billions bonus and bail it out !

thain and the billions bonus



BofA axes Thain as Merrill deal sours
In Categories: M&A, Capital markets, People
Posted at 05:55 by Gwen Robinson

John Thain was ousted from Bank of America on Thursday, just three weeks after closing the sale of Merrill Lynch to BofA, in a sign of the deepening crisis around the deal. Thain, who became chief executive of Merrill 13 months ago, left BofA after a brief meeting with its chief executive, Ken Lewis, who is under pressure from shareholders for paying a premium for Merrill. Since the deal was announced Sept 15, Merrill has disclosed operating losses of $41.2bn for 2008, and BofA’s share price has fallen about 80%. Lewis believes Thain had lost the confidence of many of the combined firm’s employees and shareholders, say insiders. More FT analysis here and a profile of Thain.
See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/01/23/51583/bofa-axes-thain-as-m
Behind Thain’s ousting
In Categories: Capital markets, People
Posted at 05:53 by Gwen Robinson

The sudden departure of John Thain from Bank of America, described by BofA as “mutually agreed”, came after rising tensions that followed the revelation last week of Merrill’s Q4 $15bn loss and after the FT reported Wednesday that he had accelerated Merrill Lynch’s bonus payment plan for 2008, and doled out as much as $4bn in discretionary bonuses on Dec 29, just three days before the BofA acquisition closed. Also, CNBC reported that Thain hired celebrity interior designer Michael Smith to redecorate his Merrill office a year ago and ran up a $1.22m bill, including for a $1,405 parchment waste bin and $87,000 rug.
See this article online.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/01/23/51582/behind-thains-oustin