Fed’s Bernanke denies pressuring BofA

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Thursday he didn’t pressure Bank of America into acquiring Merrill Lynch in a deal that ultimately cost taxpayers $20 billion.

Bernanke told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he did not threaten action against Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis or the bank’s board members.

“I did not tell Bank of America’s management that the Federal Reserve would take action against the board or management” if they decided to invoke a clause in the acquisition contract in an attempt to stop the deal, Bernanke said.

Bank of America’s CEO to retire by end of year

Ken Lewis, the embattled CEO of Bank of America Corp., is leaving the company, succumbing to nearly a year of strife that followed his the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co.

The bank said in a statement late Wednesday that Lewis, 62, would retire as CEO and also leave the company’s board by the end of the year. The company said his successor will be selected by the time he steps down Dec. 31. The news, coming after shareholders had stripped Lewis of his chairman’s title earlier this year, wasn’t surprising because of the heavy pressure he came under after the Merrill deal.

Officials pushed bank to complete takeover

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – New York’s attorney general said Thursday that top government officials pressured Bank of America Corp. CEO Ken Lewis to complete the bank’s purchase of Merrill Lynch, threatening his job security.

Lewis also testified that he had been advised by the officials, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, not to disclose details of Merrill Lynch’s financial position, according to New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

In a letter sent Thursday to congressional leaders and federal regulators, Cuomo said the chief executive testified in February that Paulson and Bernanke threatened to oust Bank of America’s management if it tried to back out of buying Merrill Lynch.

Shareholders push to oust Bank of America CEO

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Now that he’s lost his title as Bank of America’s chairman, Ken Lewis has to convince angry shareholders he should keep his job as CEO.

Lewis couldn’t escape investors’ fury about his decision to buy Merrill Lynch & Co., although he says he was pressured by the government to go forward with the deal. Shareholders voted to strip Lewis of his chairman’s job Wednesday and continued to press a day later for his complete removal, leaving many people wondering how long he can hold on as chief executive of the largest U.S. bank.

“Shareholders and the American people have given Ken Lewis an overwhelming vote of no confidence and he must resign as CEO immediately,” the Service Employees International Union said in a statement.

TOKYO: Ex-Merrill chief to head CIT Group

CIT Group said Sunday that it has chosen former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain to lead the company as chairman and CEO as the commercial lender continues to restructure its business following a brief stay in bankruptcy protection last year.

CIT Group Inc., one of the nation’s largest lenders to small and mid-sized businesses, said Thain will begin immediately. He replaces acting interim CEO Peter Tobin, who will remain on CIT’s board.

Thain, 54, served as chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch until its sale to Bank of America was completed in January 2009. He resigned under pressure from the combined company after reports he rushed out billions in bonuses to Merrill employees in his final days as CEO, while the brokerage was suffering huge losses and just before Bank of America took it over.