As Bank of America Corp. CEO Ken Lewis prepares to answer
a subpoena by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Wall Street heavyweight Ken
Langone, chairman and president of Invemed Associates, who is familiar
with being under the attorney general's microscope, offered the the CEO
some supportive words on CNBC's "Sqawk Box" Friday morning.
Langone
said it's possible that Lewis had his judgment clouded in December when
he was pressured (by the government) to do the Merrill Lynch & Co. deal, but added
that the brokerage firm has 16,000 of the most powerful, well-trained
and ethical people. "It's the franchise for the consumer, it's where
Wall Street meets Main Street," he said.
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When asked about the
possible nationalization of the big banks, Langone said it would be a
"horrible mistake." Langone also applauded President Obama's moves to
stabilize the economy but said it's enough. He says it will take pain
and time to recover from this economic downturn.
"We are the
greatest nation on earth. We're going through a rough patch. We'll get
through it. There's going to be some pain, there's going to be some
dislocation ... and we should emerge stronger and better," he said.
Langone said just under a year ago Lewis was a hero. He is one of the
"best managers in the world," Langone said at the time, adding that the acquisition
of Countrywide Financial was going to be "a big home run." Additionally, Langone has heaped praise on Lewis for the Merrill
Lynch deal calling it a bonanza.
Langone, who gained notoriety for trying to buy the New York Stock Exchange, may sympathize with the embattled CEO from his run in with the
Office of the Attorney General back in 2004. When Langone was a director of
the NYSE, he was caught up in New York Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer's investigation of NYSE CEO Dick Grasso's
compensation.
In addition to his involvement with NYSE, Langone is also known as a co-founder of Home Depot Inc. - Donna Block
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See related story about Lewis from Dealscape
Comments
Banks are nationalized each week, through FDIC receivership. Not a new or unusual concept.