Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis has certainly got his critics, but respected Rochdale Securities bank analyst Richard Bove isn't one of them.

The New York Times reports that Bove wrote in a recent note to clients that 'the politicians and the press are trying to get Ken Lewis fired for adding value to shareholders.....In this new world where success should be punished, this may be a new low point'.

Bove seems to base his view on the fact that BofA's stock price has been making an impressive run recently, currently standing at $16.42. Be that as it may, stockholders are miffed that the stock was trading at close to $34 when the firm announced it was acquiring Merrill Lynch last September. And critics point out that both JPMorgan Chase and Goldman shares are almost back to where they were 12 months ago, whereas BofA's stock is still trading at less than half.

And American Banker reports that the recent appointment of Sallie Krawcheck to run wealth management is yet another indication that Lewis is losing his grip on power (he has already lost his Chairman's role). The magazine quotes D.Anthony Plath, a finance professor at the University of North Carolina, who said: 'To those who know the industry and Bank of America, this is a bizarre appointment....It would be totally opposite the culture of Bank of America to bring someone in - particularly from Citi - to run a major business without having them prove themselves (at the bank) first. Who did this ? Is it the board or the government ?.......This is....another indication that management isn't as strong in its position as they would like us to believe'.

Cynics also point out that Ms Krawcheck hasn't seemed to spend much time in a job recently (three years heading stock research at Citi, 18 months as CFO there, then 18 months heading up wealth management), and some fear that her appointment signals yet another shake-up in the Merrill Lynch brokerage ranks. Dow Jones Newswires quotes one unnamed Merrill Lynch broker who said: 'We just want to be left alone to run our businesses'. Ken Lewis can no doubt relate to that.

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