Being the Chief Executive of a major bank has historically been something to aspire to, but the tides appear to be changing, at least for Bank of America, whose search for a CEO has been largely unsuccessful.
Last week, there was talk of Ken Lewis, the company’s current CEO considering holding out on his retirement until BofA could find a suitable replacement. When that will happen seems unsure; however, with few qualified candidates interested.
The reason is the same one leading Lewis to retire, the government’s role in the bank’s day to day activity is simply too pervasive. Top people are turned off by the job, knowing there will be significant pay restraints and that the rewards of scale will not come into reach for a long, long time.
The best option for the company then is for Lewis to stay on for CEO. While he has tired of being nationally vilified for overpayment of Merill Lynch the bank has improved from a D rating to a C- and Lewis is responsible the improvement.
This letter grade is not something anyone would applaud at, but the upgrade is likely more than any successor with less knowledge of the bank’s inner workings could hope to achieve.
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