth Lewis announced he was retiring, after months of being dogged by a series of government investigations into the company's acquisition of Merrill Lynch last year that had become a major distraction for the biggest U.S. bank.

The reputation of the 62-year-old Lewis had been badly bruised by massive credit losses and the need for two government bailouts. But experts believe it was the intense scrutiny from federal regulators, state attorneys general and the courts that forced his hand.

"It's a good thing for the company to make a clean break and move forward," said Walter Todd, portfolio manager for Greenwood Capital Associates.

He added that regardless of the reality, "the perception is, everything that happened with the Merrill transaction was his fault, and for Bank of America to move beyond that, Lewis would have to go."



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSN3023655920091001

[Journeyman]

6. Better polish my resume -- I know I can run a company into bankruptcy with the best of 'em. . .