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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Ken Lewis

Ken Lewis stories: 19 news summaries

Pay Czar
Blocks Salary
for Ken Lewis

BofA CEO will return $1M and forgo
any pay this year

Oct 16, 09 7:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama's pay czar has landed his biggest punch yet: Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis will forgo any pay this year and return $1 million he's already accepted. But don't start up a collection just yet: The reason Kenneth Feinberg made the request is because Lewis will receive about... More »

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Bank of America • CEO • salary • banking industry • Ken Lewis • Kenneth Feinberg • pay czar

Lewis Due a Mere $53M
From BofA Pension Plan

But President Obama's pay czar could yet step in on that, millions in stock

Oct 1, 09 8:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - An executive pension plan Bank of America stopped in 2001—along with “golden parachute” balloon payments to execs leaving the company—will yield about $53 million for departing CEO Ken Lewis. Lewis, 62, participated for years in the plan, which was frozen the year he ascended to the top... More »

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stock market • executive compensation • Bank of America • retirement • golden parachutes • financial crisis • Ken Lewis • pension plan

(AP) - Ken Lewis, the embattled CEO of Bank of America, is leaving the company, succumbing to nearly a year of strife that followed his company's acquisition of Merrill Lynch. The bank said in a statement that Lewis, 62, would retire as CEO and also leave the company's board by the end... More »

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Bank of America • CEO • retirement • Ken Lewis

Merrill's Thain Rues Picking Pricey Office Decor Over Ikea

Former Merrill Lynch CEO denies accelerating bonuses

Sep 18, 09 12:21 PM CDT
(Newser) - Merrill Lynch's former CEO issued an apology of sorts for spending $1.2 million—including $35,000 for a commode—to redecorate his office as the firm bottomed out, Bloomberg reports. “We decorated it in the style that Merrill Lynch offices were, which was very, very nice,” John... More »

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Bank of America • merger • Merrill Lynch • Ikea • bonuses • John Thain • furniture • financial crisis • Ken Lewis

BofA Cardholder Rips 'Thieving Bastards'

Foe of 'usury and plunder' won't pay 'til CEO watches video

Sep 14, 09 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - A California woman who says she kept paying her credit card bill even after she lost her job has had enough: She's pledging not to pay down her Bank of America account until the creditor lowers her interest rate, the Huffington Post reports.. It’s “the proverbial first... More »

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Bank of America • credit card • interest rate • consumer debt • Wall Street bailout • Ken Lewis • Ann Minch • debtor

Paulson: BofA-Merrill Deal Saved US From 'Great Peril'

Actions saved nation from 'great peril,' he says

Jul 16, 09 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says his role in Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch was appropriate and necessary, MarketWatch reports. “I am confident that our responses were substantially correct and that they saved this nation from great peril,” Paulson told a House oversight committee today... More »

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Bank of America • Federal Reserve • Henry Paulson • Merrill Lynch • economy • financial crisis • Wall Street bailout • TARP • Ken Lewis • Edolphus Towns

Bernanke Denies Threatening BofA Boss Over Merrill

He battles accusations that he strongarmed he company

Jun 25, 09 11:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - On Capitol Hill today, Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke denied he threatened the job of Bank of America’s CEO when Ken Lewis hesitated on the Merrill Lynch merger last fall, CNNMoney reports. “I did not tell Bank of America’s management that the Federal Reserve would take action... More »

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Ben Bernanke • Bank of America • Federal Reserve • Henry Paulson • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • Darrell Issa • Ken Lewis

 BofA Still Short  
 Whopping $34B 

Fed's findings mean government may end up as BofA's majority shareholder

May 6, 09 1:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Treasury Department officials have told Bank of America that it's nearly $34 billion in capital short of a passing grade on its "stress tests," sources tell Reuters. The amount is more than triple earlier estimate of BofA's capital needs, and may force the bank to convert the non-voting... More »

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Bank of America • financial crisis • TARP • Ken Lewis • stress tests

(Newser) - Bank of America shareholders gave Ken Lewis a demotion today. Lewis will remain the bank's president and CEO, but he will lose his position as board chairman, the Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders—angry about the bank's plummeting fortunes of late—voted to split the chairman and CEO duties. Walter... More »

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Bank of America • CEO • banking industry • chairman • Ken Lewis

Thain Accuses BofA of Lying About Bonuses

Fired Merill CEO tries to 'set the record straight' about $3.6B payout

Apr 27, 09 8:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - In his first lengthy interview since being pushed out as CEO of Merrill Lynch, John Thain tells the Wall Street Journal that Bank of America—which acquired Merrill in September—is lying about its involvement in the $3.6 billion in bonus payouts that made Thain the poster boy for... More »

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executive compensation • Bank of America • CEO • mergers and acquisitions • merger • Merrill Lynch • bonuses • John Thain • financial crisis • Ken Lewis

Paulson Threatened
to Oust Lewis, BofA Board

Cuomo wants
federal investigation

Apr 23, 09 5:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Bank of America wanted to pull out of its deal with a fast-sinking Merrill Lynch last year but changed course after then-Treasury chief Henry Paulson threatened to oust CEO Ken Lewis and the entire BofA board, the Wall Street Journal reports. The revelation came in a letter to members of... More »

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Bank of America • Henry Paulson • Merrill Lynch • Andrew Cuomo • banking industry • Ken Lewis

BofA CEO Says Feds Urged Silence on
Merrill Losses

Shareholders kept in the dark to ensure deal

Apr 23, 09 7:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bank of America's CEO felt pressured by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury chief Henry Paulson to withhold details of last year's Merrill Lynch acquisition from shareholders, including mounting losses at Merrill that triggered a $20 billion bailout, the Wall Street Journal reports. BofA CEO Ken Lewis said in testimony... More »

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Ben Bernanke • Bank of America • Henry Paulson • mergers and acquisitions • Merrill Lynch • financial crisis • Ken Lewis

Obama's Auto Crackdown Worries Bailed-Out Banks

After Wagoner ousting, financials fear similar fate

Mar 31, 09 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - After the Obama administration kicked out GM’s boss and said two of the Big Three automakers may benefit from bankruptcy, CEOs of banks bailed out by the government are wondering if there's a bull's-eye on their backs, the Washington Post reports. The risk of such a crackdown has been... More »

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CEO • bank • auto industry • Big Three • Rick Wagoner • Vikram Pandit • bailout • Obama administration • auto bailout • Ken Lewis

Bank of America Must
Name Bonus Execs

Court demands firm spills

Mar 19, 09 4:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - This doesn’t bode well for AIG: A judge ruled yesterday that Bank of America must identify the Merrill Lynch executives who received $3.6 billion in bonuses ahead of the banks’ merger, reports the Wall Street Journal. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sought disclosure as part of his... More »

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Bank of America • Merrill Lynch • court • Andrew Cuomo • bonuses • court order • fiscal crisis • Ken Lewis

Merrill Bonus Beneficiaries May Be Revealed Within Week

BoA argues that disclosure will give competitors an unfair advantage

Mar 13, 09 2:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - A decision could come next week on disclosure of the names of Merrill Lynch employees who received $3.6 billion in bonuses last year, despite the firm posting a $15.8 billion fourth-quarter loss, Bloomberg reports. Bank of America argued today against release, saying its compensation scheme would be a... More »

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Attorney General • New York • Merrill Lynch • Andrew Cuomo • bonuses • John Thain • Ken Lewis

Cuomo Orders BofA
to Name Bonus Takers

Subpoena issued after CEO's grilleing by Merrill bonus probe

Feb 27, 09 7:26 AM CST
(Newser) - Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis has been ordered to hand over a full list of Merrill Lynch execs who received bonuses just before the bank took over the company, reports Reuters. Lewis was grilled for hours yesterday in the offices of New York AG Andrew Cuomo, who's looking into... More »

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executive compensation • Bank of America • Merrill Lynch • subpoena • Andrew Cuomo • bonuses • Ken Lewis

Bank Execs
to Congress:
We Are Lending

CEOs defend compensation,
call for new regulation

Feb 11, 09 9:35 AM CST
(Newser) - “We’re lending,” bank executives told Congress this morning, as CEOs including Jamie Dimon, Ken Lewis, and Vikram Pandit testified before the House Financial Services Committee. They also defended the outrage-inducing (but, they stressed, much reduced) bonuses they handed out, according to their prepared testimony. “Our employees... More »

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executive compensation • House Financial Services Committee • testimony • bonuses • Vikram Pandit • banking industry • Jamie Dimon • Ken Lewis

ANALYSIS

Thain Debacle Stings
BofA Chief


Jan 23, 09 5:25 PM CST
(Newser) - John Thain may have lost his job running Merrill Lynch, but woe to the CEO who dared merge with him, the Economist reports. Thain no doubt trashed his reputation by failing to tell BofA chief Ken Lewis about looming losses—and handing out multimillion-dollar bonuses in the meantime—but Lewis,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bank of America • mergers and acquisitions • Merrill Lynch • recession • credit crisis • John Thain • Ken Lewis

(Newser) - Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, who became a top exec at Bank of America when the firms merged last year, will resign from his position, CNBC reports. The move comes a week after Bank of America posted its first quarterly loss in 17 years, widely attributed to poor information... More »

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Wall Street • Bank of America • CEO • Merrill Lynch • credit crisis • John Thain • bailout • Ken Lewis

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