Bank of America directors say they support CEO Lewis

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Bank of America Corp.’s embattled chief, Ken Lewis, got the backing of the bank’s directors today.

‘The board today during their regular meeting expressed support for Kenneth Lewis and the Bank of America management team, noting their experience in managing through challenging environments and in assimilating mergers,’ lead independent director Temple Sloan said in a statement supplied by the bank, according to Bloomberg News.

There had been speculation that Lewis could be ousted after the bank, in a surprise, went back to the federal government for financial help early this month.

BofA’s need for additional assistance stemmed from Lewis’ deal in September to buy Merrill Lynch & Co. The brokerage suffered fourth-quarter losses of $15 billion, far exceeding expectations, as it wrote down bad assets.

Lewis fired Merrill’s chief, John Thain, last week. Now, New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo is investigating Thain’s decision to speed up bonus payments to Merrill employees in December.

Amid the Merrill mess, it may have helped Lewis that BofA’s stock has rebounded somewhat from its multiyear lows reached earlier this month.

The stock, which plunged from $14.08 on Dec. 31 to $5.10 on Jan. 20, gained 89 cents, or 13.7%, to $7.39 today amid a broad rally in financial shares. The price still is down 47% this year, compared with a 26% drop in the average bank stock.

-- Tom Petruno