Bank of America Corp. CEO Kenneth Lewis is facing pressure from an activist group over his retirement package.
The Service Employees International Union, which has locked horns with B of A for years, sent a letter asking Kenneth Feinberg, the White House's special adviser on executive compensation, to halt any retirement payments to Lewis.
The letter, posted on the union's Web site, called Lewis "one of the chief architects" of the financial crisis and took issue with how the company handled disclosures of losses and bonus payments at Merrill Lynch & Co. before shareholder votes on the Charlotte company's purchase of the New York investment bank. B of A bought Merrill Jan. 1 and has gotten $45 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Lewis announced on Oct. 1 that he would retire at yearend.
B of A's 2009 proxy statement says Lewis' retirement benefits comprise a $53.2 million pension, deferred compensation benefits of $10.6 million and 305,000 shares of restricted stock valued at roughly $5 million.
