State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier is calling for the ouster of Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis, saying, “it’s time to clean house.”
Nappier, who runs the $20 billion Connecticut state pension fund whose investments include Bank of America stock, said today she intends to vote against the re-elections of Lewis, bank directors Temple Sloan and Tom Ryan.
Nappier said investors have lost confidence in Lewis and the board of directors given the recent events surrounding the Merrill Lynch deal. The state treasurer called for CEO Ken Lewis to step down and for the board to proceed in an orderly fashion to announce plans to substantially reconstitute itself by the next annual meeting.
“In the interest of Bank of America’s future growth and success, it’s time to clean house and set the financial health of the company on a sustainable path,” Nappier said in a statement.
Nappier said she also will oppose the executive pay package and vote in favor of separating the chair and CEO positions. Nappier said.
The state pension fund owns 3.2 million shares of Bank of America, with a current market value of $34.3 million with unrealized losses of $57 million as of April 20. The state is also a major institutional client with the bank as its primary depositories and one of a pool of investment bankers in the state’s debt management program.
A Bank of America spokesman declined to comment.
