Bank of America Corp. (BAC) may extend its search for a new, permanent chief executive officer into 2010 if the company's directors cannot settle on a candidate by a November 26 deadline, Bloomberg reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. The bank's directors, who met November 20, may be willing to go past the Thanksgiving holiday deadline and the December 31 retirement of CEO Kenneth Lewis, if it means getting a better choice, the report noted.
Bank of America faces pressure to pick someone in a short period who is acceptable to regulators and whose pay would be low enough to win approval from the Treasury Department paymaster. The bank's $45 billion bailout puts it's CEO under the purview of paymaster Kenneth Feinberg. CEO Lewis agreed in October to forgo any pay for 2009 after being advised to do so by Feinberg.
At least four external candidates for the CEO post, including Citigroup Inc. (C) director Michael O'Neill, rebuffed approaches, Bloomberg reported.
O'Neill reportedly told the committee members that Bank of America needs to increase the size of its banking operations and reduce its trading business. However, the committee members responded that such a shift would be unproductive as it would abandon the strategy adopted when Lewis bought Merrill Lynch & Co., Bloomberg reported.
The bank's options now include an interim CEO or a delay in Lewis's retirement. The Wall Street Journal had reported Friday citing a person close to Lewis that the CEO would consider postponing his retirement if directors need more time to find a successor or smooth the transition to the next CEO.
Late August, Bank of America said Lewis has decided to retire end December 2009. Lewis, 62, bore the brunt of shareholders' as well as lawmakers' ire after being accused of misleading investors about annual bonuses paid to employees at Merrill Lynch prior to Bank of America acquiring the beleaguered financial giant.
BAC closed Friday's regular trading session at $16.09, up $0.01 or 0.06% on a volume of 128.33 million shares.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.