Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis made headlines again this week, this time by telling the Financial Times that his bank's request for $20 billion in taxpayer money to help it acquire Merrill Lynch was a "tactical mistake" because it made the bank seem as weak as Citigroup. He made the request more out of caution than anything else.

But the big news to come out of the interview is that he will step down as CEO after the bank pays back the government the $45 billion it has received under TARP, "possibly within two to three years." That will not be fast enough for some critics--and there are many. But it appears that the government is not calling for his head. My guess is that he has proven himself to be a man that Tim Geithner and others can work with. That Lewis is even talking about stepping down is significant. The issue is who will succeed him? 

For more:
- here's the Financial Times article

Related Articles:
Ken Lewis news from FierceFinance