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Bank of America - Merrill Lynch Merger

peaceloveunderstanding

By peaceloveunderstanding
in Charlotte

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atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

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There are several condescending articles towards Charlotte floating around the press in regards to Ken Lewis' departure. One in Newsweek probably was the most condescending, but best reflected how BofA is viewed outside the south. In brief, there are "bankers" (mom and pop lending), and then there are "Bankers". "Bankers" are part of a select social scense, and Democrat insiders, and make their money with the fancy financial products. Ken Lewis tried to buy his way into this circle, and failed. If the next CEO is a "Banker" as opposed to a "banker", then the only way to be reputable is to run a NY bank.

I'm not sure I completely aggree, but it was an interesting read. Also, now that BofA has committed $30B+ to investment banking, I can't imagine their not going to make a serious go at being a prestigous institution.

As far as Charlotte being insecure...true, and with good reason. If the 2 main drivers of growth for the past 40 years were to disappear/dissipate, you should be concerned, paranoid, insecure, etc.

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SmellyCat Burg

SmellyCat

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I'm not sure I completely aggree, but it was an interesting read. Also, now that BofA has committed $30B+ to investment banking, I can't imagine their not going to make a serious go at being a prestigous institution.

Well that's really a shame if they continue that route, because as an institutional investor, I am forced speak with investment bankers on a daily basis. I can say unequivocally that most are abhorrently greedy pigs and, outside of ambulance chasing lawyers, represent the lowest form of life on the white collar food chain. I mean these guys would sell their mother for a dollar if they could.

Manhattan can have those weasels - it's truly where they belong! I'll accept that my house will drop another x percent in value.

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HopHead City

HopHead

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Well if Sallie Krawcheck gets the job, all the environmentalists should be thrilled because it would be a perfect example of how garbage can be recycled.

Agreed... I also read, I think in the WSJ yesterday, that former Wachovia CEO Bob Steele was lobbying hard for this job. Does anyone know if he still lives in Charlotte? I know he bought a house over in Eastover (I believe) when he got the top job at Wachovia.

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atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

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^ He did and he still owns the house, but he has moved back to Conn. with his family.

From everything I've read, outside analysts favor Al de Molina, but there has been no idication that he is interested. I agree with the choice, but more looking at it from a Charlotte-booster point of view. He apparantly did very well with everything he has touched, but the "old guard" doesn't like him because he wasn't scared to ruffle feathers.

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HopHead City

HopHead

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^ He did and he still owns the house, but he has moved back to Conn. with his family.

From everything I've read, outside analysts favor Al de Molina, but there has been no idication that he is interested. I agree with the choice, but more looking at it from a Charlotte-booster point of view. He apparantly did very well with everything he has touched, but the "old guard" doesn't like him because he wasn't scared to ruffle feathers.

I like Al de Molina as well, for the reasons you stated... He was actually at a Charlotte city retreat recently in Pinehurst, giving his "pro-Charlotte" pep talk about the business climate for our city. But don't you think if the "old guard" doesn't like him, that might be a good thing given the current state of BofA?

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HopHead City

HopHead

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There's an article on Bloomberg.com that talks about how the board, who is having a hard time IDing a new CEO, is no longer requiring Ken Lewis' replacement to live in Charlotte. Apparently that's been a sticking point, at least according the article. Quite honestly, I think that isn't as much of a factor as is the executive's compensation limitations and the current mess that BofA is in now.

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cltbwimob Burg

cltbwimob

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^

I happen to agree with your analysis versus Bloombergs. Virtually no one is going to leave JP Morgan or BNY Mellon where they are not heavily scrutinized by the government and have solid paychecks to go to a company that is under intense scrutiny by Govco and has limited executive compensation. Dick Bove said as much in his comments which are in today's O.

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atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

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Ahh yes, after they asked BofA to look at Lehman, then at ML, then threatened to remove the CEO is they didn't complete the ML merger, and then financed the merger has decided that their Frankenstein is too big.

John Allison (former CEO of BB&T) described the Fed and Treasury has firefighters who negligently light a house on fire, and then commend themselves for putting out the fire which only destroys half the neighborhood, and not the entire neighborhood.

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cltbwimob Burg

cltbwimob

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Interesting video from wbtv. Apparently, the media is a buzz with possibly a new frontrunner for the BOA job, and that front runner just might be Ken Lewis.

In other news, Obama's pay czar is concerned that his salary caps are hindering troubled companies such as BOA from attracting top talent. All I have to say to that is... REALLY? I mean who doesn't want to leave a cushy job at JP Morgan or BNY Mellon making millions per year in a less regulated environment to take the reigns at a troubled financial institution complete with no less than 4 different government entities investigating it, limited CEO pay, and the chance to have every move they make dictated by the feds? And to top it all off, he/she could potentially lose their compensation all together like Ken Lewis did. Sounds like there should be thousands of candidates lined up at the door waiting for an interview.dry.gif

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HopHead City

HopHead

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Interesting video from wbtv. Apparently, the media is a buzz with possibly a new frontrunner for the BOA job, and that front runner just might be Ken Lewis.

I read this in a few different places yesterday as well. After everything that's gone on, I wouldn't be surprised if Lewis did stay on for say another year. Maybe get the bank in better shape and have time to lineup a new CEO who actually wants the job. Not sure who would really want to work for free. Maybe the feds should just force Henry Paulson or Ben Bernanke to work for free to fix the mess they created at BofA.

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MATB1980 Unincorporated Area

MATB1980

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Apparently Al De Molina has just resigned from GMAC/Ally Bank. A possiblity for BOA CEO perhaps? Doh, just beaten to the punch...

I agree this seems a little too coincidental, and it seems like he is a strong candiate - experience with BOA, lives in Charlotte, seems to be well regarded in the industry.

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cltbwimob Burg

cltbwimob

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Well I see several people have beaten me to the punch with regards to de Molina. I will say this, I think he is just about the best the BOA board could hope for. He was at BOA as CFO so he knows the inner workings of the behemoth. He was CEO of a GMAC which had executive salary caps courtesy of the Obama admin so nothing to hinder him from going to BOA with respect to heavy government scrutiny (which I think has been a major sticking point for other candidates). He did not have his hands in the ML merger which will probably satisfy some of the shareholders as well as the government. Finally, he is already a CLT resident so the board doesn't have to search for CEOs who don't necessarily want to be based in Charlotte.

I have my fingers crossed.

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kermit Megalopolis

kermit

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Well I see several people have beaten me to the punch with regards to de Molina. I will say this, I think he is just about the best the BOA board could hope for. He was at BOA as CFO so he knows the inner workings of the behemoth. He was CEO of a GMAC which had executive salary caps courtesy of the Obama admin so nothing to hinder him from going to BOA with respect to heavy government scrutiny (which I think has been a major sticking point for other candidates). He did not have his hands in the ML merger which will probably satisfy some of the shareholders as well as the government. Finally, he is already a CLT resident so the board doesn't have to search for CEOs who don't necessarily want to be based in Charlotte.

I have my fingers crossed.

While de Molina appeals to me as a candidate for this job the WSJ article is pretty damning of his performance at GMAC and says that the board had requested that he resign due to questions about his vision for the company. Not a good way to start your job as CEO of the nations largest bank.

EDIT: money quote from the WSJ article: "Mr. de Molina was surprised by the board's decision to seek new leadership, said a person familiar with his thinking"

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atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

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Yeah...his departure paints him as damaged goods. Usually CEO's have no time skipping from one top post to another no matter how dismal their performance, but the intensity of the spotlight on the BofA CEO search might make his firing from GMAC too big of an obstacle. That said, I like him for all the points mentioned above.

On a negative, this gives me great concern how much GMAC will grow in Charlotte now. It doesn't sound like the board was a fan of the emphasis on Ally Bank, which is what all the Charlotte jobs are really designed to support. There are a lot of senior execs in Charlotte, but the new guy (a Manhattanite) might clean house and start over.

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SmellyCat Burg

SmellyCat

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Well if you are rooting for the CEO to stay in Charlotte, you should have been happy today. Apparently internal frontrunner Brian Moynihan - a "golden boy" based in Boston from the Fleet acquisition - really screwed the pooch up on Capitol Hill today in testimony given to a congressional committee probing the Merrill takeover. By most accounts, he came across looking like a bumbling idiot hardly worthy of a CEO job.

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