Tough CEO search gets tougher at Bank of America?

So what would be worse for Bank of America: An interim CEO or a continuation of the Ken Lewis era? It's no surprise that Ken Lewis has signaled that he is willing to stay a bit beyond his planned Dec. 31 departure date. Recall also that there was talk of an interim CEO not too long ago. That idea has been revived, notes Bloomberg.

The news is bad either way, effectively leaving the bank without a leader. To remedy this, analyst Richard Bove says there is strong movement to keep Lewis on as the permanent CEO. I really can't see that happening, now matter how popular he is internally.

The board has found the search for a candidate exasperating, and you can really sense the frustration mounting. You get the feeling the board would really like an outside candidate, but that's proving to be all but impossible. The problem is all this publicly aired angst is working against the internal candidates. The longer the board takes, the worse it looks for them. If an internal candidate is eventually promoted, he or she may be undercut from the outset.

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- here's the article

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