Thank you America! What a country!
And oh, my toxic disaster won't be mine much longer - it'll be yours, the taxpayers'. But I get to keep my $155,000,000! Even though my shareholders have lost hundreds of billions! And even though most of my employees will be losing their jobs!
What a country!
I know, most of you called me a fool when I took over Countrywide Toxic Mortgage. I know, most of you told me my bank would blow up. But I didn't care - I was gettin' P.A.I.D.! And I doubled-down and took over the fraud at Merrill too! Woo-hoo! Capitalism is fun!
I'll be out golfing with Angelo Mozilo today. If anyone needs me, I'm not available.
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34 comments:
Why do smart people make bad decision? Was it blind greed thinking he would get wall street bonus' on top of his ridiculous BAC pay? There is no way he could've been that stupid to overlook Countrywides loses and Merril's demise.
Bring back waterboarding with ppv rights, I would pay to see Mr. Lewis cry like a baby...
I blame the board
But the board is obviously corrupt too.
And then I blame the auditors and the risk managers. How HP'ers and S&A'ers know more than people doing it for a living doesn't make sense. Fire them, and just read the fricking blogs I'd say.
Meanwhile, it truly will be our problem now. Bank of America will be owned by America.
$155 million payout is not a bad decision at all. Heck even bigtime lottery winners have to give back 50% in taxes.
Are jumbo loans the next to take the plunge.
Didn't Countrywide make allot of these jumbo loans.
http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009
/02/04/housing-plunge-targets-
the-high-end/
A National Association of Realtors spokesman tells CNBC that homes valued at $750,000 fell by 47% in the year ended in November. Homes valued at $400,000 or less fell by only 3% during the same period.
The average household with a net worth of over $1 million has lost 30% of its net worth recently -- and that's curbing their demand for luxury homes.
Tightening in the mortgage market for jumbo loans is also a factor driving the decline in that market.
What is going on at Wells Fargo.
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk
/Article8645.html
This look at Wells Fargo (WFC) strangely begins with an investigation into 3.875% mortgage loans - fixed for 30 years - offered by Arbor Custom Homes near Portland Oregon.
3.875% is rather interesting given that current mortgage rates are much higher as the following Table of Mortgage Rates from Bloomberg shows.
The Lending Partner for Arbor Homes is Wells Fargo. How can Wells offer a fixed rate of 3.875% for 30 years given the current rate term structure and conditions in the MBS/CDO markets?
The only answer I can come up with is Wells Fargo is going to promptly bundle and dump those securities straight into the insolvent arms of Freddie Mae (FNM) and Fannie Mac (FRE).
Who else would take them?
These CEOs and their boards are the consummate insider old boys clubs; that is how they get away with this stuff. It is also why they are so completely out of touch. They live in a different world than we do.
I watched Martha Stewart and Rachel Maddow talk about how it was "just a mistake" on the part of Daschle. They even turned to the audience and asked if they had ever made a mistake on taxes. Lots of laughter and failure to show hands, because the audience doesn't live in that world and knows the price they would pay if caught making "a mistake". In fact Martha went to JAIL for LOSING $40,000 in a stock transaction. And she thinks people should overlook Daschle's failure to pay $140,000 in taxes? That's more than twice the AVERAGE us household income. You would think Martha, of all people, would have learned there are penalties for the rest of us.
The reason we are all so incensed is so simple a grade schooler could understand it. "You get paid for doing a good job. You get kicked in the butt if you do a bad job." When did America lose grip of that? Have we really become so elitist that we have a two tier system whereby the people at the top are not beholden to a fraction of the rules the rest of us must live by?
John McCain had an excellent idea today. He said let the shareholders vote on the CEO salaries. So simple, but it would work. Wish he had come up with some of this stuff during the campaign.
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BWAHAHAHA
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These guys are more dangerous and destructive than any Al Quaida operative could ever be. Round 'em up, confiscate their assets and up to Guantanamo until the losses from their schemes are recovered (ie. indefinitely).
And he had some of my cohorts at work saying he was the only trustworthy CEO of the big banks after his 60 minutes performance.
Whether it's on CNBS or anywhere, when these grubs get in front of a camera the number one job is to shill.
I'm curious whether he told any out-and-out lies to Diane Sawyer, (and us).
The US and other countries should follow Iceland .
Here in Britain we are watching events in Iceland with great anticipation. The Icelanders have done what so many of us have only dreamed of… held their government to account. I wrote an article for our website about it. The other governments of Europe are watching Iceland with horror - and are very worried about the same thing happening to them. Sarkozy in France might be a good candidate.
I’d be very interested to see what happens with the Consituent Assembly when it meets. I know in Venezuela the new constitution introduced in 1999 was a tremendous step forward in terms of accountability etc. (including the right to recall any politicians in a referendum). Perhaps it is something for the Icelanders to look at.
Way to go Iceland.
Thanks for a great blog, btw.
Keith said:
"How HP'ers and S&A'ers know more than people doing it for a living doesn't make sense. Fire them, and just read the fricking blogs I'd say."
Pretty soon, Keith, the blogosphere will supplant the corporate MSM and become the main source of info in the world. The US MSM failed America under the Bush crime gang. It's only now, under Obama, that we see the so-called reporters asking hard-ball questions. They were obviously scared of Bush's henchmen, namely Cheney, the most criminal of them all.
White House Correspondents failed America, with very few exceptions, like Helen Thomas, who kept pushing Bush with her tough questions, until she was thrown out of the WH pool, and nobody dared protest.
Pretty soon, this blog, like many others, will be the main source of news--not the corrupt MSM.
http://tinyurl.com/dzvfpe
I like people like Ken Lewis. If you look at what they did, there are great lessons that one can use in their own life.
Look, Sashers, don't criticize a man because he made millions and millions of dollars and stuck the losses with the taxpayer. Taxpayers don't mind taking the losses so what is the big deal? Besides, quit your whining. You had the same opportunity; to live beyond your means and not pay your bills. But you chose not to, so you can have it both ways Sashers/HP'ers!
Keith, do your homework on the BAC purchase of Merrill (and who knows how the Countrywide purchase really went down?)
The Fed and Treasury strong-armed BAC into buying Merrill at a premium. Yes, Lewis should have been stripped from CEO role for destroying shareholder value - his primary responsibility is to shareholders.
However, the truly hideous part of this story for shareholders and taxpayers is that Bernanke/Paulson forced this flop. These guys are undercutting the banks that they are telling us that they are trying to save.
so, direct your ire and fire higher up the food chain. Fed/Treasury are systematically choosing which banks fail and which win. NO ONE -- not congress, Obama et al has inquired about their role in this mess (or Lehman, Bear Sterns). In fact, congress with Frank leading the brigade, is working to give Fed mafiosos more regulatory power. Obama has installed Paulson's co-pilot at Treasury so the plunder continues....
RIP BAC - you were used and will now be kicked to the curb by the banker boyz gang. THAT IS THE STORY.
charlottemom
"In their own image their wold is fashioned, no wonder they don't understand." Neil Peart
I think this pretty much sums it all up.
Don Payne
He should have his white ass spanked by angelo.Glad I don't own any bofa stock or citi.
Get ready for his new job slogan, would you like lube with that.
Nice to see our politicians forced Lewis to complete the ML transaction.
http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSN0447844220090205?rpc=77
it's all fake money anyway.
he'll be a casualty of the die-off or get killed by looters who discover where the rich people are hiding out.
he/they justify the 155 million by saying "if Ken Lewis was not CEO the losses suffered by our shareholders would have been much greater"
or some bs like that.
wow, that is a chart to be proud of!
most other industries the board would fire the ceo for running the business into the ground.
Went2puke nailed it:
"Pretty soon, Keith, the blogosphere will supplant the corporate MSM and become the main source of info in the world."
-------------------
Of the two major Seattle newspapers, one is up for sale and is a buyer doesn't show up soon, it will shut down.
The second newspaper - the Seattle Times - is barely hanging on and has just asked its unions for concessions so that they can all keep their jobs.
This time it IS different.
-Mammoth
Oh, c'mon. He's only human.
Born in Meridian, Miss. in 1947.
Roots made him hungry to succeed
At age 10 or 11 Lewis' parents divorced. His father, then an Army sergeant, has died. His mother, Byrdine, 83, raised her children working two shifts as a nurse. Lewis says he has been employed since age 12 at, among other jobs, a filling station, a steel mill, and selling greeting cards door to door. Lewis says he was lower middle class, "not dirt poor," but McColl says Lewis was poor and that it played a role in his success.
"Hungry people do better. People who worked with me from modest backgrounds were the moneymakers," McColl says.
Lewis put himself through college, then landed his first full-time job in 1969 as a credit analyst at North Carolina National Bank (NCNB) and has remained four decades through mergers, acquisitions and name changes. Many of those years were as McColl's go-to man.
"He never took an assignment for which he did not succeed," McColl says. In the company, Lewis grew to be known as Little Hugh as McColl orchestrated so many acquisitions that the 60-story Charlotte headquarters became known as the Taj McColl.
McColl got the attention, but it was Lewis who made things work. He was in charge of the layoffs. He ironed out the culture clashes. All the while, he led projects, such as those that put BofA on the cutting edge of banking's Internet transition.
"We're different animals," McColl says. "I've always said that Ken is a much better businessman."
McColl says he always thought he was good at making the company a lot of money, but, "I wasn't as good as he is."
If Lewis has one thing in common with McColl, it's determination to grow BofA into a finance behemoth. Lewis became CEO in 2001 and in 2003 swallowed FleetBoston Financial for $48 billion, in 2005 bought MBNA for $35.4 billion and China Construction Bank for $7.2 billion.
But McColl is the flamboyant one who in retirement is a Charlotte philanthropic and social fixture. Lewis is often described as cold and dispassionate.
"I don't think those who know me would call me cold," says Lewis, who agrees he is quiet but says that's because he likes to listen. "(McColl) is a very charismatic leader. I may be more dispassionate about making decisions; he is a little more emotional."
"He's a thoughtful, reserved guy," says Chris Kearney, CEO of SPX, one of eight other Fortune 500 companies based in Charlotte. Kearney says he knows Lewis professionally, and sometimes sees him and his wife, Donna, at Barrington's restaurant on Fairview Road, where entrees run about $30.
Lewis is not introverted, Kearney says. Whenever SPX reports good quarterly earnings, Lewis is on the phone with congratulations. SPX moved to Charlotte from Muskegon, Mich., shortly after Lewis became BofA's CEO, and "Ken has taken a particular interest in our growth," Kearney says.
Lewis met Donna when she was his boss' secretary (his boss was not McColl at the time). Each had a child from a previous marriage, and they now have two grandchildren, 5 and 3.
New York's a nice place to visit
Being in Charlotte, 640 miles from Wall Street, has not insulated BofA from industry woes. Lewis' salary has been a flat $1.5 million three years running, his $5.7 million bonus of 2005 falling to zero in 2006 and 2007. BofA stock, which was nearly $55 a share two years ago, closed Wednesday at $27.20, down nearly 8%. However, while Merrill Lynch was losing $4.9 billion in the latest quarter, BofA earned $4.2 billion, making it the world's 23rd most profitable company over the three months, according to BofA's most recent investor factbook.
Lewis says he has given no thought to making Time's 2009 list of most influential leaders. Osama bin Laden was also on the 2007 list. He didn't attend the New York gala. Neither did Lewis.
"I had to work," Lewis says. "I must say, I'm not a gala person."
McColl, more the gala type, says he still finds joy when the North Carolina company outperforms and acquires the financial giants of New York. "We're not all dumb down here, you know."
Lewis says he also once enjoyed defeating New Yorkers in high finance, remembering that when he got his first New York assignment in 1977 he could not get a mortgage. The banker said he would not be able to live in New York on his Charlotte salary.
"I've gotten past that," Lewis says. "I'm in New York a lot. I really do love the place."
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The monuments men make crumble to dust. The only thing that survives is truth.
After you watch this video , you will likely agree that the evil right elite is already trying to suppress the World Wide Web and limit BLOG content. We are being spied on constantly . Keith and other good bloggers are likely already on a "watch" list. NOT KIDDING !!
Be frightened and ready to fight. It's coming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUSZHC1Gu7U
Shouldn’t Ken Lewis’s job be outsourced off-shore to a foreigner who could do the job just as well?
I would hope people aren’t racist enough to suggest that Ken Lewis –- and the other pasty-faced doughboys of corporate America’s upper management–- cannot be replaced by comparably competent executives in China or India. I would imagine that an executive in China or India could do Ken Lewis’s job at about one-tenth–if not one-one hundredth– the cost of Ken Lewis’s salary, and without all of those nasty-to-the-bottom-line perks.
I mean, why does the fiduciary duty of the board to maximize profits suddenly end when it comes to the compensation for upper management?
Why should any American corporation have any Americans in their management structure? Americans charge too much for their over rated management skills. Similar if not better skills can be easily found at cheaper prices in China and India.
Ken Lewis loved off-shoring jobs for those beneath both him and his cronies in the corporate structure. Now he should get to enjoy having it done to him.
It’s not so bad, Kenny boy. I’m sure you’ll be the best greeter that Wal-mart ever had. You’d better be, or else you’ll lose your job to an illegal immigrant.
Let’s make out-sourcing fun for everyone!
some doggie over there at BAC cost me 98 percent of my investment money and 15 plus years of dividend growth time. And yet think of the companys profits in paying savers so little., then again was it the Help?
Jiffy lube is hiring technicians.
Yoski said:
These guys are more dangerous and destructive than any Al Quaida operative could ever be. Round 'em up, confiscate their assets and up to Guantanamo until the losses from their schemes are recovered (ie. indefinitely).
Couldn't have said it better!!!
Nice cut & paste job, Anon 4:10 PM.
Kind of makes me long for the Japanese carry trade poster.
Moron.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123379687205650255.html
The Bernanke and Paulson somewhat bullied him into the deal too.
agree Kieth! The board is highly responsible too. More corporate governance is needed.
http://www.icahnreport.com/
anon @ 4:10 Thanks for the post. My goodness, Lewis made chump change compared to Paulson, Fuld, Thain and their ilk! No wonder they were able to bully him. There are CFOs of much smaller companies making that kind of change. It makes him seem modest by comparison to these NY elites.
Agreed Keith, this guy is a disaster. Add him to the Hall of Shame:
Mozilo
Fuld
O'Neal
Prince
Satyam
Madoff
Thain
Lewis
That's just off the top of my head, I am sure I left off another half dozen...
He's a genius.
He bought Countrywide and Merrill Lynch to become "too big to fail."
There will always be a tomorrow for B of A.
it's wonderful being a white man in the United States. I just need to keep white americans afraid of black men walking down the street, and that mexicans will take their jobs and keep them from focusing on us the worst criminals of all. As a matter of fact, you sign paperwork saying I can take your money and I didn't even need a gun. Damn this is one hell of a great country.
I will dance in the streets on the day that BofA & Citi fail. Unfortunately, I still have to do business with BofA, although several on my "list of companies never to do business with again" have failed. I just don't like doing business people who have cheated me.
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