Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, will step down in December, leaving the country’s biggest lender without a successor for now. Mr. Lewis’ surprise departure, announced late Wednesday night, ends a turbulent 8 year run at B of A and comes days after Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo swept their executive suites. The move comes as Wall Street has rebounded from the crisis that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year and led the US government to inject US$45B of taxpayer’s money into B of A. Mr. Lewis and B of A have been at the center of investigations by the US SEC, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the New York AG’s office over the bank’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch. A bank spokesman said Mr Lewis’ departure was not the result of regulatory action, but a B of A insider said he has been increasingly distracted by legal matters in recent months. The decision by Mr. Lewis, 62, to retire at year end took the B of A board by surprise and left it to find a successor quickly. The candidates include Brian Moynihan, a veteran B of A executive who heads the retail bank, Barbara Desoer, head of the mortgage operations who B of A took on following the acquisition of Countrywide last year, and Greg Curl, the chief risk officer and an instrumental figure in the Merrill purchase. Thomas Montag, the former Goldman Sachs Star Trader who leads the corporate and investment bank, and Sallie Krawcheck, the recently recruited head of the “thundering herd” of retail brokers, are also possibilities. Bob Steel, the former Goldman Sachs and Wachovia executive, is one of many former senior bankers who might be considered. Mr. Lewis will be remembered as one of the most controversial figures of the US financial crisis. He bought Merrill in an all-stock deal for around US$17B when it closed. The deal got mired in controversy after the government had to extend US$20B in assistance to B of A to ensure the completion of the transaction.
Popularity: unranked [?]
