Countrywide to be Ken Lewis's undoing?

The sacking of former Wachovia CEO Ken Thompson shows how one deal really can blow a guy's career. True, Wachovia had run into considerable problems, but the bank's ill-timed Golden West deal was the final straw for the board. Will the Countrywide deal wreak the same sort of havoc (except on a grander scale) at Bank of America? Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, remains convinced the bet will pay off. But there are many reasons to doubt him. The mortgage business remains uncertain, to say the least. The New York Times takes a long look at Countrywide's loan servicing business. Once the company's crown jewel, it has also run into some thorny problems that will be hard to fix. The jury's still out. We've said all along that Lewis has bet his career on the deal. 

For more:
- here's the New York Times article

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