Following what has been a tumultuous year since the Merrill Lynch acquisition, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) President and Chief Executive Ken Lewis announced Wednesday he will step down from his role as the company’s head and retire. Lewis notified the bank’s board of directors that his retirement will be effective December 31, 2009.
The company plans to start a search for his successor and said someone would be lined up before Lewis’ departure.
The move is not a big surprise as analysts felt Mr. Lewis was a target following the mishandling of the Merrill Lynch deal and the need to receive government aid.
Lewis shook things up on August 3, making changes to the executive management committee. At that time he announced he would stay on until the bank worked through its current financial difficulties.
“Bank of America is well positioned to meet the continuing challenges of the economy and markets,” said Lewis in a company press release. “I am particularly heartened by the results that are emerging from the decisions and initiatives of the difficult past year-and-a-half.”
“We are in position to begin to repay the federal government’s TARP investments. For these reasons, I decided now is the time to begin to transition to the next generation of leadership at Bank of America,” added Lewis.
Ken Lewis became CEO of Bank of America in April 2001 after serving in several other management roles during a career with the bank that began in 1969.
Lewis started with North Carolina National Bank as a credit analyst, that bank was the predecessor to NationsBank and Bank of America.
Elsewhere, Bank of America also announced Wednesday that it reached an agreement to sell the long-term asset management business of Columbia Management to Ameriprise Financial, Inc. for approximately $1 billion.
The bank said it expects to receive funds between $900 million and $1.2 billion based on net asset flows and investor consents in the period leading up to closing.
The deal, expected to close in the spring, is a good step for the bank in its effort to shed assets and raise cash as it seeks to repay TARP funds.
