Consumerist
frugality
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investigations
Bank Of America Board Members Subpoenaed
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office is gathering information in order to file fraud charges against some BoA executives over what they knew, and what they hid, when they acquired Merrill Lynch & Co. a year ago. Earlier this week, his office subpoenaed 5 board members to find out "what they knew regarding the mounting losses and bonus payments at Merrill before the deal closed on Jan. 1 and what role they played in deciding whether to disclose that information to shareholders," according to the Associated Press. More » -
rakoff rocks
Judge: BoA SEC Deal Violates "Most Elementary Notions Of Justice And Morality"
Judge Jed Rakoff, our favorite crusading curmudgeon of the court, is at it again. And once again, he's turned his ire to the backroom deal that Bank of America tried to cut with the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle a complaint about outsize bonuses paid at Merrill Lynch before BofA took it over last year. The $33 million settlement, Rakoff wrote in his decision, "does not comport with the most elementary notions of justice and morality." More » -
executive compensation
Judge To BoA: "I'm Glad You Think $91,000 Is Not A Lot Of Money"
Recently, the SEC settled with Bank of America over charges that the company mislead its investors about the $3.6 billion in bonuses paid by Merrill as the brokerage was being taken over. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, however, isn't buying it. He's refusing to approve the settlement until it can be shown that the $33 million Bank of America agreed to pay is adequate. That's nice, but he best part is that the judge is being hilariously sarcastic during the hearings. More » -
advertising
Financial Advertising Through The Years
Slate has put together a sarcastic look at financial-type commercials through the years. We like the one with Samuel L. Jackson and the centaur. More » -
failure
NY AG: Banks Paid Bonuses That Were Substantially Greater Than The Banks' Net Income
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's report on the bonus structures of the banking industry is out and — oh my— it's damning. The AG says that 3 banks, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP. Morgan Chase, paid out bonuses that " were substantially greater than the banks' net income." More » -
mergers and acquisitions
Frontline Examines The Bank Of America/ Merrill Lynch Merger
The merger between Merrill Lynch and Bank of America was sold to us as a marriage made in heaven that would save the financial system. It wasn't, and it didn't. Now Frontline takes a closer look at the now-infamous debacle that cost tax payers billions — and CEO Ken Lewis his chairmanship. More » -
wcia 2009
Worst Company In America: FINAL FOUR Comcast VS Bank Of America
A big cable company vs a big bank. A repeat of our final match-up of 2008. Last year Countrywide (now part of Bank of America) prevailed. Which one will you choose?
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bank of america
Bank Of America CEO: The Bush Administration Made Me Do It!
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office is at it again. They've been investigating the circumstances that led to the merger of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch and the subsequent bonus payments to executives. In a letter to Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Cuomo quotes Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis as saying that former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson threatened him with removal from his position and mass firing of the board and senior management if he didn't allow the merger to go through. More » -
wcia 2009
Worst Company In America: Starbucks VS Bank of America
Expensive coffee that "tastes burnt"? Or the owners of Merrill Lynch and Countrywide?
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executive compensation
Merrill Lynch Bonus Recipients May Be Revealed Next Week
Well, it looks like the whole Merrill Lynch bonus scandal may have a Scooby Doo ending — with a judge unmasking the executives by the end of next week. More » -
feisty banking heiresses
B of A Heiress Says Bank Is "Repulsive", Run By "Idiots"
Virginia Hammerness, the 75-year-old heiress to A.P. Giannini's family fortune and a significant stockholder in Bank of America, the bank her grandfather founded in San Francisco in 1904, has harsh words for the people in charge. More » -
something happened
Merrill Lynch CEO: "Nothing Happened In The World Or The Economy" That Would Justify Suspending Bonuses
You know how Merrill Lynch recently lost $15 billion? Remember how we're in a unbelievably huge global financial crisis that threatens to unravel the fabric of our economy? John Thain says that's no reason not to pay billions of dollars in bonuses. More » -
night soil
Thain's $35,000 Commode On Legs Actually Chest Of Drawers
Regarding the $35,000 "commode on legs" ex-Merrill-Lynch CEO John Thain bought for his office, commenter VikramJaffe informs me that it is not as I theorized, a claw-footed toilet, but rather a chest of drawers on legs introduced by the French in the early 18th century. Too bad no one informed me of the distinction before I took a crap in it. More » -
mergers and acquisitions
Bank Of America Fires Former Merrill Lynch CEO
It seems that Bank of America didn't really appreciate that unexpected $15.4 billion dollar 4th quarter loss by Merrill Lynch — because its former CEO, John Thain has been shown the door. More » -
merrill lynch
Merrill Lynch CEO Spent $1,220,000 On Office Renovation As Company Prepared To Burn
Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain spent over $1.22 million to renovate his office in early 2008, just as his firm was getting ready to slash thousands of jobs, cut back on spending and dump businesses. Here's this douchebag's big-ticket tally of personal aggrandizement in the midst of financial crisis: More » -
money meltdown
Bailed Out Bank Executives Got $1.6 Billion
A study by the Associated Press says that executives at bailed out banks got $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits — including cars, personal use of company jets, and country club memberships. More » -
money meltdown
Bank of America To Lay Off Over 30,000
Bank of America has announced that it will lay off 30,000-35,000 people as a result of its merger with Merrill Lynch and the economic downturn. [MarketWatch] (Thanks, Dariush!)
