Picture 1063.pngSo the guy bought a bucket of shit, so what. Are we really going to hold that against him? I say no. Everyone’s allowed one minor little slip-up. One, everyone gets one, and this is his. To that end, I’d like you all to note that the same rule applies to my friend Vikram at Citi, although I do hold him to slightly more rigorous terms, and that I’ll be including this morning’s failure to wash his hands after taking 30 in the corporate WC in my next report as reason no. 398,153 to can this guy’s ass.

Bank of America Corp., recipient of $163 billion in U.S. rescue funds and loan guarantees, should retain Chief Executive Officer Ken Lewis even after his “mistake” in acquiring Merrill Lynch & Co., analyst Meredith Whitney said.
Lewis “has done a great job” except for the Merrill Lynch deal, said Whitney, speaking to reporters today before appearing at a panel discussion in Toronto sponsored by Sprott Asset Management Inc. She called the Merrill Lynch purchase Lewis’s “one major mistake acquisition.”

Bank of America Should Keep Lewis After ‘Mistake,’ Whitney Says [Bloomberg]

Comments (25)

  1. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 8:45 AM

    “it feels so good when she kids”

  2. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 8:48 AM

    Anyone know if MW is taking resumes? I was a high school wrestler if that helps.

  3. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 8:51 AM

    Hi All,
    Want to to be in TIME Magazine?
    Be Part of the Next Big Picture: http://www.nextbigpicture.com
    Next Big Picture will be advertised in TIME’s 2009 Person of the Year Issue. (Dec 18th, 09)

  4. Posted by brendan | April 8, 2009 at 8:54 AM

    except for ML? What about Countrywide?

  5. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 8:57 AM

    Can we ban any idiots like 3 from advertising their shitty mag on this site? If you want to advertise, buy an ad. If you can’t afford it, piss off.

  6. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 8:58 AM

    Not sure how it’s a mistake. BofA is killing it with the number of equity offering transactions they’ve had in the past few weeks where they have been the lead bookrunner or a co-bookrunner.

  7. Posted by merkin capital partners | April 8, 2009 at 8:58 AM

    I did “a great job” as a babysitter, except for sodomy deal.
    @3: No, i don’t.

  8. Posted by Anal_yst | April 8, 2009 at 9:13 AM

    I know, I know, but I just can’t get over Ken “I’ve had about as much fun with Investment Banking as I can stand” Lewis. I’m not saying ditch the bitch (lewis) but I mean, surely there’ve been a few other other “mistakes,” no?

  9. Posted by Investorcluzo | April 8, 2009 at 9:14 AM

    @6 – that you moynihan? you can’t be serious…did you see the league tables for the first quarter? let me assure you, no one cares about a co-manager. you either lead the deal and get the majority of the fees or you get out of the way and thank your lucky stars you didn’t get totally shut out.
    @1 – isn’t she a little late for april fool’s? better late than never I guess.

  10. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 9:16 AM

    -@6 – as of this morning, jpm has 18% mkt share ($2.4bio), bofa-merril and ms are tied at 14.4% with citi at 13.6%. these are ytd 2009 numbers. how is that ‘killin’ it’? What they are doing is making sure every last half-decent merril banker quits, and they will be left with an expensive shell, people with merril losers and bofa freaks.

  11. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 9:16 AM

    -@6 – as of this morning, jpm has 18% mkt share ($2.4bio), bofa-merril and ms are tied at 14.4% with citi at 13.6%. these are ytd 2009 numbers. how is that ‘killin’ it’? What they are doing is making sure every last half-decent merril banker quits, and they will be left with an expensive shell, people with merril losers and bofa freaks.
    Sorry, this is domestic us equity issuance.

  12. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 9:50 AM

    You realize she is only saying shit like this for the publicity. I would ignore this stuff, don’t feed the troll!

  13. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 10:02 AM

    One mistake? Yeah, but that was one big f’ing mistake! KL got played by the wall street pros (e.g Thain) like a country bumpkin. It was just like Michael Lewis selling bonds at Solomon Bros to idiot regional bank managers who had no clue in Liar’s Poker. And once KL realized what a tool everyone thought he was after that, he waged a media smear campaign to trash Thain. Yeah, he’s doing a great job…

  14. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 10:11 AM

    She is just saying this because tomorrow is big Ken’s bday.

  15. Posted by MarshallStack | April 8, 2009 at 10:16 AM

    Has PETA seen her choice in wall coverings?

  16. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 10:21 AM

    11 Half decent ML bankers? The whole point of ML is retail. The Ibankers have always been second rate. OK, I’ll take your word for it that there are some decent guys, but they’ve long been buried there. The BOA tieup can only improve things.

  17. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 10:22 AM

    I want Meredith to leave our woeful banking sector alone.

  18. Posted by clientnine | April 8, 2009 at 10:36 AM

    Shrewd business move on her part.
    To get the right mental of B of A senior manager and its board of directors, consider a circle with interlocking mouths and anuses.
    Given that Ken Lewis has not been booted yet, it is difficult to imagine what could dislodge him.
    By providing good pr, she makes her firm eligible to provide consulting services to B of A.

  19. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 10:42 AM

    Spitzer did great too. Minus the whole hooker-fucking thing… ya know.

  20. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 11:12 AM

    -@16 re second rate ML ibankers. Cant argue that point. They were still miles better than anything BofA had in its own excuse for i-banking. And they are leaving/already left for the most part.

  21. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 11:24 AM

    where is that picture taken? in sarah palin’s office?

  22. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 11:34 AM

    21 No, its the lamp department at Pottery Barn. (One lamp, yes; two, OK; but THREE?)

  23. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 12:14 PM

    I think you chimps should leave MW alone. She doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment.
    I pity you all for having such shallow lives.

  24. Posted by guest | April 8, 2009 at 1:11 PM

    Edward John Smith was doing a hell of a job too.

  25. Posted by guest | April 22, 2009 at 8:53 AM

    After listening to MW’s comments, I am a firm believer that people should not take drugs.

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