Bank Of America's Lay-Offs Threatens Charlotte's Economy; The Countrywide Curse!

Bank of America Confirms 30,000 Jobs to Go

Bank of America’s chief executive, Brian T. Moynihan, vowed on Monday to eliminate $5 billion in costs annually by 2014, a move that will eliminate at least 30,000 jobs at the company, which employs 288,000 people and is the largest bank in the United States.

In a widely anticipated speech at an investor conference organized by Barclays in New York, Mr. Moynihan outlined his plan to make Bank of America, the largest bank in the United States, more efficient and profitable even if that means sacrificing scale. “We don’t have to be the biggest company out there,” he said. “We have to be the best.”

While he did not specify the number of jobs that might be involved, the company announced shortly after his speech that 30,000 jobs are to be eliminated under the company’s Project New BAC cost-cutting initiative. The initial recommendations by the architects of New BAC, which takes its name from the company’s ticker symbol, were reviewed last Thursday and Friday by the company’s top management in Charlotte, N.C.

“As the decisions are implemented, employment levels in the areas under review during Phase I are expected to be reduced by approximately 30,000 jobs over the next few years,” the bank said in a statement. “The company expects that attrition and the elimination of appropriate unfilled roles will be a significant part of the anticipated decrease in jobs.”

The first part of New BAC involves the consumer banking operations of the company, as well as its home loan, technology and support operations. Other parts of the business, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, will be reviewed in the second phase, which begins in October and continues through March 2012.

Out of $73 billion in annual expenses, Mr. Moynihan aims to cut at least $5 billion by shutting some of its 63 data centers, eliminating overlapping deposit systems and trimming layers of back-office staff accumulated during the acquisition binge undertaken by his predecessor, Ken Lewis.

“It’s taking out work we don’t need to do any more, and getting it out of the company,” he said. “We’re a much simpler company than we were 24 months ago.”

While the speech fell short of the bold blueprint many analysts and investors had been hoping for, Bank of America shares rose in early trading by 1.1 percent to $7.06.

It has been a very busy summer for Mr. Moynihan. In the last few weeks, the company has announced a management shake-up, a $5 billion investment by Warren E. Buffett and the sale of more than $15 billion in assets.

None of those major news events have propped up the bank’s battered stock, which is down nearly 30 percent since the beginning of August.

During the question-and-answer part of the session, Mr. Moynihan was asked whether Bank of America had been asked by the federal regulators to raise capital at the time of Mr. Buffett’s investment. Mr. Moynihan said they had not.

A shareholder asked him: “Can you or would you bankrupt Countrywide?” Mounting losses at Countrywide Financial are still plaguing the bank, three years after Bank of America bought it for $2.8 billion when Countrywide nearly collapsed into bankruptcy as its financing dried up.

Mr. Moynihan answered that in dealing with the troubled mortgage giant, the bank “looks at all our options on everything.”

When the questioner followed up by asking Mr. Moynihan if he was saying that bankrupting Countrywide was a viable option, Mr. Moynihan again demurred. “There are options around all this stuff that we continue to work on,” he said.

Angry investors are trying to force Bank of America, and other large banks, to buy back billions of dollars worth of mortgages that have defaulted, arguing that the home loans did not conform to the original underwriting standards or were originated with little evidence of adequate assets on the part of borrowers.

In other cases, investors including the federal government and the insurance giant A.I.G. want to recover tens of billions of dollars from the big banks for losses on securities they assembled from now-troubled subprime mortgages.

Then there is the investigation by state attorneys general into mortgage servicing abuses, which could cost the big banks more than $20 billion in a proposed settlement that so far they’ve been unable to finalize. “The attorneys generals settlement is part of what can move us forward, but the settlement has to be reasonable for the company and reasonable for shareholders,” Mr. Moynihan said.


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Sources: Associated Press, Charlotte Magazine, Forbes, NY Times, Youtube, Google Maps

Cunningham vs Marshall: Ugly Political Battle of NC Dem vs Dem Continues

A North Carolina Version Of "Dewey Defeats Truman"?


Earlier in the week, Elaine Marshall's campaign delivered a memo that said there was no way that Cal Cunningham could win the June 22 primary runoff.

It stated, among other things: "In a run-off election, Cal Cunningham has no path to victory."

Now, reports Rob Christensen, the Cunningham campaign has issued its own competing memo entitled: "Dewey Defeats Truman Redux?"

The memo, from Cunningham spokesman Jared Leopold, notes that the Marshall campaign had earlier said it would win the first primary with more than 40 percent of the vote. And it points to a new poll by Public Policy Polling that shows the runoff to be a dead heat.

"For the second time in as many weeks, Elaine Marshall's campaign boldly declared victory – only to be immediately brought down to earth by inconvenient facts," said the Cunningham campaign.

"While Elaine Marshall's campaign chooses to take a second premature victory lap, Cal Cunningham will continue to focus on the issues that matter to North Carolina voters," wrote Leopold.









N.C. Democratic U.S. Senate Candidates Will Debate At WRAL June 10th


North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and former state Sen. Cal Cunningham will debate at WRAL before the June 22 Democratic primary runoff election determines which of them will challenge Republican Richard Burr for his seat in the U.S. Senate.

The debate will air live on WRAL-TV and WRAL.com Thursday, June 10, at 7 p.m.

Neither candidate drew the 40 percent of votes necessary in the May 4 primary to avoid a runoff. Marshall led the six-candidate field with 36 percent, while Cunningham came in second with 27 percent.


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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Public Policy Polling, WRAL, Google Maps

Cal Cunningham vs Elaine Marshall: Debates & Dirty Politics (Videos)

Big Blitz Brewing For North Carolina Voters


Elaine Marshall and Cal Cunningham on Wednesday began a 48-day dash for the Democratic Senate nomination, amid indications that the runoff will turn into something rougher than the polite debating society that marked the first primary.

Marshall, the secretary of the state, made one last effort to persuade Cunningham to forgo a runoff, saying she thought pressure was building among Democrats for him to leave the field.

"I hope he will put the best interests of the party and the best interests of the people front and foremost rather than his own personal ambitions," Marshall said in an interview at her campaign headquarters in the warehouse district of downtown Raleigh.

She was too late.

Cunningham filed the papers calling for a runoff early Wednesday morning with the N.C. State Board of Elections in Raleigh.

Cunningham, a Lexington lawyer and Iraq war veteran, said that his campaign had gained momentum in recent weeks, and that he could catch Marshall by the June 22 runoff.

"She has been campaigning across North Carolina for over 14 years," Cunningham said at a campaign appearance in front of the Busy Bee Cafe, where he touted his efforts on behalf of small businesses.

"She was the known quantity in this campaign," Cunningham said. "Over two-thirds of voters could not choose her yesterday."

Cunningham dismissed Marshall's call for unity, throwing back her own comments she made when she unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the Senate in 2002.

His campaign provided an article from Congressional Quarterly quoting Marshall saying, "from the party standpoint, to have a candidate where more people have voted against them than for them does not bode for success."

Marshall led Tuesday's primary with 36 percent of the vote, short of the 40 percent she needed to clinch the nomination. Cunningham finished second in the six-person field with 27 percent.

Ken Lewis is courted

Both candidates and their supporters have contacted Chapel Hill's Ken Lewis, the third-place finisher. But Lewis said he was not ready to endorse.

"I've become very popular," Lewis quipped.

Marshall, the four-term secretary of the state, benefited from an extensive grass-roots organization and her previous statewide runs. Cunningham, recruited to run by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, was better financed and was the only candidate to have a significant TV presence.

Tuesday's Democratic primary turnout was 15 percent, the lowest in recent years. It played to Marshall's grassroots support. Many of those voters were among the most loyal Democratic voters, including older white women. Judging by past runoffs, the turnout for the June 22 runoff was likely to drop as low as 5 percent.

There were 425,709 people who voted in the Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday. Democratic strategists were guessing the number could drop to 150,000 for the runoff.

Such low turnouts could help Marshall, who has spent years on the chicken dinner circuit.

"Of the 155,000 people who voted for her, she probably knew every one of those people by name and most of them are likely to vote again," said Gary Pearce, a veteran Democratic strategist in Raleigh, who is not involved in either campaign.

Pearce said he would have advised Cunningham not to seek a runoff if he had been asked.

"I think it's a very difficult path to victory," Pearce said of Cunningham.

Marshall carried 74 counties. Cunningham carried 21, Lewis carried four and Marcus Williams carried one.

Cunningham said he had more room to grow than Marshall, who is already known among Democratic voters. Cunningham said he still believes he would be the stronger candidate against Republican Sen. Richard Burr in the fall.

TV debate possible

Cunningham said he had agreed to a televised debate proposed by WRAL-TV a week before the runoff. Marshall said she would consider it.

Both candidates suggested the race could get rougher now that it has narrowed to two candidates.

"Once you get down to a two-person race it sometimes becomes a little more hard-edged," Marshall said. "But we are going to be very positive. We are going to show distinctions. We are going to campaign for the best interests of North Carolina."

Cunningham said state voters care about the issues. "There will be places where Secretary Marshall and I disagree. I hold her in very high regard. Where we disagree, I will make sure voters understand the differences."





Cunningham, Marshall Will Debate Twice On TV


There will likely be at least two televised debates during the Democratic Senate primary runoff.

Cal Cunningham, the former state senator, announced that he had accepted an in invitation to participate in a debate sponsored by WRAL on June 10 and another debate sponsored by NBC-17 and the N.C. League of Women Voters on June 15th, Rob Christensen reports.

Cunningham also said he also calling on Marshall to join in three additional debates, possibly sponsored by the N.C. Democratic Party and held in various regions of the state.

"We are calling on Mrs. Marshall to join us in five debates across the state," Cunningham said during a telephone news conference Thursday afternoon. "I don’t know if she will agree with us, that North Carolinians deserve to hear from the two Democratic candidates that want to discuss the issues facing us."

Thomas Mills, spokesman for the campaign of Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, said that campaign had tentatively accepted both televised debates.

He said Marshall was open to additional debates as well, but wanted to check with scheduling.

"We will probably agree to more debates," Mills said. "Every time we get on the stage with Cal Cunningham we seem to gain a ton of support and money."

Marshall finished first in Tuesday’s primary winning 36 percent, less than the 40 percent needed to clinch the nomination. Cunningham was the second place finisher with 27 percent. The runoff will be held June 22nd.


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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, WRAL, Google Maps

Richard Burr Biggest 2010 N.C. Primary Winner! 80.10% & 299,419 Votes

Full 2010 North Carolina Election Primary results can be seen here at this link.


2010 U.S. SENATE Race Challengers (N.C.)


REP: Richard Burr - 80.10% with 299,419 votes

DEM: Elaine Marshall - 36.36% with 154,890 votes

DEM: Cal Cunningham - 27.31% with 116,316 votes

DEM: Kenneth Lewis - 17.04% with 72,581 votes





Registered North Carolina Voters: 6,114,178

Democratic: 2,754,676

Republican: 1,932,442

Libertarian: 7,321

Unaffiliated: 1,411,445

Ballots Cast: 759,917
Voter Turnout: 12.43 %





Richard Burr Wins N.C. GOP Primary


Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr has easily won his primary election.

In a statement, Burr said he recognized he had a long road ahead.

"I am honored to have received my party’s nomination today," said Burr. "However, this is just the beginning and it will be a long road to November.

I have a strong record in the Senate fighting for issues important to North Carolinians. It will be up to North Carolinians to decide if I have upheld my commitment and allow me to continue my service to this state."

In an e-mail message N.C. Republican Party Chairman Tom Fetzer asked Republicans to help Burr "fight the misguided Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda".

"As you know, Washington Democrats will pour millions of dollars into our state to try to defeat Senator Burr," Fetzer wrote.








Elaine Marshall Opens Big Lead In Democratic Senate Primary


Elaine Marshall has taken a large lead over Cal Cunningham and Ken Lewis in the primary for the Democratic nomination to face incumbent Richard Burr in the state's U.S. Senate race.

With 29 percent of the vote counted, Marshall has 38 percent of the vote, just a couple of points short of the 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff.

Cunningham, the candidate backed by much of the party's leadership, has 27 percent, and Lewis has 17 percent.


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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, N.C. State Board of Elections, WCNC, Youtube, Google Maps

Cunningham, Lewis & Marshall Oppose Off Shore Drilling

North Carolina U.S. Senate Democratic Candidates Say Off Shore Drilling Is Too Murky


The 3 main N.C. Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Friday morning said the oil spill in the Gulf Coast reinforced their opposition to oil and gas exploration off of North Carolina's coast.

Appearing at a taping of WRAL TV's "On The Record," the Democrats said there were too many risks and too little benefits to off shore exploration, Rob Christensen reports.

In doing so, they broke with the Obama Administration which has taken the first steps to opening up sections of the east coast to exploration.

"I don't think off shore drilling is the right answer for North Carolina," said former state Sen. Cal Cunningham. "Based on all the experts estimates there is not meaningful oil or natural gas off the coast of North Carolina to meet the natural security and economic challenges this country faces."

Ken Lewis, a Chapel Hill attorney, said "there is no compelling evidence" there are large oil or natural gas reserves off the North Carolina coast. Lewis said the country should be focusing on energy alternatives and ways to reduce the carbon foot print.

Secretary of Sate Elaine Marshall said she is also skeptical about the value of drilling off the coast. But she said if the federal government required off shore exploration, that North Carolina would get the best deal in terms of revenue for the state and environmental protections.

"North Carolina needs to drive a hard bargain," Marshall said. The program will air Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.



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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, WRAL, Youtube, Google Maps

Kenneth Lewis Violates Campaign Finance Laws, Attacks Cunningham

Ken Lewis Is Late On Campaign Finance Reports


The Federal Election Commission has sent a letter to the Senate campaign of Ken Lewis admonishing them for failing to file its latest campaign finance report on time.

The FEC said that Ken Lewis' campaign had not filed a report listing their donations and expenditures for the period of April 1 through April 14th as required by law, Rob Christensen reports.

Sam Swartz, a Lewis campaign spokesman, said the campaign had not seen the letter.

The letter, dated April 23, signed by Debbie Chacona, assistant staff director of the FEC's reports analysis division, is on file online at the FEC site.






Ken Lewis Launches Negative Ad

In the first attack ad of North Carolina’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, Ken Lewis knocks rival Cal Cunningham as someone who "says one thing then does another behind closed doors."

The radio ad — which as of Wednesday had yet to air — comes less than a week before the May 4 primary. It also comes a day after a poll showed Lewis, a Chapel Hill lawyer, trailing Cunningham, a former state senator, and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer reports.

The ad involves an effort by the N.C. Banking Commission to award of bonuses to bank regulators. Commissioners discussed the bonuses last year in a conference call.

After the issue came up at a debate this month, Cunningham told reporters he’d left the call before the subject came up. But Lewis produced a transcript that shows Cunningham was on the call for at least some of the bonus discussion.

In earlier statements, Lewis has criticized Cunningham for what he calls inconsistencies. Spokesman Sam Swartz said the ad will be put into the rotation of ads running on mostly on black-oriented urban radio stations.

Cunningham spokeswoman Angela Guyadeen calls the ad "a desperate attempt by a candidate lagging in the polls to throw mud and distract voters from the real issues."

"(Cunningham) wasn’t on the conference call when the vote on bonuses took place, and no bonuses were ever awarded," she said Wednesday.


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Sources: Facebook, Federal Election Commission, McClatchy Newspapers, Google Maps

Mel Watt & Harvey Gantt Endorse Ken Lewis, Political "Kiss Of Death"

Both Congressman Mel Watt & former Charlotte, NC Mayor Harvey Gantt have endorsed U.S. Senate Democrat Candidate Kenneth Lewis.

Let's see due to not giving a darn about his Lower Income & Middle Class N.C. Minority voters while catering heavily to Wealthy White constituents, Mel Watt is on his way out of Public Office.

Harvey Gantt (now an Architect) who also appears to only care about himself (and Elite friends) while Minority Youth continue to fail academically or are thrown into Mecklenburg county's jail by the thousands, will probably never return to Public Office either.

That said why would anyone want to support a political candidate endorsed by these two Pseudo, Scared, Self-Serving, Token Black "Leaders"?

Don't forget Harvey Gantt endorsed Mayor Anthony Foxx too.

The results:

Charlotte's Minority citizens (except Foxx's Elite friends) are being treated worse than when Charlotte had a Caucasian Mayor for 14 years.

Including ZERO support of Black Businesses!

(Actually I'm referring to Lower Income & Middle Class Minority citizens.)

In addition Charlotte's Crime rate has increased.

Thank God I did not vote for Anthony Foxx so his legalized Slavery type actions towards Charlotte's Black Community are not on my conscious.

So what's my point?

Considering the current negative sentiment from voters against Democrat candidates especially Black Candidates, I'd say whomever Gantt & Watt endorses just received the political "Kiss of Death".

The fact that these two characters support Lewis speaks miles about what kind of U.S. Senator he might be.

It will just be business as usual:

Low Income & Middle Class Minority voters treated like dirt and ignored, while North Carolina's Wealthy White & Black Elite constituents receive creme de' la creme services.

For the record I'm NOT opposed to all Black Political candidates.

Just most of North Carolina's Corrupt, Willie Lynch-minded Black "Public Servants".

By the way have you heard Ken Lewis speak out about North Carolina's Public Schools returning to Re-Segregation?

No and you never will!

Perhaps this explains why the Obama administration would rather back a White Democrat Candidate from North Carolina (Cal Cunningham) than a Black one.

Kenneth Lewis is a prime example of another scared Negro concerned only with fulfilling his Self-Interest, while catering to pre-dominantly White Special Interest groups.

Much like his buddies Harvey Gantt & Mel Gantt.

I'm sure both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are rolling over in their graves right about now.

I strongly urge North Carolina's Minority voters to STOP electing Black Candidates just for the purpose of having Black Representation in City, County, State & Federal politics.

Start requiring them to earn the right to remain in office by representing people (ALL constituents not some) who give them their jobs.

Start requiring them to rejoin the struggle in this country for eliminating Racial Discrimination in the areas of Business Opportunities, Education, Employment, Health Care, Housing and Taxation.

If they refuse to deliver than DON'T elect them!

Check out the articles below on Harvey Gantt & Mel Watt's endorsement of Kenneth Lewis, than reach your own conclusions.





Mel Watt Endorses Lewis For U.S. Senate


Democratic U.S. Rep. Mel Watt has endorsed Ken Lewis for U.S. Senate.

"My friendship with Ken Lewis has afforded me a close up and personal opportunity to observe Ken's intellect, his values, his ability to communicate, the way he thinks and his commitment to things that are important to me, and things that I have found to be important to the people I represent," Watt said in a news release announcing the endorsement.

"Ken Lewis will bring new and diverse ideas and perspectives to public discussions, something that's sorely needed in the public discourse and something that's sorely needed in the United States Senate. The fact that Ken Lewis has not served in political office is, in my view, a benefit and not a shortcoming."

Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, was the former chairman of the Congressional
Black Caucus and was campaign manager for Harvey Gantt's 1990 U.S.
Senate campaign. The endorsement is the third for Lewis from major black political figures in the state. Lewis had previously received the endorsements of Democratic U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Henry Frye.

"Mel has been at the forefront of the issues most important to both his district and the state of North Carolina," Lewis said in a news release. "From advocating for affordable housing and responsible lending to opposing the Iraq War, Mel has repeatedly demonstrated his remarkable leadership ability."





Harvey Gantt To Endorse Ken Lewis For U.S. Senate


Former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt will endorse Democratic Senate candidate Ken Lewis Wednesday, joining his neighbor U.S. Rep. Mel Watt in backing the Chapel Hill lawyer.

Gantt, who twice lost U.S. Senate bids to Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, plans to announce the endorsement in his Tryon Street architectural office, reports Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer.

The endorsement by one of Charlotte's most prominent African Americans will come three days after Charlotte's Black Political Caucus endorsed one of Lewis' rivals, Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

Lewis also has won the endorsement of U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield.


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Sources: Facebook, McClatchy Newspapers, Youtube, Google Maps

Richard Burr Edges Out His Democrat U.S. Senate Challengers

Richard Burr Has Edge In Seeking Re-Election



Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr would seem to be in an enviable position.

Virtually nobody knows his primary challengers. He leads each of his main Democratic opponents by double digits in some polls. And he's got $5.3 million in the bank, far more than any rival.

But, says Burr, "I worry about every election."

Other than the late Republican Jesse Helms, no senator from North Carolina has been re-elected in the last four decades.

Burr is one of only two GOP senators running in a state carried by Democrat Barack Obama. And for much of his term, he's kept a relatively low profile.

A new Elon University Poll Friday showed that while 37 percent of North Carolinians approve of his job performance, 35 percent have no opinion about it. Other polls have shown his approval at under 50 percent.

"It's a direct reflection of the influx of 1 million new voters into North Carolina since the last time I ran," Burr said Friday.

He's trying to change that. His first TV ad, for example, features testimonials from North Carolinians he has helped.

Records show that in the Senate, Burr has voted with the majority of his party 93 percent of the time. A National Journal analysis found him the ninth most conservative member.

He was an outspoken critic of Democratic health care legislation. He criticizes rising federal spending and last month voted against an extension of unemployment benefits, saying it didn't include a way to pay for it.

Democrats call Burr an obstructionist. He says Republican proposals are ignored by the Democratic majority.

Burr says he doesn't worry about being swept up in an anti-incumbent wave. What he does worry about is being "demonized" with millions of dollars by the Democratic Party, labor unions or other groups.

"I'm always looking at how much outside money finds its way into North Carolina," he says. "The White House has to portray, from an electoral standpoint, that North Carolina is in play" in 2012.

The Washington-based Cook Political Report ranks the seat as likely to remain in GOP hands.

"Burr's going to have to work at this, he can't take anything for granted," says Cook analyst Jennifer Duffy. "He just starts the race with a whole lot of advantages."


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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, WCNC, Youtube, Google Maps

North Carolina Voters Favor Burr Over Democrat Challengers (Polls)

North Carolina Voters Would Choose Burr Over Democrats


The tune hasn’t really changed in the last year when it comes to Richard Burr’s political status: he has mediocre approval numbers but it doesn’t stop him from leading all of his Democratic opponents by decent margins.

North Carolinians are evenly divided on Burr with 35% giving him good marks and 35%
saying they’re unhappy with his job performance.

30% continue to have no opinion one way or the other. Burr has the approval of 57% of Republicans and 16% of Democrats, and his standing with independents is identical to what it is overall at 35/35.

Burr leads Elaine Marshall 43-33, Cal Cunningham 44-32, and Kenneth Lewis 44-31.

Two common themes drive those leads for Burr- Republican voters are much more
unified than Democrats and Independents are leaning toward Burr as well.

The Democratic candidates are still suffering from low name recognition. 29% of voters have an opinion of Elaine Marshall while just 17% do of Kenneth Lewis and 14% do for Cal Cunningham.

“This race doesn’t seem like it will move much until the candidates become better
known,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “It’s going to be really interesting to see where things stand at the beginning of May once Democrats have a nominee.”

Tested against a generic Democratic candidate Burr leads by a more narrow 42-35
margin. Even in that scenario 22% of Democrats are undecided compared to just 16% of
Republicans.

PPP surveyed 788 North Carolina voters from February 12th to 15th.

The survey’s margin of error is +/-3.5%. Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.

Complete results are attached and can be found at www.publicpolicypolling.com

If you would like an interview regarding this release, please contact Dean Debnam at
(888) 621-6988 or 919-880-4888.


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Sources: Public Policy Polling, Google Maps

Ken Lewis Ex-BOFA Chief Charged With Fraud; More Bonuses

Ex-BofA Chief Lewis Charged With Fraud


New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo unveiled a major legal action against senior Bank of America executives Thursday over its controversial purchase of Merrill Lynch, including bringing civil charges against its former CEO Ken Lewis.

Cuomo's office, which has been aggressively pursuing an investigation into the merger and subsequent bonuses paid to former Merrill employees, said it was charging Lewis and Bank of America's chief financial officer Joe Price, who was recently appointed to lead the firm's consumer banking business.

The lawsuit contends that the bank's management team understated the losses at Merrill in order to get shareholders to approve the deal, then subsequently overstated the firm's willingness to terminate the merger in order to get $20 billion of additional aid from the federal government.

"Bank of America, through its top management, engaged in a concerted effort to deceive shareholders and American taxpayers at large," Cuomo said in a statement.

"This was an arrogant scheme hatched by the bank's top executives who believed they could play by their own set of rules."

A spokesperson for Bank of America called the charges "regrettable" and "totally without merit."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday it had struck an agreement with Bank of America over the company's decision to pay $3.6 billion of bonuses to former Merrill employees for fiscal year 2008.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the Charlotte, N.C.-based lender will pay a $150 million penalty to its shareholders who were affected by the disclosure violations.

The company also agreed to implement a number of corporate governance changes for the next three years including giving its shareholders an advisory vote, or "say on pay" of its executives.

The settlement will be subject to the approval of U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff, however.

Rakoff scuttled a previous agreement between the two parties last fall, arguing that the original $33 million settlement was not only paltry, but would only impact those who were hurt by the bonus scandal: the company's shareholders.

Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) shares fell more than 3.5% in midday trading.








Bank of America Bonuses Could Top $4 Billion


Bank of America Corp., the nation's largest lender, will pay investment-banking employees bonuses of about $4.4 billion for last year, or an average of $400,000 each, a person close to the bank said.

As much as 95 percent will be paid in stock vesting over about three years, the person said. Those receiving the smallest bonuses will get about half their compensation in cash, paid later this month, the person said. The unit accounts for 10,000 people, or 4 percent of the Charlotte-based bank's 283,000 workers.

Bank of America, the target of political wrath for its acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. even as the faltering Wall Street firm handed out $3.6 billion of employee bonuses, reaped a $6.3 billion profit in 2009. This year's investment bank bonuses are a third less the than $6.5 billion that the combined units would have paid in the peak year of 2006, the person said, citing internal Bank of America calculations.

"Fixed-income traders are receiving the biggest bonuses at Bank of America and other firms because that was what drove Wall Street profits last year," said Richard Lipstein, managing director at Boyden Global Executive Search Ltd. in New York. "Psychologically Wall Street is paying people compared with 2006 levels because 2008 was such a disaster."

The Financial Times cited unidentified people as saying that top Bank of America performers in global banking and markets will receive bonuses of about $5 million, while managing directors will get $2.5 million to $3 million. Senior investment bankers often receive bonuses that are eight to 10 times their base salaries, which tend to be $250,000 to $300,000, Lipstein said.

"We attempted to balance the need to pay competitively with our understanding of the general concern over the level of compensation on Wall Street," spokesman Bob Stickler said. "The most important thing is that much more of year-end compensation is now deferred and tied to long-term stock performance and there are clawbacks."

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s investment bank slashed their compensation in the fourth quarter. The three firms set aside $39.9 billion for pay in 2009, below the 2007 record of $44.7 billion. The total fell short of the $46.1 billion five analysts expected this year and is almost $10 billion less than what some analysts estimated in October.

JPMorgan's investment bank had the lowest ratio of the three of total pay to revenue, at 33 percent. Goldman Sachs's rate was 36 percent and it was 62 percent at Morgan Stanley.

At Bank of America, the bonuses equate to 19 percent of the $23 billion in revenue at the investment bank. That ratio would have been 26 percent in 2006, the person briefed on the matter said.

Bank of America is relying on growth in Merrill's capital markets and wealth management units. The bank, which bought Merrill last January, plans to add "hundreds" of trainees this year as it rebuilds its stock brokerage unit, spokeswoman Selena Morris said, declining to provide a specific number. Merrill had 15,006 financial advisers at the end of 2009, down from almost 18,000 at its peak several years ago, she said.

About 80 percent of Merrill's brokerage revenue stem from financial advisers who were trained by the company, with the balance from brokers recruited from peers, Morris said. Merrill Lynch's wealth management unit had revenue of $6.1 billion last year, six times greater than Bank of America's stand-alone brokerage business in 2008.


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Sources: CNN, McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, CNBC, WCNC, TPM, Youtube, Google Maps

BOFA Rumored To Hire New Ceo By Sunday...Top Industry Candidates Didn't Want Job

Banking boomtown loses one of its biggest players. Charlotte, N.C. is the country's second largest banking center, but the recent failure of Wachovia has the entire city bracing for fallout from thousands of executive-level layoffs. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The Best Job No One Wants


A new CEO for Bank of America could be chosen as early as Sunday, reports Charlie Gasparino. Inside a selection process beset by rivalries, government pressure—and most of all a lack of interest from top candidates.

The board of directors of Bank of America is trying to pick a successor to Ken Lewis, and it really, really wants to finish the job on Sunday night, a senior BofA official tells me. The board is trying to get the job done, this official also tells me, because it’s sick of all the controversy surrounding the selection. Members have been divided over the internal candidates. Others are angered that no one on the outside wants the job of running a bank that is being investigated by the New York attorney general, among others, partially owned by the federal government and thus open to harassment by Rep. Ed Towns, Rep. Barney Frank, various bureaucrats at the Fed, and the giant SEIU, which wants to organize tellers and has a direct line into the Obama White House.

They’re also kind of annoyed at the press, me in particular, for calling the selection process—one that has lasted weeks longer than it should have and featured a prominent board member going on vacation—dysfunctional.

So they want to move and move fast, at least as fast is defined down there in Charlotte, the headquarters city where these decisions get made. Even so, this executive reminds me that the board is still divided over internal candidates and hasn’t settled on someone from the outside to take the job. He also reminds me that the selection process is still beset by rivalries among various board members and pressure from the feds to find someone with better qualifications than senior executives already at the firm. In other words, he concedes, the process is pretty dysfunctional, so it might take a week or, as far he knows, longer than that to announce the new CEO.

Now you know why no one wants this job.

And it’s a shame, because Bank of America is more important than the joke it has become after Lewis purchased Merrill Lynch at the height of the financial crisis for $50 billion, only to later find $15 billion in losses on Merrill’s balance sheet, forcing him to seek a federal bailout to keep the big bank afloat. It’s one of those “systemically important” places that regulators like to say are way too big to just implode and go away, because if it does, billions of customers’ deposits must be covered by FDIC insurance, not to mention all the trading and brokerage accounts at Merrill Lynch that must be unwound, patched up, and placed in safer hands, if there are any left.

Back in the 1950s, there was a saying, “as GM goes, so goes the nation.” General Motors, thankfully, doesn’t carry as much economic weight these days—it was bailed out by the government along with the banks, and look at the trouble we’re in—but Bank of America does, which is why finding someone to run the place is so important.

And that person will have not just to integrate the troubled Merrill Lynch acquisition, he also might have to guide the bank through another banking crisis. Analysts I speak to aren’t all that placated that the banks are healing even as the economy starts to produce growth. The economic growth we have is still being accompanied by rising unemployment, now at 10.2 percent but edging close to 10.5 percent.

What does that mean for Bank of America? Consider the following: The financial firms may have written down much of the residential mortgage debt—the collateralized bond obligations and mortgage-backed securities—that were at the heart of the financial crisis last year.

But consumer-related loans—credit-card receivables, car loans, etc.—are just starting to default, and commercial real estate isn’t doing so hot, either.

So far those defaults haven’t overwhelmed the money BofA has made by borrowing at low rates (the Fed has taken its base rate down close to zero), buying bonds, and carrying those bonds on its books at a higher interest rate. That might change, analysts tell me, if unemployment rises to around 11 percent. That’s when the profitable bond trades are overwhelmed by the consumer debt losses. BofA’s modest profits could well disappear, forcing the bank to raise more capital and who knows what else.

So here’s to hoping this weekend or next weekend or whenever it sees fit, the BofA board finds the right person for the job. Some analysts I know aren’t so optimistic. When banking analyst Mike Mayo heard that the board might be forced to turn to an inexperienced internal candidate because smart people like Larry Fink of BlackRock and Bob Diamond of Barclays Capital didn’t want the job, Mayo had a solution:

Chuck Prince, the former CEO of Citigroup, the other big bank in worse shape than BofA.

The reason: At least he has experience running a failing bank.






Bank of America’s Next Chief May Be Based in New York


Bank of America Corp. broadened its search for a chief executive officer to include candidates who want to live in New York, acknowledging the bank’s biggest units are no longer based in its home of Charlotte, North Carolina, people familiar with the matter said.

The board, led by Chairman Walter Massey, is also concerned there may not be a deep enough pool of qualified candidates willing to move to Charlotte, 330 miles south of Washington, the people said, speaking anonymously because the search is private. CEO Kenneth Lewis, who is stepping down at year’s end, has said Charlotte will remain headquarters as long as he’s in charge.

“It does reflect well on the board that they’re not going to let the headquarters location limit their selection in terms of CEOs,” said Thomas Brown, CEO of New York-based hedge fund Second Curve Capital. “There aren’t too many people around the world who think that Charlotte is a major financial center.”

Five board members with ties to Charlotte have stepped down during the past two years, and none of their replacements lives in the city, the state’s largest. New directors live in Alabama, Delaware, New York, Ohio, Texas and Virginia. Lewis, 62, is the only North Carolina resident.

Curl, Moynihan

The leading internal CEO candidates are Chief Risk Officer Gregory Curl, 61, who lives in Charlotte, and consumer-banking chief Brian Moynihan, who almost left the bank last year after he declined to take a new post in Wilmington, Delaware, according to a person familiar with the situation. Moynihan, 50, lives in Boston, where he worked for FleetBoston Financial Corp. until Lewis bought the lender in 2004.

“We aren’t going to comment on speculation on the process,” bank spokesman Jerry Dubrowski said.

Former Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl Jr. told a Charlotte group on Oct. 22 that it’s unclear whether the next CEO will be based in the city, according to four people who heard his comments at the meeting, which was sponsored by Queens University of Charlotte. McColl engineered the 1998 acquisition of San Francisco-based BankAmerica Corp., stipulating Charlotte’s role as headquarters. He emphasized that he no longer influences the board’s decision-making, according to the people who heard his comments.

McColl didn’t return telephone calls seeking comment.

The Finger family in Houston, owners of more than 1 million Bank of America shares, said in a regulatory filing today that Moynihan and Curl aren’t suitable candidates and provided a list of 18 alternative choices. Their suggestions include former Bank of America executives Alvaro de Molina, now the CEO of GMAC Inc., and James Hance, chairman of Sprint Nextel Co. The Fingers sponsored a campaign earlier this year to oust Lewis.

Calabasas, Wilmington

Bank of America’s investment banking and wealth-management businesses, which are run from New York, made up half of revenue through Sept. 30, up from 34 percent in the same period last year, before the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.

“With Merrill Lynch being such a big part of the ball game, the CEO probably ought to be in New York,” said Arnold Danielson, chairman of Danielson & Associates, an investment- banking firm in Bethesda, Maryland.

The home loans and insurance unit, which account for 14 percent of revenue, is based in the former Calabasas, California headquarters of Countrywide Financial Corp., which the bank acquired in 2008. The credit-card services unit makes up 23 percent of revenue and is based in Wilmington.

The consumer-banking business under Moynihan in Boston made up 11 percent of revenue. All told, that means about 98 percent of the bank’s revenue comes from units headed by executives based outside Charlotte.

Charlotte Jobs

Massey leads a search committee of six directors, three of whom joined the board upon the FleetBoston acquisition. They include retired FleetBoston CEO Charles “Chad” Gifford, who lives in Boston.

“Some of the Fleet members have no allegiance to Charlotte,” Brown said.

The North Carolina city was home to two of the four biggest U.S. banks until San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. bought Charlotte-based Wachovia Corp. in an October 2008 sale brokered by government regulators.

Bank of America employs 15,000 people in its hometown, said Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber, a group that promotes local business interests. That’s about 5 percent of the bank’s global workforce of 281,863. Wells Fargo has about 19,000 employees in the city after cutting about 2,000 jobs there during the past year, Morgan said.

New Yorkers contacted about the job include Charles Scharf, retail banking head at New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co., a person familiar with the matter said. Robert Kelly, CEO of Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and a former Wachovia chief financial officer, “has said he has no interest in the job,” spokesman Kevin Heine said today.

A JPMorgan spokesman, Thomas Kelly, declined to comment on behalf of Scharf.



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Sources: The Daily Beast, BOFA, MSNBC, McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, Wikipedia, Google Maps