Merrill CEO gets heave-ho

John Thain proved to be not only a pig, but a dim-witted one. The same guy who suggested that he get a $10 million bonus (never mind that the bank was on the verge of collapse before being acquired by Bank of America), the same guy who kept the B of A guys in the dark about fourth-quarter losses, the same guy who left for a vacation in Vail even after the losses came to light, the same guy who handed out a few billion dollars in bonuses a few weeks ahead of time (and right before the takeover was completed), the same guy who planned to fly this week to Davos even though Bank of America had signaled that such a trip was not a good idea - well, need we go on? B of A CEO Ken Lewis, who is in hot water himself given the bank's fourth-quarter losses, flew up to NY this morning and did the deed. Some backstory from the WSJ:

Mr. Thain has said he deserves a bonus because he helped avert what could have been a much larger crisis at the firm, say people familiar with his thinking. Since taking over as Merrill's chairman and chief executive officer last December, Mr. Thain cleaned up messes inherited from his predecessor, and the takeover agreement in September averted a possible collapse of the 94-year-old company. Mr. Thain's decision to sell Merrill likely salvaged billions of dollars for shareholders and saved a huge number of jobs at the firm, even though thousands of positions will be eliminated following the takeover.

From the NYT:

The relationship between the two men soured over the last month as Mr. Lewis grew increasingly frustrated, believing that Mr. Thain did not have a good grasp of the firm’s operations, according to an individual who is aware of the tensions between the two men but who does not have authorization to speak publicly. Mr. Thain had been put in charge of the bank’s trading, investment banking and brokerage operations after Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch in January. The final straw for Mr. Lewis may have been the decision by Mr. Thain to make an earlier-than-usual bonus payout to Merrill employees, just three days before the merger closed on Jan. 1.