That shakeup over at Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) could be just the beginning. IDD Magazine is reporting that BofA has a
"Plan B" if the board decides to ditch CEO Kenneth Lewis.
That Plan B, unsurprisingly, is to replace Lewis with one of the bank's new board members, all of whom have banking experience.
According to the IDD report:
[The new board members] could put more pressure on Lewis, who has said publicly that he
would like to remain CEO until either the financial crisis subsides or
Bank of America integrates its purchases of Merrill Lynch and
Countrywide Financial. Many believe this time frame would put off his
expected retirement until 2011.
Paul Miller Jr. an analyst at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co, told IDD boards "are very unpredictable and the more new people that come on means less control for the CEO." Though
reluctant to forecast an imminent departure for Lewis, Miller said, "it
should be difficult for him to stay around for three more years like he
has wanted to. Everything has to work now, and he can't produce another
hiccup" like the fourth quarter's large loss.
Since Walter Massey became BofA's chairman in April,
he has been cooking up succession plans for both himself and Lewis, who could retire in 2011, if not sooner. Massey has also been busy, replacing the six directors who resigned from the company's board who include:
Massey has installed four outside directors with
banking and related experience:
- Susan Bies, ex-Federal Reserve Board governor and former CFO of First Tennessee National
- Donald Powell, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and former CEO of First National Bank of Amarillo
- William Boardman, formerly of Bank One and Visa International
- D. Paul Jones, former CEO of Compass Bancshares
Powell, Boardman or Jones would likely be first choice interim-CEOs, according to IDD's report. Other possible successors include senior executive Liam McGee, who has oversight of consumer and small-business banking; CFO Joe Price; global corporate and investment banking executive Brian Moynihan; and Barbara Desoer
, who oversees insurance and mortgages.
- Maria Woehr
Also see:
Bank of America's Massey on a mission
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One thing is certain, Ken must be managed out. How about Jim Hance as the new CEO?