Talk of financial services and Bank of America features right at the top of the list, recent developments not withstanding. This NYSE listed company has many credits to lay claim to and is one of the largest bank in the United States. It’s no wonder then, that the Bank of America CEO has a tough job maintaining the position of the bank and taking responsible decisions, which affect millions of people and billions of rupees.
The 2008 recession spelled doom for another financial giant Merrill Lynch and it was effectively acquired by Bank of America in a $50 billion worth deal. This saved Merrill Lynch the degradation of a bankruptcy. The acquisition was not without its share of trouble as the then Bank of America CEO Kenneth Leis testified that he had some misgivings regarding the deal. The matter was further looked into and it was found that federal officials were up on Bank of America to close the deal, in desperate times of the demonic 2008 recession.
On January 1, 2010, the duties and office of the coveted Bank of America CEO was taken over by Brian T. Moynihan. Brian T. Moynihan is an example of contradictions whose end product is one fine success story. Born in Ohio as the sixth of eight children, he majored in history from Brown University and then joined Edwards and Angels, the largest corporate law firm in Rhode Island. He worked in numerous bank positions before taking over as the President of consumer and small business section of Bank of America. One of the highest paid executives, Moynihan epitomizes that with will and hard work, roots do not matter, it’s only the sky that is the limit. He has worked with Bank of America for more than seventeen years now and continues to serve the bank and its customers with equal passion.
Being at the top position of a top bank is not an easy task, especially considering that your each and every decision is scrutinized and debated quite vocally by so called financial experts and business critics. Bank of America has been at the helm of this industry for decades now and each of its CEO had tough tasks to accomplish. Former CEO’s were luminaries in their own right. Kenneth Lewis was awarded Banker of the Year and Top Chief Executive Officer in 2001, the same year he took over as CEO after the retirement of Hugh McColl. The responsibilities of CEO extends much beyond the financial and business matters of the banks, they have a moral responsibility towards their customers and the companies who have invested their faith and money with them. Sometimes, tough decisions are to be made which may not be appropriate from a business viewpoint but prove beneficial for all the stakeholders.
Present Bank of America CEO has quite a task at hand with the markets looking up after the recession and trying to bring investor confidence back and back to United States of America.
