The Latest From Bank of America Land
The Committee will be probing the timing of Merrill's fourth-quarter losses and bonus payments, and will try to get to the bottom of Lewis's claims that he was strong-armed by Treasury and Federal Reserve officials to complete the Merrill acquisition.
In the meantime, The Financial Times reports that Bank of America has strengthen its board by naming two former federal financial services regulators and two former bank directors to it. The bank's new directors are Susan Bies (an ex-member of the Federal Reserve's board of governors), Donald Powell (former Federal Deposit Insurance Chairman), William Boardman (retired from Bank One) and D. Paul Jones (ex CEO of Compass Bancshares).
And The New York Post reports that long-term BofA shareholder activist Jerry Finger looks like getting the opportunity of sitting down with the bank's board to discuss his views about the future direction of the firm. Finger headed up a recent campaign to get Lewis stripped of his CEO and Chairman positions, and was partially successful when the BofA's boss was voted out of his Chairman's role.
Finally, Reuters reports that Amy Woods Brinkley, BofA's Chief Risk Officer since 2001, is stepping down as the bank said that it needed 'a different approach to risk management' (cynics suggest that this means less risk and more management). Ms Brinkley will be replaced by Gregory Curl, the bank's strategy executive.