In the past few months Bank of America has approached at least four bigshot finance types about taking over as the company’s CEO when Ken Lewis steps down at the end of the year. They all laughed in the bank’s face. The problem: because BofA accepted bailout money it is subject to government limits on executive pay, and limits on pay is not something executives are keen on.
Well, that problem is now a thing of the past. The bank announced today that it will repay $45 billion in bailout money before the end of the year. Lewis said the repayment is proof that the bailout was a success: “It is a milestone indicating that public policy has succeeded in helping our industry and the economy begin to recover.” There you have it. The bailout worked!
Bank of America to repay U.S. [Washington Post]
