This whole John Thain, Ken Lewis Rumble in the Bronx has been thrilling but clearly there are lesser-known, more hilariously-named cast members to speak of. Let's start with Steele Alphin, chief administrative officer at Bank of America, and essentially Lewis's right hand guy. He also served as Thain's ambassador into the BAC world. For instance, we're told it was Alphin who set the aggregated compensation level for Merrill bonuses, and convinced Thain to change the cash/stock breakdown from 60/40 to 70/30, because it would help BAC's balance sheet (the cash coming from MER, the stock coming from BAC). Oh, and Steele's also the one who can say definitively, despite attempts to leak stories to the contrary, that Thain never asked, per se, for a $10 million bonus.
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 9:51AM
Too Gaba, didn't Goal
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 9:55AM
This is all so clumsy.
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 9:58AM
Dumb and Dumber
Posted by Phobos , Jan 27, 2009 10:04AM
I hate that font.
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 10:11AM
do chickens have large talons?
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 10:12AM
Someone's porting Alphin?
Posted by Clown Capital , Jan 27, 2009 10:22AM
Doesn't matter. This is a nominal discovery. Thain's name has already been besmirched...
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 10:25AM
This must be a fake - that font is way too gay.
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 10:30AM
@clown- except that per the FT article yesterday, and this today, it's becoming obvious that BAC is waging a smear campaign to deflect attention from its own incompetence.
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 10:37AM
Comic Sans = lame
-MoneygripWisdom
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 10:45AM
@10: In Charlotte, using ComicSans is seen as a big deal and even slightly edgy.
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 10:47AM
Also, 10, ComicSans is strictly reserved for C-level employees.
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 10:47AM
That picture of Thain gives me the heeby jeebies
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 11:17AM
@clown capital-- now that this guy's being called by cuomo, still not a big deal?
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 11:27AM
wow this was intelligent, one of two people could have faxed you that letter. Andrea, or Tom. and lord knows tom didnt. Andrea, you are fired.
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 11:28AM
common sense dictates any font whose name contains the word comic is probably not appropriate for serious business communication.
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 11:52AM
This is consistent with what many insiders felt at the time--that the "leak" from the board was actually a smear campaign from either a board member who was enraged about the overall levels of bonuses beneath thim that Thain was permitting (Finnigan on the comp comm), or someone out to get John and his job, like Greg Fleming.
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 11:53AM
http://bancomicsans.com/home.html
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 12:03PM
Do you think Andrea Smith is better or worse looking than Wideclops? Can anyone dig up some pics?
Posted by guest , Jan 27, 2009 4:05PM
thain a wrestler?!
calling it a day...
Posted by guest , Jan 29, 2009 4:19PM
Font too gay, not BA
Posted by guest , Feb 02, 2009 10:32AM
This is not ComicSans, it is Calibri. Come on guys, get your fonts right.
Posted by guest , Feb 02, 2009 11:18AM
if there is one thing in my life that i am proud of, it is supplying that picture of thain to DB
Posted by guest , Feb 02, 2009 11:24AM
Not enough Wingdings for my taste.
-Perez Hilton
Posted by guest , Feb 02, 2009 7:16PM
that font is popular among the tobacco chewing and spitting (in meetings) crowd in charlotte, n.c.