An already disgraced Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis got more humiliating news yesterday: cough up your pay.
That’s the takeaway following a call by federal pay czar Ken Feinberg that Lewis should receive no salary or bonus when he leaves the post at year-end — and that he should pony up dough the bank has already paid him.
With an annual salary of $1.5 million, the disgraced boss will likely have to return to the bank roughly $1 million for the first 10 months of the year.
“Mr. Feinberg suggested that Ken Lewis should take no compensation for 2009 and Mr. Lewis agreed,” said BofA spokesman Bob Stickler. “Mr. Lewis added that he thought it wasn’t in the best interest of Bank of America to get into a dispute with the paymaster.”
Lewis becomes the highest-profile Wall Street executive yet to feel the brunt of Feinberg’s power. What’s more, the demand is likely to unnerve employees at other firms that have been bracing for big cuts. Companies whose compensation plans must pass the pay czar’s smell test include Citigroup, GMAC and American International Group.
Of course, Lewis won’t walk away empty-handed. He is on track to take home a $53.2 million pension, as well as deferred compensation valued at$10.6 million, according to an analysis by compensation researcher Equilar.
Including his stock and option grants, Lewis could pocket well over $100 million on his way out the door.