The American Banker has announced its banker of the year: Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis. Now some of you might argue that this would have been a good year to simply not give an award. Others might quibble that a better choice might have been JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon. TheDeal.com takes a look at the merits of each and examines why each would have been a decent choice. Both were able to improve their banks' standing during the crisis. In the end, though, adding Merrill Lynch and Countrywide trumped adding Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. But the award may well prove premature no matter who won. There's not a guarantee that either bank will make their deals work. The most deserving winner might end up being Dick Kovacevich of Wells Fargo.

For more:
- here's the item from TheDeal.com

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