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Bank of America's top pick for a new CEO? The one who created this mess

Posted Oct 7th 2009 9:00AM by Zac BissonnetteZac Bissonnette RSS Feed
Filed under: Bank of America (BAC)

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The Wall Street Journal reports on the top two in-house candidates to succeed CEO Ken Lewis on an interim basis: "The inside candidates are Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) Chief Risk Officer Gregory Curl and Brian Moynihan, the Charlotte, N.C., bank's consumer and small-business banking chief, these people said."

That's right: The guy who was chief risk officer when the company went from being one of the most powerful financial titans in the world to being one of America's biggest welfare recipients.

To borrow a line from tennis great John McEnroe, you cannot be serious. Mr. Curl was the lead negotiator for Bank of America during the negotiations to acquire Merrill Lynch. And what a fine job he did, helping the company to overpay badly for a toxic asset that it could have had for a heck of a lot less money a few days later.
Mr. Moynihan's track record appears to be less dismal but the real issue is this: Ken Lewis' top lieutenants were part of the regime that led to excessive risk-taking and financial disaster at Bank of America and as such, they are poor choices to succeed Mr. Lewis. Bank of America needs change, and change doesn't come from promoting the failed CEO's buddies.

Given the United States taxpayers' massive stake in Bank of America's future, the topic of succession at Bank of America is not some idle subject of debate among business news junkies. It's something everyone should be concerned about. And it's obvious that Bank of America's new CEO needs to come from outside the company.

Tags: BAC, Bank of America, BankOfAmerica, inthenews

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Last updated: November 24, 2009: 12:35 PM

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