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Bank of America CEO Lands His Biggest Fish Yet

Posted Sep 15, 08 10:29 AM CDT in Business 

(Newser) – Like predecessor Hugh McColl, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis loves enormous deals. His 7-year reign has seen flashy conquests adding up to more than $150 billion, but never has he bagged a bigger trophy than Merrill Lynch, Reuters reports. The deal should fulfill Lewis’ oft-frustrated ambition to make BofA, already the country’s top retail bank, its top brokerage as well.

Coupled with the takeover of Countrywide 11 weeks ago, the Merrill acquisition has made Lewis something of a Wall Street hero. “Ken Lewis … just got that much more powerful in the global financial structure,” said one analyst. But Lewis’ past forays into investment banking have proved ill-fated: Less than a year ago he declared he’d “had all of the fun I can stand in investment banking.”

Sources Reuters, New York Times

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Bank of America's chairman, president and CEO Kenneth Lewis speaks at North Carolina State University in this Feb. 12, 2008, file photo.   (AP Photo)
"The Merrill acquisition meets three of Ken Lewis' key requirements for acquisitions: brand, scale, and best in class franchise," one analyst says of Bank of America's CEO.   (AP Photo)
In 7 years as Bank of America CEO, Ken Lewis has presided in more than $150 billion in acquisitions, adding to the company's portfolio in the mortgage and financial-planning markets.   (AP Photo)
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Ken Lewis just got that much more powerful in the global financial structure. This is a deal that gets all the things he aspires to acquire — brand, scale and best-in-class businesses. - Meredith A. Whitney, Oppenheimer & Co. analyst

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mergers and acquisitions • Merrill Lynch • Bank of America • Countrywide Financial • Kenneth Lewis


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