Unlike Citi CEO Vikram Pandit, John Thain definitely got a honeymoon when he took the top job at Merrill Lynch. The press was full of fairly glowing articles noting his technology background and Goldman Sachs bona fides. My, how things have changed.

The news that John Thain will leave Bank of America was preceded by a lot of second-guessing and anger over the need to inject yet more taxpayer money into Bank of America, just so it could close the deal. Thain of course was slated by CEO Ken Lewis to oversee Bank of America's investment banking and wealth management operations. It would be hard for him to be effective in that role given recent events. The issue now is severance, as a huge package will spark outrage. A sure sign that Thain was ousted: Someone leaked that he spent $1.22 million to redesign his office.

For more:
- here's the article on the redesign from CNBC
- here's some background from CNNmoney.com

Related Articles:
John Thain news from FierceFinance
Ken Lewis news from FierceFinance
Bank of America news from FierceFinance