BofA's Ken Lewis Sacked By Shareholders As Chairman; Stays On As President & CEO
Under heavy fire from critics for the bank's losses in the economic meltdown, former Bank of America chairman Kenneth Lewis will step down as chairman, to be succeeded by Dr. Walter E. Massey. Lewis will remain as President and CEO.
All 18 board members were said to "comfortably" resist votes to remove them from the board, but the vote to split the duties of chairman into different posts was successful. Massey, an accomplished scientist and a member of many corporate governing boards, most recently served as president of his alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
The announcement came after a raucous shareholder meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina today, where investors and activists grilled him for pushing the acquisition of debt-riddled Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch, as well as for accepting billions in taxpayer money during the first round of bailouts of the financial market last year.
Countrywide, formerly the world's largest mortgage lender, was acquired last year by Bank of America for $4 billion amid rumors that it would seek bankruptcy protection due to mounting losses from the collapsing housing market. The additional acquisition of Merrill Lynch saddled the banking giant with an estimated $70 billion in capital losses, while shareholders saw their investments drop by an average of 76 percent.[..]
The Service Employees' International Union (SEIU) launched a campaign to remove Lewis as chairman, after it was revealed that Bank of America used $25 billion in taxpayer money it received for executive compensation and buyouts of competitors, while squeezing the credit lines of its customers.
SEIU actually liveblogged the shareholder's meeting and deserves all sorts of credit for really holding Lewis's feet to the fire.
I think Lewis should just be grateful that the shareholders didn't opt to treat him the way that Icelanders have treated the bankers that caused their financial crisis. Just sayin'...
Paper or plastic?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Golden parachute away!!
Circlejerk or Circlejerk?
no stockholder revolt is successful unless the major stockholders (i.e. board of directors) are on board.
This was a political move. He's still employed, and if anyone thinks he's not going to still have a say in how the company is run, well...then you don't understand how large firms operate.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Back in the pre-Reagan era shareholders would have turned out the lot of them. But that isn't possible anymore.
The eighties brough the golden parachutes and poison pills that were supposed to stop hostile takeovers. Instead they just rewarded the corporate losers who were attracting the takeover artists.
America's economy won't really recover as long as these posers have more power than the public they feed off.
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
What's the point of having these corporate separations of power if the board is willing to let one man hold all three positions?
No wonder these banks are so screwed up.
E.E. Smith Rocks!!
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
I guess space opera went out of fashion . . about 50 years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpX_BJHEvZA
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
They don't make 'em like that any more (and for a good reason)!
When can we expect to see this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4khXkE5gEI
?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I'm glad there were people there to hold his feet to the fire, but the move by the bank was cowardly at best.
These people need to be made to understand that we want REAL change within the organizations. On the bank level...their employess are mostly great.
Bank of America just instated a new policy that if you deposit your pay check, you are not allowed to keep out more than 100 dollars in cash, forcing you to deposit most of your check, no matter what your personal needs are. So....whoever is making these kinds of decisions for the bank, they need to go as well.
"The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists."
really showin 'em...
I remain underwhelmed.
I guess Lewis really learned his lesson what with now only being President & CEO. Yup, he'll stop misbehaving immediately.
How come bank board meetings never end like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9IscZMYYw0&fe...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Because YSB...the fixed the glitch with a patch for Windows 95!
I was hoping for something more like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX61PUZ3xkI
Edit: I think this was the one I wanted to post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iakR7sB0skw&fe...
dr. walter massey is, in fact, not a banker, but a trained physicist and scientist and, in the past, has sided with lewis, and will undoubtedly be swayed by lewis going forward. so, this seems at most like rearranging the deck chairs on the titantic.
but, on top of that, we have seen the weakness, feebleness, short-sightedness of the corporatocracy again and again. rampant corporo in-breeding and nepotism has to be one of the main culprits for the total failure of the corporatocracy. and massey's appointment shows this even further. massey is currently the director of mcdonalds and sits on the board of delta air lines, motorola and bp. and what does a bank, fast food, an airline, and oil co. have in common? that is, other than massey?
really, though, i place a lot of blame on the congress. they gave those-that-created-our-clusterfuck "free" money with nary a string attached. TARP should have included language in the legislation that made requisite the elimination of the corporate officers.
meet the new boss, same as the old.
what miniscule losses make such mighty victories.
and let them know just how thrilled I am to see him go.
Goodnight, Frau Blücher
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