Ken Lewis, Former Bank Of America CEO, Left With $83 Million In Pay

Former Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, who retired at the end of last year, took a package of stock and benefits valued at $83 million with him when he left, the Wall Street Journal reports:
Mr. Lewis, who retired Dec. 31, got 2009 compensation of $4.2 million. That came largely from an increase in the value of his pension benefits. The former CEO agreed last fall to give up his 2009 base salary and any chance at a bonus at the request of Treasury Department pay czar Kenneth Feinberg. Mr. Feinberg made the request based on concerns about the amount of benefits Mr. Lewis could collect upon retirement.
Lewis did not receive a salary or bonus in 2009, although he was paid just over $32K in various perks, according to the Associated Press:
Lewis, who stepped down as CEO on Dec. 31, received no salary or bonus. His compensation was limited to perks including tax services, home security and parking, according to a preliminary filing disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lewis' 2008 compensation was valued at $9 million. He resigned after almost a year of strife that followed the bank's purchase of Merrill Lynch. He was succeeded as CEO by Brian Moynihan, formerly head of the bank's consumer banking division.
Moynihan's 2009 compensation, including salary and stock awards, was valued at $6.03 million, up 32 percent over 2008, according to the filing.
Both Lewis' and Moynihan's pay was dwarfed by the bank's head of global banking and markets, Tom Montag, whose 2009 pay was valued at $29.9 million. The bulk of Montag's pay was in restricted stock. Bank of America said Montag's stock award was a "contractual commitment" made by Merrill Lynch, which hired Montag in April 2008 before the company being acquired by Bank of America.
Bank of America received $25 billion in government bailout money at the height of the credit crisis in fall 2008. It received an additional $20 billion in January 2009 to help offset losses it absorbed as part of the Merrill Lynch acquisition. The bank repaid the money in December, but rancor over the Merrill deal continued.
Earlier this month, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed civil charges against Bank of America and Lewis, saying the bank misled investors about Merrill Lynch before it acquired the Wall Street bank in early 2009. LinkHere