Did the Feds threaten his job? Probably. Does that mean it's OK for the head of a major corporation to fail to disclose important information to shareholders? Probably not. Would people have more respect for The Ken today if he'd spoken up about the pressure he felt from the government? Yep.
Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Ben Bernanke, sharply criticized Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis in e-mails to each other after the Charlotte bank tried to back out of a deal to acquire Merrill Lynch & Co.According to The Wall Street Journal, which cites documents from congressional investigators, Bernanke dismissed the threat to stop the deal as a “bargaining chip.” In addition, Fed attorneys called the bank’s arguments “not credible,” and a top examiner said Lewis’ own position “seems somewhat suspect.”
More from The Charlotte Business Journal.