BofA Continues CEO Hunt

Recently, William Demchak of the PNC Financial Services (PNC) was offered the position of the next CEO of the Bank of America (BAC). However, the offer was turned down by Demchak.
 
We suspect Demchak declined the offer as the pay package is likely to be among the least competitive in the industry, especially since the Obama administration's pay czar took the axe to seven institutions' pay plans, chopping the average high-end salary by 50%. Moreover, the bank is also operating under a memorandum of understanding with regulators, who are scrutinizing the top gun's every decision.
 
The present CEO of the Bank of America, Mr. Ken Lewis, is set to leave the position, stepping down at the end of the year. It may be noted that he succumbed to the pressure to resign after his company’s Merrill Lynch acquisition.
 
Earlier this month, Robert Kelly of the Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BK) was offered the role of CEO by the bank. Former Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz is among those reportedly approached who turned down the CEO job offer, as did MasterCard (MA) President Ajay Banga. Others may include Moffett; Charlie Scharf, who runs JPMorgan Chase's (JPM) retail operations; Robert Kaplan, a former Goldman Sachs (GS) top gun; former US Bancorp CEO Jerry Grundhofer; American Express (AX) President Alfred Kelly; and two former BofA executives, Al de Molina, who runs GMAC, and James Hance. Offers were reportedly made to those banking chieftains, among others.

The bank's credit problems are the key to relieving the pressure of government involvement. Once the bank's loan book stabilizes, it can start to pay back the money it borrowed from the U.S. government, which came with some serious strings attached including Feinberg's control of compensation for top executives.

Read the full analyst report on PNC

Read the full analyst report on BAC

Read the full analyst report on MA

Read the full analyst report on JPM

Read the full analyst report on GS

Read the full analyst report on AX

Read the full analyst report on BK