Ken Lewis, RIP

Ken Lewis is leaving Bank of America (BAC) — and about time too. The board now has three months to find a successor; the new chairman, Walter Massey, has no real choice but to move “in a deliberate and expeditious manner” to find a replacement.

The timing is intriguing, coming the day after this statement from Jamie Dimon about Bill Winters:

“Choosing between two outstanding people is the hardest part of this job. Bill is an outstanding professional. He has expressed a desire to be his own CEO and I think that is entirely reasonable.”

Would BofA choose an investment banker as its new CEO? That didn’t work out so well for Citigroup. But on the other hand, Lewis has been personally identified with Bank of America for as long as it has existed in its present form (essentially, from the day that Nationsbank acquired the legacy BofA). There’s certainly no heir apparent.

With John Thain out, the most likely successor is probably Brian Moynihan, the man who was parachuted in to save the day in the wake of Thain’s ouster. But the fact that BofA isn’t announcing a successor now is indicative of the chaos within the bank, and indicative too that Lewis’s departure isn’t entirely voluntary.

Did Massey finally get fed up with the SEC, and the New York attorney general, and Judge Jed Rakoff, and half of Congress, and a large part of the shareholder base, all calling for Lewis’s head? Maybe we’ll see when details of Lewis’s exit package emerge. My guess is that his last act as CEO will be to strong-arm the board into giving him something very generous.

Comments

[tommiegun:]

This is such a silly article.

Almost like a discussion among friends with the same vantage view.

Sep 30 11:04 PM

[bbro:]

Agreed Felix the cat stikes again....

Oct 01 05:39 AM

[Steve in Gr...:]

Who is going to run BoA post-Lewis? Who? Some creative, courageous entrepreneur to lead the bank forward? Or a drone chosen by Obama from his political cronies, someone sure to say amen when he speaks? The suspense is killing me.

Oct 01 05:46 AM

[User 357705:]

The board ought to leave a penny under Lewis' plate so he knows they didn't just forget not to leave him more.

Oct 01 07:41 AM

[Oldbobg:]

After all the vitriolic coomments regarding Mr. Lewis, his decision to leave the bank should simply be considered his. Forced? I would suspect that after what he has seen in his tenure at the bank (Nations Bank aka Bank of America) and what he was actually able to accomplish until credit evaporation and National Intervention (needed?) should be lauded. Look at the dividends that BofA was able to crank out for its share holders. Of course this is only opinion; however, we should only hope that the remainder of the management at the bank comes back with a person as qualified and business minded as Mr. Lewis. I only wish him well.

Oct 01 08:32 AM

[TeresaE:]

This is the play I have been scared of.

The rats have eaten all the supplies and are now fleeing the sinking ship.

We should heed this warning for what it is. But the experts and pundits will ignore it.

Proceed with caution, things are about to get real ugly I fear.

Oct 01 09:03 AM

[Perry B:]

TeresaE. I wish you wouldnt get out of bed so cheery in the morning. I just had my first cup of coffee yesterday thinking the same thoughts. Look at the volumes of shares trading. As well as direction. I am going fishing for real fresh fish in the gulf. The fish in this market stink,

Oct 01 10:48 AM

[nobby73:]

Winters is too smart to take that job...

Oct 01 12:58 PM

[jstratt:]

This was an expected occurrence. The only reason this POS lasted this long is because they wait until after a crisis to remove a banking CEO.

To give Lewis a 53 Million severance package is an outrage. The US cannot survive with a middle class when this sort of crap is common place.

The shareholders are fleeced at every turn by managements insulated by hand picked boards. The result is 0 for shareholders and huge bonuses for managements from inside picked boards.

When will people wake up? Doesnt an owner get anything in the US anymore? If you settle for this and the farce of an entity called the SEC you deserve to retire to dogfood.

Ken Lewis deserves to be in Jail.

The BOD needs to be ousted and jailed if they knew of the hidden bonuses.

A severe example needs to be made in one of the most treasonous acts of a company in history

My point is great companies have made it a practice to fleece shareholders by paying the entire gains to management. The result is people are happy with poor retirements while the executives earn huge outlandish salaries and bonuses even when they destroy a company.

Wake up people!

Oct 01 09:11 PM