That’s what Charlie Gasparino said on CNBC late on Wednesday. Apparently, Bank of America has six internal candidates vying to take over the role of chief executive from Ken Lewis.
The names in the frame include Thomas Montag, Brian Moynihan and Sallie Krawcheck.
Of course, Lewis was effectively ousted from the chairmanship at BoA at the end of August, when shareholders narrowly voted to split the top role.
What a shambolic end to an eight year reign at the bank.
Then again, we could simply wonder how he managed to survive so long, given the investigations underway by Congress, the SEC and the NY Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo.
Those Merrill bonuses were very costly indeed.
UPDATE
Bank of America quickly issued a statement, which both confirmed Lewis’ departure and underlined the rudderless state of one of the world’s largest financial institutions:
Ken Lewis, chief executive officer and president, announced today that he has notified the Board of Directors of his decision to retire, effective December 31, 2009. The Board will continue ongoing planning to ensure his successor is selected by that date. Lewis will retire as CEO and as a director.
And this, from Walter Massey, who has been chairman for a month:
We are on a solid path to the future. The board will be moving in a deliberate and expeditious manner to select a worthy successor to Ken Lewis.
Related link:
Banker of the year goes bye-bye? – FT Alphaville